The Indian Mission in Canada has once again updated its Visa Application page through BLS International, reinstating a ticker that announces the temporary suspension of visa services until further notice due to operational reasons. The ticker, which briefly disappeared from the website, has since been restored. Interested visa applicants have been advised to regularly check the BLS website for updates on the situation.
The notice on the BLS International website reads, “Important notice from Indian Mission: Due to operational reasons, with effect from September 21, 2023, Indian visa services have been suspended until further notice. Please keep checking BLS website for further updates.”
BLS International Services Limited serves as an Indian outsourcing service provider for government and diplomatic missions worldwide. The company manages various services, including visas, passports, consular matters, attestation, and citizen services.
On Wednesday, Indian nationals, especially students in Canada and those planning to travel to the country, received a cautionary advisory from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). They were advised to exercise caution and avoid traveling to regions and venues in Canada that have witnessed an increase in anti-India activities.
Indian students in Canada, in particular, were urged to remain vigilant and exercise extreme caution in light of the advisory.
This updated travel advisory for students comes amidst strained relations between India and Canada. The tensions escalated after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged on Monday that the Indian government was involved in the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, designated as a terrorist in India, was fatally shot outside a Gurdwara in a parking area in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18.
During a debate in the Canadian Parliament, Trudeau claimed that his country’s national security officials had reasons to believe that “agents of the Indian government” were responsible for the killing of the Canadian citizen, who also served as the president of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.
The allegations made by the Canadian Prime Minister and foreign minister were swiftly rejected by the Ministry of External Affairs in India, which labeled the statements as absurd.
“We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister. Allegations of the Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated,” the statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs emphasized.
The evolving situation has added complexity to the diplomatic relationship between India and Canada, with the suspension of visa services being the latest development in this ongoing dispute. The Indian Mission in Canada has not provided a timeline for when visa services might be reinstated, leaving applicants and travelers in a state of uncertainty.
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