On 25 Oct, India resumed its visa services in Canada, catering to several crucial visa categories of travelers - Entry, Business, Medical, and Conference. The High Commission of India in Ottawa conducted a thorough assessment of the security situation, considered recent Canadian measures, and decided that visa services for specific categories will recommence on 26 Oct. Canada welcomed India’s step. Owing to India pressing Canada to relocate its diplomatic staff, Canada has said it will only be able to process less than 50% of the visa applications filed by Indians by 2023-end. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) can now only process 20,000 of the 38,000 pending Indian visa applications by December due to limited on-the-ground resources in India. The remaining five IRCC staff in India are now prioritizing essential tasks, including urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment, and overseeing key partners such as visa application centers, panel physicians, and immigration medical exam clinics. This limitation will result in slower overall processing times, delayed responses to inquiries, and extended wait times for visa and passport returns. IRCC is hopeful that Indian visa application processing will return to normal by early 2024, but this seems impossible. The most affected will be from Panjab. Meanwhile, Indian media is running stories with no proof that ‘visas are being extended just to support the Khalistan cause so that the momentum can gain maximum strength.’
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