India has brought back e-visa services for citizens of Canada again

New Delhi: Following When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made unfounded claims of a “possible” Indian connection in the murder of pro-Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, relations between the two nations deteriorated, and on September 21 visas to Canada were stopped. The diplomatic relations between the two countries have worsened as a result of this occurrence. It has taken around two months for India to start offering e-visas to citizens of Canada.

The services for all visa categories have been restored a few hours before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in the virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit.

India began providing visa services for Canadian people in several categories earlier in October; however, visas for tourists, jobs, students, filmmakers, missionaries, and journalists were not included in this list.

This would be the first time Trudeau would come face to face with Prime Minister Modi, albeit virtually, after ties between India and Canada took a nosedive following the Trudeau’s allegations against Indian government.

Trudeau claimed in the House of Commons that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of Nijjar, a charge dismissed by New Delhi as “absurd” and “motivated”.

On November 12, Trudeau reaffirmed his allegation of Indian involvement in Nijjar’s killing and accused New Delhi of violating the Vienna Convention by “kicking out” dozens of diplomats in a sharp escalation of a weeks-long crisis.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar recently during Diwali in November, asserted that India is not ruling out an investigation into Canada’s accusation, but highlighted that Canada is yet to provide evidence to back its claim.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data shows that a total of 226,450 Indian student visas were awarded in 2022. The research states that a considerable number of these students—roughly 1.36 lakh—came from Punjab and were enrolled in a variety of programs that had an average length of two to three years. The amount might approach $20 billion if we take into account Indian students who study in Canada for higher education. The magnitude of the annual inflow of funds from India highlights the significance of the relationship between Canada and India.  This enormous sum benefits the Canadian economy. It would be clear from the scenario how important our ties are in this regard.