Approximately 8,000 high-net-worth individuals are expected to move out of India in 2022, according to the Henley Global Citizens Report that tracks migration trends across the world. The figure this year has risen by 14% since 2019 when the net loss was 7,000.
Besides India, millionaires could also exit from Russia, China, Hong Kong and Ukraine.
However, the report noted that India produces far more new millionaires than it loses to migration each year.
Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, a global wealth intelligence firm, said he expects rich individuals to move back to India “in increasing numbers” once the standard of living improves, the Business Standard reported.
“General wealth projections for India are very strong,” Amoils added. “We expect the HNWI [high-net-worth individuals] population to rise by 80% by 2031, which will make India one of the world’s fastest-growing wealth markets during this period. This will be fuelled by especially strong growth in the local financial services, healthcare and technology sectors.”
The United Arab Emirates is projected to attract the highest number of millionaires, according to the report. Australia is second on the list, followed by Singapore with an expected net inflow of 2,800 millionaires in 2022.
Bijal Ajinky, a partner in Khaitan and Co’s direct tax, private client and investment funds practices, told The Times of India that stringent tax rules and a desire for powerful passports are driving migration from India.
“The appeal of a higher standard of living, including better educational and health facilities for the family, also continues to be a key driver, perhaps even more so in the wake of Covid,” Ajinky said.
In December, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai had said that 8,81,254 people had given up their Indian citizenship in the past seven years till September 30.
In November, he told Parliament that according to the data available with the Ministry of External Affairs, 1,33,83,718 Indians are now living in foreign countries.
A Global Wealth Migration Review report showed that nearly 5,000 millionaires, or 2% of the total number of high-net-worth individuals, in India left the country in 2020 alone.
A 2018 report by investment bank Morgan Stanley also found that 23,000 Indian millionaires had left the country since 2014.
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