A passport to everywhere
high net worth individual (HNI ), a fluid way of life — the freedom to move unfettered worldwide — is the ultimate luxury. It’s the final step to becoming a successful global citizen.
Kristin Surak, associate professor of Political Sociology at the London School of Economics, UK, and author of 'The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires', says that India has one of the lowest ranks when it comes to visa-free access, so travel for Indian citizens can be incredibly challenging.
“And it’s not just entering, even transiting through countries can be a challenge,” she says, recounting how a colleague had to pay an extra 1,000 pounds to fly from Delhi to London because he couldn’t transit through certain countries using only his Indian passport.
“An extra thousand pounds multiplied by 100 times — that is the cost of a foreign citizenship.”
A New Way Of Life
Last year alone, over 2.25 lakh Indians renounced their 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 HNIs, are considering new passports as a way to enjoy their wealth and gain access to business opportunities and a better quality of life. “A lot of people who naturalise do so just because it is a better travel document, even though they have a strong Indian identity,” explains Surak.
As the number of HNIs increase, (India’s individual HNI population jumped to 7,97,714 in 2022 from 7,63,674 in 2021 and is set to grow 2x by 2027), highly-compensated professionals are looking at flexibility. “Plans to apply for a new passport or citizenship is largely led by a desire to be mobile, to diversify their risks and protect their
