India Suspends Visa Services for Canadians Amid Escalating Tensions

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons that his government has “credible allegations” that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh.

“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Mr Trudeau told the Canadian parliament on Monday.

according to the 2021 census, Canada’s 3.7% population originated from *India making it approximately 1.4 million people of Indian origin. India also sends the highest number of international students to Canada. In 2022, they made up 40% of total overseas students at 320,000.

This allegation triggered a diplomatic raw and the move comes a day after India issued a notice urging its citizens traveling to or living in Canada to “exercise utmost caution” given the “growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence in Canada”.

The Indian government has firmly rejected the allegation as “absurd” and “motivated”. Indian Government has suspended visa services for Canadian nationals which heightened the tension between the two countries. The message about the suspension of visas was first posted on the BLS website on Thursday.

“Important notice from Indian Mission: Due to operational reasons, with effect from 21 September 2023, Indian visa services have been suspended till further notice,”.

Effectively, this means that visas will no longer be given from the Indian mission in Canada, which mostly catered to Canadian nationals. An Indian official confirmed the suspension but refused to comment further. “The language is clear and it says what it is intended to say.” This is the first time India has suspended visas since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Canada has sent additional security around its missions and the high commission in New Delhi and consulates in Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Bengaluru.

However, India’s foreign ministry refused to comment on the matter and asked to refer to the BLS website.