India to resume visa services in Canada from October 26

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, October 25

Faced with mounting demands to enable travel from Canada, India on Wednesday announced the resumption of several types of visa services from its High Commission in Ottawa and other consulates in the country from October 26.

The Government said the resumption of visa services was taken after Canada put some measures in place that has assured Indian diplomats of their safety and security.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while speaking at a seminar on Sunday had held out the hold of resuming visa services in Canada “very, very soon”, provided India is convinced that its diplomats in Canada will come to no harm.

The types of visa services that will be resumed relate to entry, business, medical and conferences. In addition, emergency situations will also be dealt with by the High Commission and the consulates.

However, discord still remains between India and Canada with Jaishankar alleging that 41 Canadian diplomats posted in India were expelled because of their interference in India’s domestic affairs.

This was anticipated to slow down the normalisation of visa issuance by both Canada and India for some time, sources had said.

Some of the impending revelations relate to Canadian diplomats issuing travel documents to certain elements in India.

The move may encourage Canada to lift the suspension of in-person services at its consulates in India. Visa clearance for Indian students will in particular be hit for those outside the NCR.