The ongoing diplomatic dispute between Canada and India has dealt a severe blow to the processing of Indian visas. The situation has escalated to the point where Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has confirmed that normalcy may not return until early 2024.
This dispute has already had far-reaching consequences, and its impact is being felt by Indian citizens seeking visas and other consular services.
Canada Visa Updates for Indians
Last week, Canada removed 41 of its 62 diplomats stationed in India along with their dependents, a move that set the stage for the impending chaos in visa processing. Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, warned that this reduction in diplomatic personnel would affect visa services within the country.
IRCC issued a statement expressing concern over the reduced Canadian diplomatic staff in India, emphasizing that it could lead to significant delays for Indian citizens requiring various services, such as visa processing and passport issuance.
The statement went further to assert that revoking diplomatic privileges and immunities contravened international law and deemed India’s actions unreasonable and escalatory. These diplomats, it claimed, had worked in good faith for the benefit of both nations.
However, IRCC assured that the staff remaining in Canada would manage essential tasks and processes.
The expected backlog resulting from this diplomatic impasse is substantial. Senior IRCC officials have reported that the reduced staff in India is likely to create a backlog of 17,500 “final decisions” within Canada’s global immigration system over the next two months. This backlog will have serious implications for Indian citizens looking to immigrate to Canada or access consular services.
In response to the staffing shortage in India, IRCC has temporarily suspended all in-person services at Consulates until further notice. However, the organization will continue to accept and process applications from India.
Some application requirements will need to be completed locally or on-site in a secure environment. Consequently, the reduction in the IRCC team in India will inevitably affect service standards for Indian residents, with the team shrinking from 27 to just five members.
The remaining IRCC staff in India will focus on tasks that require an in-country presence, such as urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment, and the oversight of key partners, including visa application centres, panel physicians, and immigration medical exam clinics. The rest of the work and staff will be reassigned across IRCC’s global processing network.
The government’s hope is that Indian visa processing can return to normal by early 2024. To facilitate this, 22 immigration staff members previously stationed in India are being re-established in Canada and the Philippines to expedite processing.
Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, admitted that, as a result of the reduced on-the-ground resources in India, the department will only be able to process approximately half of the visa applications filed by Indians by the end of 2023.
This comes as a significant setback, considering that IRCC was initially expecting to process 38,000 visas by December, but now anticipates handling only about 20,000. This shift in processing capacity will likely result in a backlog of approximately 17,500 Indian applications at the beginning of 2024.
This diplomatic dispute was ignited by allegations made by Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, regarding the potential involvement of Indian agents in the murder of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
The Indian government vehemently denied these allegations as absurd and motivated, prompting a request for Canada to reduce its diplomatic presence in India to achieve parity in strength and rank equivalence.
As the situation unfolds, the remaining five IRCC staff members in India are focusing on essential tasks within the country, while efforts are being made to return to normal processing for Indian applications by early 2024.
In the midst of these tensions, India’s decision to suspend visa services in Canada and for Canadian citizens worldwide has been a significant move. However, it recently announced the resumption of entry, business, medical, and conference visa services after reviewing the security situation.
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