Within the months since diplomatic tensions between the 2 international locations started to escalate, the variety of Indians travelling to Canada on customer visas has recorded a marginal rise, not a decline, going by Canadian authorities information.
From January to July this yr, Canada issued 3,65,750 customer visas (V-1) to Indians. Over the identical interval final yr, the nation issued 3,45,631 customer visas to Indians, information from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveals.
Relations between the 2 international locations have confronted a setback since September final yr when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised allegations concerning the Indian authorities’s “potential” involvement within the killing of Canada-based Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India rejected these costs as being “absurd” and “motivated”.
Since then, from September to December 2023, Canada issued 1,76,372 customer visas to Indians. In distinction, information for the earlier yr reveals that from September to December 2022, the nation issued a decrease variety of 1,33,505 customer visas to Indians. From October 1, 2022, Canada had withdrawn COVID-related testing, quarantine, and isolation restrictions on travellers.
In line with the IRCC, V-1 visas are for these travelling to Canada as vacationers or visiting household or buddies, and these figures don’t embody visas issued to college students, employees, and diplomats.
Nonetheless, at the same time as customer visas stay unaffected, a big drop was observed within the variety of pupil visas throughout the identical interval. IRCC information on examine allow holders reveals that Canadian examine permits for 1,37,445 Indian college students turned efficient in 2024, from January to August. In distinction, from January to August final yr, the next variety of 1,86,970 Indian college students had been issued Canadian examine permits.
In January this yr, Canada had introduced that it will cut back worldwide pupil consumption, setting a cap on worldwide pupil purposes for 2 years. The federal government had stated then that the cap would imply that examine permits in 2024 would see a lower of 35 per cent in comparison with 2023, and that the cap wouldn’t have an effect on college students pursuing masters and doctoral levels, and current examine allow holders.
The diplomatic row between the 2 international locations has escalated this week with India ordering the expulsion of six Canadian diplomats on Monday, asserting its resolution to withdraw the Indian Excessive Commissioner to Canada and “different focused diplomats”, citing safety issues after Ottawa recognized them as “individuals of curiosity” in its investigation into Nijjar’s killing.
