Travel Update: India to Restart Visa Services for Canadian Citizens

According to a press announcement from the Indian High Commission in Ottawa, the consular offices general in Toronto and Vancouver have agreed to start offering visa services again as of October 26, 2023. As per the High Commission, India would start providing entrance, business, medical, and conference visa services again. In this blog post, we’ll give you a travel update: India to Restart Visa Services for Canadian Citizens. Furthermore, if you are seeking cheap flight tickets to India from Canada, you can check out the best travel website Tripbeam.

India Will Restart Selected Visa Services in Canada

The high commission in Ottawa said on Wednesday that India would start offering certain visa services again in Canada on Thursday. This occurred just a few days after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar suggested a potential comeback contingent on improvements to diplomat safety.

After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited what he saw as solid evidence of a possible link between Indian agents and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s June murder in a Vancouver suburb, New Delhi asked Canada to reduce its diplomatic presence and halted the issuance of new visas for Canadians. Canada then decided to expel 41 diplomats.

India has blasted Trudeau for making statements without providing references or supporting documentation, and it denies any involvement in the shooting.

The high commission announced on Wednesday that, following an assessment of the security situation and consideration of recent Canadian measures—which it did not list—it had chosen to begin issuing some types of visas.

It announced that it would resume providing visas for conferences, business travel, and regular entry.

The high commissioner to Ottawa had previously stated that “it is still not ideal for all Indian diplomats and consular officials to conduct normal diplomatic and consular functions,” yet despite this, the move was conducted.

The High Commission announced in a statement on Wednesday morning that entrance, business, medical, and conference visa services will once again be provided. Visa requests for emergencies will still be handled by the high commission and consulates.

The release stated that the decision was made after a “considered examination of the safety situation that took into consideration certain recent Canadian actions in this regard”. In addition, make sure to check out Tripbeam to book flights from Quebec to India.

The Procedure for Canadian Visas Is Still the Same

Given that India is one of Canada’s main sources of students, the country cannot make any decisions that could affect the country’s student population. “Despite the diplomatic dispute between India and Canada, which the Canadian Prime Minister alluded to, the country appears to be holding no desire to elevate it to the next level, as it requires a huge workforce to thrive,” stated Manoj Sharma, co-founder of eSharp Language Academy, Sirhind (Punjab).

However, according to Amit Singh, CEO and Founder of UniScholars, recent occurrences, such as a reduction in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) staff, may make it more difficult to respond to inquiries and obtain passports or visas for Indian students.

He also mentioned that the longer processing time for new visas is causing increasing anxiety. Also, you can look into Tripbeam.com to grab the cheapest flight tickets to India from USA.

Indian Consulates in Canada Reopen After Security Reassessment

As mentioned above, this was in response to the controversy over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s assertion that India had aided in the death of terrorist and pro-Khalistani independence activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Hours after Jaishankar’s remark, India declared on Sunday that it was evaluating the security situation. The Indian High Commission in Ottawa said in a statement on Wednesday that the Indian embassies in Canada had chosen to restart operations in each of those categories. Following recent efforts taken by Canada, a thorough assessment of the safety situation led to the making of this decision.

The statement added that they will communicate further choices, if necessary, based on continuing evaluation of the circumstance.
Indian nationals are eligible for reinstatement of entry visas, as are dependent family members of those holding work permits.

After India expelled forty-one Canadian diplomats, the two countries got into yet another diplomatic disagreement at the same time that India decided to resume issuing visas.

Canada is still processing visas for Indian citizens even though its diplomatic missions in Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Bengaluru have closed. The diplomatic dispute had caused a weekly inconvenience, as Canada was issuing 15,000 visas to Indian citizens. It will be useful to ascertain whether the current staff shortfall has resulted in an apparent decrease in that proportion later on.

Apparently, according to a Canadian government official, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship (IRCC) division will only be able to manage 20,000 Indian visas this year, in contrast to the anticipated 38,000. Furthermore, if you are seeking cheap flights from Kelowna to India, make sure to look into the best online travel website Tripbeam.

Also Read: The Ultimate Guide to the Digital Nomad Visa: Everything You Should Know