Flight of the pandemic wary

A number of urban millennials are moving abroad in the wake of multiple disastrous waves of Covid
Image used for representation purpose only
Image used for representation purpose only

As with most mothers, Purvi Arora Bakshi’s most ardent wish is to secure a future for her child—one where fresh air and access to good healthcare is a given. In October 2020, Gurugram-based Bakshi moved with her husband and daughter to Vancouver, Canada. “We wanted a better quality of life. I want my daughter to grow in a safe environment, where she can breathe clean air and play in open parks without fear. We are so glad we made the move when we did because the Canadian government takes its citizens seriously, and we get major healthcare and other benefits after paying taxes,” she says.

Much like in the Bollywood hit from the noughties, Swades, Devi Banerjee (name changed) moved back to India from the USA, with the aim of building institutions of higher education in the country. She loved her work and her students. Yet, by mid-June last year, she and her family had packed up and taken a repatriation flight to the USA. The devastation wrought by the second wave of the pandemic was responsible for this decision. Their cases are not isolated. With Covid persistently reappearing in waves as with Omicron, urban millennials are rushing to relocate abroad.

Henley & Partners, a consultancy offering relocation services to high net worth individuals, recorded a 63 percent increase in the number of Indians who showed interest in buying residency or citizenship of another country, last year. The firm opened its New Delhi office in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was in full swing. Promises of ‘Golden Visas’, offering long-term residency to investors in business and property, entice those looking to get away from Covid-induced systemic failures. Prashant Kalra, Founder and Managing Partner of Goa-based The Penthouse Boutique, a luxury realty firm, says, “We were contacted by one of Europe’s most reputed developers in March last year. It was clear then that there would be growing interest in permanent residency through real estate investments.

We began with Greece and Cyprus, and eventually added Dubai and Portugal. All these countries have some form of a residency programme as a reward for real estate investments.” According to reports, destinations like the US, UK and Dubai are aspirational but the most popular destinations for relocation are Australia, Canada, and New Zealand due to their easier norms. This trend certainly rings true in the case of students prepping for higher education. The uncertainties of the pandemic could have deterred many from applying abroad but did not.

As reported in a survey conducted by iSchoolConnect, a study abroad application platform, over 91 percent of students surveyed were keen to pursue their education abroad with the hope of settling there, displaying a huge leap in numbers from similar surveys conducted earlier. Harpriya Kaur pursued a Master’s in Fashion Design in Italy a few years ago but chose to return to her family home in Delhi in 2013 once the course ended. However, during the lockdown in 2020, she and her family collectively began thinking about relocating to Canada. With the exception of her sister who was already abroad before the pandemic, the entire family was hospitalised during the second wave.

“My sister felt traumatised since she was unable to help us in any way. Our only solace was knowing she was in a better situation, but we really wished we were with her,” says the 33-year-old. Those who moved abroad temporarily for better job prospects are keener than ever to stay on and have their families join them. Madhur Chawla works in a technology firm in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the last few years, but never intended to stay long-term.

The general laxity in the Indian response to the pandemic, however, affected his desire to return home. The 36-year-old believes the Indian bureaucratic apathy towards healthcare fell severely short of the Danish government’s proactiveness, which apart from taking strict measures, also consulted the public every time the situation changed. What remains to be seen is whether this inclination to resettle abroad catches on or stays just that—a pandemic trend.

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