Dubai offers a Golden Visa: Indians will take it because India can't offer a good life
Among India's business elite, it has long been said — half in jest, half in resignation — that London serves as the summer capital for Indian wealth creators. It is not merely a seasonal getaway, but a refuge to experience what many describe as the basics of a functioning, civilised urban existence. Dubai has been viewed as the commercial capital — a place where access to global finance, high-quality infrastructure, distance to India and influential networks converge with a lifestyle of efficiency and comfort. In both cases, the subtext is unmissable: The quest is for order, predictability, and a life free from systemic friction.
In this context, the United Arab Emirates' recent introduction of a nomination-based Golden Visa should be attractive. At a one-time cost of AED 1,00,000 (United Arab Emirates dirham) — approximately Rs 23 lakh — eligible Indian citizens will now be able to secure lifetime residency, without the conventional requirement of purchasing expensive real estate or deploying capital in business ventures.
While the change may appear procedural, its strategic intent is unmistakable. The UAE is repositioning itself as a hub not just for capital inflows, but for globally mobile talent. It is building an ecosystem that attracts capacity and credibility, alongside wealth.
It now sits within reach of India's expanding upper-middle class — ranging from salaried professionals and entrepreneurs to digital economy founders. It is less expensive than most mid-range SUVs and luxury cars on Indian roads. In cities like Mumbai, the cost would not even secure permanent car parking in a typical apartment block.
This price point will prove particularly attractive to a rising cohort of Indian startup founders and technology professionals, especially those working at the frontiers of emerging domains such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, web3 and quantum computing. In fact, the absence of regulatory clarity or institutional understanding around such frontier sectors in India has already prompted early waves of younger talent to migrate to geographies that offer a mix of legal certainty, access to capital, and peer ecosystems.
The numbers are bearing them out with clarity. The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024 estimates that over 4,300 Indian millionaires are projected to relocate abroad this year alone, following 5,100 such moves in 2023. Data presented by India's Ministry of External Affairs in Parliament reveals that more than 1.6 million Indians have formally renounced their citizenship since 2011, with a significant surge observed in the past year. Parallel findings from Kotak Private, in collaboration with EY, reveal that nearly a quarter of India's ultra-high-net-worth individuals are actively evaluating international relocation.
Many of those choosing to establish residency overseas are the very individuals who have powered India's economic ascent — through risk-taking, innovation, and private sector investment. That they now perceive greater continuity and dignity outside the country suggests a breakdown in the incentives that once made staying worthwhile.
The UAE's approach offers a useful contrast. Through deliberate policy design, it has engineered an environment where governance is predictable, regulatory friction is low, and individual initiative is met with institutional coherence. By doing so, it has created a magnet for global professionals and entrepreneurs seeking to operate in a system that supports aspiration. This is a signal to nations that systems which offer efficiency and dignity will increasingly win the race for mobile human capital.
India must view this development as a strategic inflection point. The decision of its citizens to seek permanence abroad should not be dismissed as anecdotal, nor vilified as unpatriotic. It should be studied, understood, and addressed. If India does not urgently strengthen its capacity to offer a dignified, efficient and enabling life to its own, the silent vote of exit will only accelerate.
It will demand investment in core civic infrastructure, liveable cities, a more predictable tax and business environment, reform of public institutions, and a governing culture that respects competence and rewards initiative. It will require, above all, a shift in how the Indian state conceives of its compact with its most productive citizens — as stakeholders to retain. And if unaddressed, it could one day prove far more consequential than the numbers currently suggest.
The writer is corporate advisor and Independent Director on corporate boards. He is also the author of Family and Dhanda
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