Wealthy Indians top list of those seeking residency abroad

In 2020, wealthy Indians again topped the list of those making enquiries for ‘residence-by-investment’ or ‘citizenship-by-investment’ programmes. The number of enquiries rose from 2019, said a facilitating agency. Since India does not permit dual citizenship, opting for ‘citizenship by-investment’ means giving up one’s Indian passport.

The combination of COVID and political turmoil saw the US, in sixth place in 2019, shoot up to the second slot.

About 7,000 wealthy Indians left country in 2019, says report.
The third, fourth and fifth spots in terms of enquiries made were taken up by Pakistanis, South Africans and Nigerians, respectively. These details were shared with TOI by Henley & Partners, a global firm engaged in residence and citizenship.

As per ‘Global Wealth Migration Review’, issued by New World .a wealth intelligence firm, Indians were the second largest contingent among the millionaire category to move overseas.

Nearly 7,000 wealthy Indians (comprising 2% of the HNWIs) l left the country during 2019. It appears that the interest is not waning.

Investment-linked migration programmes do not come cheap, but for many, it is much more than just owning a luxury home in an exotic location. It could also mean spreading family assets across several jurisdictions or obtaining better access to a region — say European Union.

The top investment-linked residence and citizenship programme that Indians enquired about in 2020 were Canada Residency, Portugal Residency, Austria Residency and Austria’s Citizenship programme, Malta Citizenship and Turkey Citizenship. Historically, US, Canada, UK and Australia have been favourites among Indians.

The interests of wealthy individuals in India and NRIs differ — the latter is more inclined to opt for ‘citizenship-by-investment programmes. The former, with overseas business interests, typically look at European ‘residence-by-investment’ options.

International finance centres like Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore have a large population of professional NRIs. If they are unable to get permanent residency or citizenship in these countries, they keep their options open.