India has restored e-visas for Canadian citizens across all categories starting from Wednesday.
A release issued by India’s High Commission in Ottawa on Wednesday morning stated that “All e-visa services have been restored” with effect from November 22 and will be applicable “for Canadian citizens holding regular/ordinary Canadian passports.”
“Holder of any other category of Canadian passport will need to apply for regular paper visa,” the release added.
The opening of e-visas, which can be applied for online, is the latest relaxation in visa issuance for Canadian citizens after they were temporarily suspended on September 21, in the aftermath of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of Khalistani figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.
While e-visas remained available for 165 countries, Canada was not on the list. Issuance of e-visas had only been resumed for Canadians in December last year after being suspended when the COVID-19 pandemic started in the spring of 2020.
On October 26, India had resumed visa services in four categories: entry, business, medical and conference visas.
In a release prior to that relaxation, the High Commission of India had said it, along with the Consulates General in Toronto and Vancouver “were constrained to suspend visa services temporarily because of safety and security considerations.”
The turmoil in bilateral ties that followed Trudeau’s statement led to both countries expelling a diplomat each since. In October, 41 Canadian diplomats were pulled from India after New Delhi said they would lost diplomatic immunity if they remained in station. Canada described that act as “mass expulsion” of its diplomats, while India has argued it wanted “parity” in the numbers of diplomats.
Nijjar, the secessionist group Sikhs for Justice or SFJ’s principal operative in British Columbia, was gunned down in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara that he headed in the town of Surrey in the province of British Columbia.
While India accused Nijjar of being a terrorist, the accusations against him were never tested in a Canadian court. Canada is yet to provide any evidence of New Delhi’s involvement in the killing.
