While diplomatic relations between India and Canada have worsened, data shows that Indians are the biggest group acquiring citizenship of the North American country.
Among the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada added a record 3,75,000 new citizens in 2022, according to the 2023 International Migration Outlook report. The highest number of people who got Canadian citizenship in 2022 came from India (60,000), followed by the Philippines (42,000), Syria (20,000) and Pakistan (15,000).
Tge OECD is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. The majority of OECD’s 38 member nations are high-income economies.
India also topped the charts for being the origin country of most new citizens in OECD nations in 2021. A total of 1,33,000 Indians acquired the citizenship of an OECD country, with the most in the United States (56,000). Australia granted citizenship to 24,000 Indian citizens and Canada to 21,000.
The migration flows were observed to have returned to the pre-Covid numbers overall in 2021, except for China. India dominates this list as well, with 4,07,000 people moving to OECD nations. In comparison, 2,27,000 people from China migrated in 2021, followed by 2,15,000 from Romania.
In terms of percentage increase, the highest jump was seen in persons migrating from Iran (+140%), followed by Uzbekistan (+120%) and Iraq (+100%) from 2020 to 2021. Conversely, significant declines were registered for Venezuela, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.
The numbers “partially reflect changes in the reopening of borders in major destination countries and not only relative change in push factors in countries of origin”, the report said.
The population of international students in OECD countries is dominated by Asians, most of whom are natives of China (8,85,000) and India (4,24,000). Between 2014 and 2021, the number of students from India, Vietnam and Nepal more than doubled, according to the report. While the report did not give a complete breakup of the numbers, it revealed that Indians account for the largest number of international students in Canada and Latvia.
Additionally, as per the partial data available, India has also become the tenth-largest origin country for asylum in OECD nations.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!