Month after diplomatic slugfest, India resumes visa services in Canada for select categories
India will now restart visa services in Canada from October 26 for the following categories- Entry visa, Business visa, Medical visa and Conference visa: High Commission of India, Ottawa.
India resumes visa services in Canada for the following categories- Entry visa, Business visa, Medical visa and Conference visa: High Commission of India, Ottawa pic.twitter.com/amUGdXEUjp
— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2023
The High Commission of India, Ottawa issued a notice stating that it has now reviewed the security situation. After the review it has decided to resume visa services for four categories from October 26. The categories are:
Entry visa
Business visa
Medical visa
Conference visa
The notice further read that emergency situations will be addressed continuously by the High Commission and the Consulates General as it is being done.
Further decisions will be informed by the High Commission based on continuous evaluation of the situation.
This move can possibly reduce tensions caused by the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada.
India had suspended new visas for Canadians last month over increased diplomatic tensions. “Operational reasons” were cited for the halt in visa applications. It was the first time that India had suspended visas since the pandemic.
Tension between India and Canada escalated earlier in the month of September when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Khalistani separatist who lived in Canada. He died after being shot by unidentified assailants in June 2023. According to the Indian government, he was the leader of Khalistan Tiger Force which is a Sikh extremist militant group.
An Indian diplomat was also expelled to which India responded by expelling a senior Canadian diplomat and gave a window of 5 days to leave the country.
As Trudeau claimed that the Indian government was involved in the killing of Nijjar, the Ministry of External Affairs lashed back saying it was an ‘unsubstantiated allegation’.
