87% of applicants granted Indian citizenship hail from Pakistan: Report

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• May 28, 2022 | Dhupali Das

Reportedly, 5220 foreigners have been issued Indian citizenship in the last five years, with 4552 (87%) of the new citizens being from Pakistan.

Digital Desk: During the last five years, 87 per cent of the applicants who applied for Indian citizenship were from Pakistan. The Ministry of Home Affairs revealed the shocking report in response to a Right to Information (RTI) enquiry filed by India Today. 

Reportedly, 5220 foreigners have been issued Indian citizenship in the last five years, with 4552 (87%) of the new citizens being from Pakistan.

In November last year, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha that over six lakh Indians have given up their citizenship in the last five years. Further, he added that 6,08,162 people voluntarily gave up their Indian citizenship from 2017 to 2021.

According to the Home Ministry's response to India Today's RTI, 5220 foreigners were granted Indian citizenship between 2017 and 2022.

Every year, an average of 1,21,632 people give up Indian citizenship, but only 1044 people have taken Indian citizenship in the last five years. This means that total intake accounts for only about 1% of the total brain drain. 

The United States accounts for more than 40% of citizenship termination requests, followed by Australia and Canada, which account for around 30% of such requests combined.

Notably, Citizenship in the United States is the most popular destination for Indians. Reverse migration is also occurring but at a micro-level. In the last five years, only 71 American citizens have preferred to become Indian citizens. In comparison, the top three countries whose citizens got Indian citizenship are Pakistan (87%), Afghanistan (8%), and Bangladesh (2 %).

Only in 2021, more than a thousand people received Indian citizenship in the past five years. This year, Indian citizenship was granted to 1754 Pakistanis out of 1580.