India resumes visa service in Canada

In a significant development, India on October 25 resumed its visa services in Canada, catering to several crucial categories of travelers. The categories now open for visa applications include Entry visas, Business visas, Medical visas, and Conference visas.

The High Commission of India in Ottawa, Canada, said following a thorough assessment of the security situation, which also considered recent Canadian measures on this matter, it has been decided that visa services for specific categories will recommence on October 26, 2023.
Just two days ago, Dr S Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs, said that India was considering the resumption of visa services for Canadians. He emphasized that the decision would depend on the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.

"If we see progress there, I would very much like to resume the issue of visas. My hope would be that it would be something which should happen very very soon." "Some weeks ago, we stopped issuing visas in Canada because it was no longer safe for our diplomats to go to work to issue visas. So their safety and security was the primary reason we had to temporarily stop the issuance of visas," Jaishankar had said.

The High Commission of India in Ottawa, along with its Consulates General in Toronto and Vancouver, had to temporarily halt visa services in September due to safety and security concerns, and requested Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

India had dismissed Canada's concerns regarding India's involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot in June in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb.