India-born migrants with Portuguese ancestry are among the largest groups to migrate to the UK in recent times, according to new report.
These Indians are from Goa, which was a colony of Portugal dating back to the 16th century and was ruled by the European nation for nearly 450 years before it officially became a part of India in 1961.
Portugal recognises Goans born before 1961 - as well as their children and grandchildren - as Portuguese citizens, which in turn entitles them to a European passport as part of the European Union (EU).
"The only group larger than 10,000 with a common EU country of citizenship and a common non-EU country of birth is India-born Portuguese citizens. This group accounted for just over 20,000 UK residents in the first quarter of 2015," the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford found in a new report titled 'Recent trends in EU nationals born inside and outside the EU'.
"From a legal perspective, no distinctions can be made between these different routes to citizenship. In an EU with free movement, citizenship policies of other countries may be of interest to other EU member states, since citizenship in one country gives people the right to free movement to others," the report said.
"Migration scholars often rely on country of birth to define where migrants are 'from', but the reality is more complicated and European citizens themselves have diverse origins," it added.
According to data from the Election Commission of India, 11,500 Goans surrendered their Indian passports in favour of Portuguese citizenship in the five years between January 31, 2008 and January 31, 2013.
This figure is now estimated to be closer to 24,000, many of whom have settled in the UK.
