Amid the ongoing tension between India and Canada after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's accusations that the Indian government was linked to the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. 

India denied the allegations by Trudeau as  "absurd" and "motivated"  and, later, announced the temporary suspension of the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to decrease its diplomatic presence in India.

IRCC  reduced its staff in India from 27 to just 5. These five IRCC employees from Canada are concentrating on duties like urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment, and managing important partners that call for a physical presence in India. It is anticipated that the reduced staffing will have an effect on processing times, which could cause delays in processing, answering questions, and issuing Indian residents' passports and visas.

Recently, Canada also suspended the temporary visa and in-person services in  Chandigarh, Bengaluru, and Mumbai and will be available only at the  Canadian High Commission in Delhi.   

When will India Start the Visa Services in Canada for the Selected Category?

India has decided to restart the visa services in Canada for specific categories starting today, Thursday, 26th October. This move partially reverses the previous decision made just over a month ago to suspend visas for Canadians. 

Only 4 of the 14 visa categories granted to Canadian nationals have been resumed as of now, as per  “the Indian High Commission in Ottawa” and its Consulates General in Toronto and Vancouver . According to a media announcement on Wednesday, these four categories are: Entry visa, Business visa, Medical visa, and Conference visa.   

This happens weeks after the announcement by  External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday that “ India-Canada relations are going through a  difficult phase ” and India will resume services “ soon ” if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.

The High Commission and Consulate General will continue to address the current emergency situation, and further decisions will be taken after continuous evaluation of the situation.

Canada PM Trudeau said that despite accusations regarding the killing of terrorists from the Khalistani movement, Canada is still dedicated to building closer ties with India. The prime minister of Canada further stated that, given India's increasing global importance, it is  "extremely important" for Canada and its allies to maintain their relations.