As of Wednesday, India has reinstated e-visas for Canadian nationals in all categories. In a statement released on Wednesday morning, the Indian High Commission in Ottawa announced that, as of November 22, “all e-visa services have been restored” and that this would apply to “Canadian citizens holding regular/ordinary Canadian passports.”
“Holder of any other category of Canadian passport will need to apply for regular paper visa,” the statement added.
The most recent relaxation of visa issuance for citizens of Canada is the introduction of e-visas, which can be applied for online. Prior to this, on September 21, visas were temporarily suspended due to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons regarding “credible allegations” of a possible connection between Indian agents and the June 18 killing of Khalistani figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia.
Canada was not included in the list of nations where e-visas were still accessible. Only in December of last year was the e-visa program reinstated for Canadians; it had been put on hold since the COVID-19 epidemic began in the spring of 2020.
India started offering visa services again in four categories on October 26: conference, business, medical, and entrance visas. The High Commission of India and the Consulates General in Toronto and Vancouver “were constrained to suspend visa services temporarily because of safety and security considerations,” according to a release issued prior to that relaxation.
Since Trudeau’s remarks, there has been unrest in bilateral relations to the point that each nation has expelled a diplomat. 41 Canadian diplomats were removed from India in October after New Delhi threatened to revoke their diplomatic immunity if they continued to serve there. India has maintained that it desired “parity” in the number of diplomats, whereas Canada condemned that action as the “mass expulsion” of its diplomats.
