Record: 2.25 lakh Indians gain OECD citizenship as visa rules tighten

(UNITED STATES) A record 225,000 Indians gained citizenship in OECD nations in 2023, the highest of any nationality that year, according to new figures that underscore how tighter visa rules in advanced economies, especially the United States under President Donald Trump, are pushing skilled workers to seek permanent status. Out of 2.8 million people who became citizens across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2023, Indians accounted for the largest share, followed by Filipinos at 132,000 and Chinese at 92,400, data from the OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2025 show.

The rise caps a steady three-year climb: 206,000 Indians naturalized across OECD countries in 2021, 214,000 in 2022, and 225,000 in 2023. Analysts say the jump is closely tied to policy shifts that have made temporary work routes more costly and less predictable, most notably in the United States, where President Trump signed a proclamation on September 19, 2025 introducing a new $100,000 charge for fresh H-1B filings and additional entry limits for certain nonimmigrant workers. The fee applies to petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025, does not affect current H-1B holders, and is set for 12 months unless extended, according to the proclamation. Employers are required to keep proof of payments and meet new compliance rules to avoid penalties.

The OECD report characterizes naturalization not just as a legal step but as a measure of long-term settlement and its payoffs.

“Calling citizenship ‘an indicator of long-term settlement and a driver of better integration outcomes,’ the OECD frames the surge as evidence that many migrants, including large numbers from India, are making permanent plans in countries where they once studied or worked on temporary visas.”

The trend is visible across English-speaking destinations and parts of Europe, even as some governments add new language, income, or integration benchmarks before granting passports.

Canada, the United States, and Australia accounted for most Indian citizenship acquisitions in 2023. Roughly 76,000 Indians became Canadian citizens, about 52,000 naturalized in the United States, and around 40,000 gained citizenship in Australia. The United Kingdom remains a major destination for Indian nationals as well, with the country recording strong inflows tied to the Health and Care Worker visa, though final citizenship numbers for Indians in the UK were not specified alongside the 2023 totals for Canada, the United States, and Australia. On the broader migration side, the UK welcomed 144,000 Indians in 2023—up 28% from 2022—Canada recorded 140,000 arrivals, and 68,000 Indians moved to the United States that year, according to the same dataset.

While the drivers vary by country, the common thread is the pull of stability at a time when temporary visas have become more expensive and harder to maintain. In the United States, new H-1B visa fees and entry limits announced in September 2025 have raised upfront costs for employers and sharpened choices for workers considering whether to continue on temporary status or seek a path to nationality. The proclamation’s intent is to curb abuses and prioritize high-skilled, high-paid workers, signaling that some job categories will face more scrutiny and that employers must document compliance in greater detail. For many Indian professionals—who often move first on student or work visas and later settle—the calculation now favors permanent residency and, in time, citizenship, particularly when children’s schooling, mortgages, and career continuity are on the line. The USCIS H-1B program page provides official information on H-1B eligibility and processes.

The shift is also shaped by the relative ease and timelines of citizenship in some countries. Canada and Australia have shorter residence requirements to qualify for citizenship—three and four years respectively—compared with many European states that demand longer stays, higher language proficiency, and more rigorous integration tests. For families who have spent years rotating through student permits, post-study work, and employer-sponsored visas, these shorter routes to a passport can weigh heavily in their decisions, especially as policies grow tighter elsewhere. OECD nations continue to attract Indian graduates and younger workers, but the path they choose increasingly aims for permanence.

The OECD notes that family reunification drives a large share of Indian migration to its member countries, accounting for 40% of flows, and that demand in health and social care is a major factor in the UK and parts of Europe. Health and care visas issued to Indian nationals rose by 75% in 2023, from an already high base the previous year, reflecting staffing gaps that hospitals and care homes have struggled to fill since the pandemic. That surge helped lift overall Indian arrivals to the UK by 28% in 2023, and many of those workers are likely to become eligible for settlement over the coming years, feeding future citizenship totals.

In the United States, the H-1B program has long been the main channel for Indian tech workers, engineers, and other specialists. The new H-1B visa fees regime—adding $100,000 for new petitions—marks a sudden increase in the cost of sponsorship. The proclamation specifies that the fee applies to petitions filed after September 21, 2025, exempts current H-1B holders, and introduces additional entry restrictions for certain categories of nonimmigrant workers. Employers must retain documentation and meet enforcement measures or face penalties. While supporters of the policy argue it will reduce misuse and ensure only the highest-paid roles qualify, critics warn it will discourage smaller firms from hiring globally and may push more talent to Canada 🇨🇦 and Australia, where routes to permanent residence are clearer and fees lower.

The OECD cautions that even with rising citizenship numbers, gaps remain in how migrants, particularly women, convert credentials into jobs that match their skills. Many Indian migrants face hurdles in getting educational and professional qualifications recognized, leading to underemployment or slower career progression. The report points out that the benefits of citizenship—in access to jobs, stable residence, and mobility—do not automatically solve these barriers, though over time, naturalization is linked to better labor market outcomes.

The UK’s Health and Care Worker visa expansion illustrates both sides of the story. Employers filled urgent roles and many Indian workers found steady jobs with a pathway to settlement, yet pay scales and recognition of prior experience have lagged in parts of the sector. In Canada, meanwhile, provincial nomination programs and federal express routes have given Indian applicants more predictable paths to residency and, later, citizenship in as little as three years of residence. That combination of timelines, work prospects, and family stability has helped push Canada to the top of the list for Indian naturalizations in 2023.

The 2023 totals also reflect choices made by Indian students who arrived before the pandemic and are now becoming eligible for citizenship in stages. Large cohorts who graduated in Canada and Australia have transitioned from post-study work to permanent residence and then to citizenship, often with families joining through reunification. For the United States, where green card backlogs for Indians can stretch decades in the employment-based categories, the naturalization flow tends to come from those who entered through family ties, the diversity and refugee routes, or who cleared long waits for permanent residence before applying for citizenship. In that context, a policy shift that raises H-1B costs and limits entries can tip long-term plans toward countries with faster permanent residency—then citizenship—timelines.

The numbers bear out the tilt. In 2023, about 76,000 Indians became Canadian citizens, roughly 52,000 naturalized in the United States, and around 40,000 in Australia. Each country’s intake reflects different rules and timelines, but the end result is a sharp increase in how many Indians gained citizenship across OECD nations in a single year. The UK’s 144,000 Indian arrivals in 2023—driven in part by healthcare recruitment—signal that British citizenship figures may rise in later years as those residents meet eligibility clocks, though the UK’s final Indian naturalization count for 2023 was not specified alongside the Canadian, U.S., and Australian totals.

Policy timing is also shaping applications. The Trump proclamation took effect on September 21, 2025 and is slated to run 12 months unless renewed, leaving employers weighing whether to absorb the new $100,000 outlay per new H-1B petition or pivot hiring to other countries. For workers, risk tolerance is shrinking. Many who once cycled through renewals now prefer a settled status, especially if spouses and children are involved and if schooling or mortgages depend on uninterrupted work authorization. The result is a feedback loop: tougher temporary routes push applicants to permanent pathways; those pathways lead to citizenship; and citizenship numbers, in turn, become a barometer of longer-term settlement.

The OECD frames that barometer explicitly.

“Describing naturalization as ‘an indicator of long-term settlement and a driver of better integration outcomes,’ the International Migration Outlook 2025 links rising citizenship figures with deeper roots in host societies.”

The report also points to practical barriers—skills recognition, childcare, and local work experience—that remain, especially for women, and suggests that countries with strong credential recognition and worker mobility will see faster gains from the influx of new citizens.

For India’s global diaspora, the 2023 record is a marker of both success and strain. It highlights the scale at which Indian professionals, families, and graduates are planting permanent roots in the United States, Canada, Australia, and across Europe, even as policy hurdles mount. It also shows how a single policy lever—like a sharp increase in H-1B visa fees—can ripple through corporate hiring and household decisions on where to build a life. With 225,000 Indians gaining citizenship across OECD nations in 2023 and more in the pipeline, the next year of U.S. visa policy will be watched closely by employers and migrants alike. Whether the $100,000 H-1B charge and related entry limits remain in place beyond their initial September 21, 2025 start window may help determine if this surge levels off or becomes the new normal for Indian naturalizations across the rich world.