India to resume visa services for certain categories of Canadian citizens

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Oct 25, 2023: India has decided to resume visa services for some Canadian citizens in some categories -- Entry Visa, Business Visa, Medical Visa and Conference Visa. The development comes days after India suspended visa services to Canadians amid a strain in the diplomatic ties between India and Canada.

 

In a notification on Wednesday, the Indian High Commission of India in Canada wrote, "After a considered review of the security situation that takes into account some recent Canadian measures in this regard, it has been decided to resume visa services."

The resumption of visa services will come into effect starting Thursday, October 26.

Earlier on Sunday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that if Indian diplomats are provided safety in Canada as per the Vienna Convention, he would like "very much to resume the issuing of visas".

He said India stopped issuing visas in Canada because it was no longer safe for our diplomats to go to work to issue visas.

India suspended issuing new visas for Canadians in September after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had "credible" allegations about the potential involvement of Indian government agents in Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder.

Trudeau claimed that his country’s national security officials had reasons to believe that "agents of the Indian government" carried out the killing. Replying to the claims made by Canada, India termed them "absurd" and "motivated".

In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “We have seen and rejected the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister.”

Indian visa services for Canadians were suspended on September 21.

Courtesy: India Today