Despite travel restrictions and blockades across the world, up to 5,000 wealthy Indians have left the country after the pandemic hit the planet in 2020, according to available data.

The number of dollar millionaire emigration stood at 7,000 a year earlier, 5,000 in 2018 and 7,000 in 2017 – when the world was open and pandemic-free, according to a Global Wealth Migration Review report.

The figures also reveal a 61% increase in Indian inquiries into citizenship opportunities by investing abroad following the coronavirus outbreak last year.

In 2019, India, South Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nigeria – all emerging markets – were the top five countries in terms of investment migration requests, reported Henley and Partners, a company Global Residency and Citizenship Planning.

“The unexpected events of 2020 simultaneously exacerbated push factors such as political and economic instability, and redefined pull factors, stability, security and access to education and health care becoming issues of greater concern than ever, ”noted Dr Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley and Partners, in the report which found a 25% increase globally in inquiries from high net worth individuals on citizenship options through investment as opposed to residency-by-investment programs.

“Savvy investors,” noted Dr Steffen, “have realized that diversification is as relevant for lifestyle planning as it is for wealth management. By spreading their assets across a range of markets and jurisdictions, they are more likely to generate returns over time than if they hedge their bets in just one country – even if it is a leading country in the world. “

FLYING STUDENTS

The number of Indian students going abroad to pursue higher education halved in 2020 due to virus lockups, according to the minister’s response to Parliament on March 24, 2021.

About 5.8 lakh of them went abroad in 2019 compared to 2.6 lakh who took the flight in 2020.

The trend reversed quickly, apparently due to the backlog, this year.

While 71,769 Indians have gone abroad to study in the first two months of 2021 alone, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs V Muraleedharan told parliament in the same response.

Students traveling abroad for education last year included 14 percent from Andhra Pradesh, 13 percent from Punjab and 11 percent from Maharashtra.

INCREASE IN STUDENT APPLICATIONS

The latest report from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) found that despite the pandemic, 30% more Indians have applied for universities and colleges in the UK, with 7,640 applications reported in 2019 and 9,930 in 2020 .

Over the past decade, the number of Indian students applying for higher education in the UK has tripled, the data shows.

“The maximum number of students looking to study abroad is in the UK, followed by Canada. Lately the trend has been for Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe as well.” , said Jyoti Mayal, head of the travel agency. Association of India.

LESS VISATING VISAS FOR INDIANS

The European Union and the United States, however, issued fewer visit visas to Indians last year, the data shows.

EU uniform visas for Indians increased from 10.12 lakh in 2019 to 1.38 lakh in 2020 and non-immigrant US visas increased from 9.85 lakh to 4.99 lakh in the same interval, according to the US State Department – Bureau of Consular Affairs and schengenvisainfo.

Meanwhile, the Indian passport was ranked 90th in the latest Henley & Partners Passport Index for the third quarter of 2021. In other words, an Indian passport holder could visit up to 58 countries without a visa, but regional restrictions due to Covid-19 limit the visit to only 27 countries at the moment.

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