225,620 Indians gave up citizenship in 2022: Govt tells Rajya Sabha

According to data presented by the government in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, 225,620 Indians renounced their citizenship in 2022, the most in the previous 12 years, and more than 1.66 million people have done so since 2011.

The numbers were provided by the minister of external affairs, S. Jaishankar, in a written response to a query from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmaker Narain Dass Gupta, who wanted to know how many Indians had given up their citizenship in the previous three years.

In response, Jaishankar gave year-by-year statistics for Indians who had given up citizenship since 2011.

The annual figure varied between 120,000 and 144,000 from 2011 to 2019 before dropping to 85,256 in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, which forced most nations to impose travel restrictions.

According to the written response, the number nearly doubled to 163,370 in 2021 and rose to 225,620 in 2022.

In 2011, 122,819 Indians renounced their citizenship, followed by 120,923 in 2012, 131,405 in 2013, 129,328 in 2014, 131,489 in 2015, 141,603 in 2016, 133,049 in 2017, 134,561 in 2018, 144,017 in 2019, 85,256 in 2020, 163,370 in 2021, and 225,620 in 2022, according to data from the external affairs ministry.

A list of 135 countries whose citizenship Indians have acquired was also included in the written response.

However, the list did not provide specific figures for each nation or indicate the time frame in which these countries gave Indians citizenship.