Money smooths the way for rich Indians immigrating west

High net worth individuals are making a beeline for residence-through-investment programmes in the U.S., Portugal, Australia, Malta, and Greece 

Pankaj Sharma, 50, moved to Canada in 2019. He followed his wife, Pooja Tandon, an IT professional who was first offered a role there. In 2022, the family applied for permanent residency that will make them eligible for Canadian citizenship after five years, on fulfilling certain conditions. 

“The primary reason to move here was professional, but after coming here we realised that our daughter was at a stage in her life that we could not change her education system too often, so we applied for permanent residency and got it,” Mr. Sharma said. He added that his daughter, who often fell sick in Delhi due to air pollution, has not complained of chest infection even once since they moved to Canada. 

In 2022, over 2.25 lakh Indians renounced Indian citizenship, the highest ever since 2011, according to data tabled by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Parliament on February 9. The data reflects how Indians, especially high net worth individuals (HNIs) are moving westward with new passports, in search of better opportunities, healthcare, quality of life, and education, among several other factors. 

HNIs are those who have wealth of over $1 million or ₹8.2 crore. According to the Henley Global Citizens Report, there were 3.47 lakh such people in India in December 2021. Of these, 1.49 lakh HNIs were found in just nine cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Gurgaon, and Ahmedabad. According to the report, India ranked fourth in the world in terms of privately-held wealth, after the U.S., China, and Japan. 

Industry representatives say that there has been a surge in requests for residence-through-investment programmes especially for the U.S. EB-5 visa, Portugal Golden Visa, Australian Global Talent Independent Visa, Malta Permanent Residency Programme, and Greece Residence by Investment Program. 

Shilpa Menon is the senior director of the Indian branch of LCR Capital Partners, a global private investment and advisory services firm. “India is really rising in the ranks among successful applicants for the Portugal Golden Visa, climbing to fourth place [in the world] in 2022, from fifth place in 2021, and ninth place in 2020,” she said. The Portuguese investor visa programme benefits individuals and families, providing them with the right to live, work, study, or retire in Portugal and the rest of the European Union. 

“Since the programme’s creation, more than 130 visas have been issued to Indian nationals,” Ms. Menon said. Among the qualifying requirements, purchasing property worth Euro 500,000 (₹4.4 crore) in a high-density area and creating at least 10 jobs for Portuguese nationals, are mandatory. Five years after the investment, the individual can obtain a Portuguese passport, making them eligible to visit over 150 countries without a visa.