Last Updated On 26 October 2023, 10:01 AM EDT (Toronto Time)
This page enlists all the India Canada latest news and updates related to the ongoing diplomatic issue between the two countries.
We (INC – Immigration News Canada) are updating this page in real-time, as the situation is unfolding with official verified updates from both countries.
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October 25 Update
The Canadian immigration minister welcomes India’s decision to resume Indian visa processing in Canada.
He said, “I think it’s a good sign. We don’t think visas should ever have been suspended in the first place. There were some people that were trying to get back to their families in India that needed urgent visa processing so I’m glad that’s up and running.”
🇨🇦🇮🇳 #GoodNews for Indians in Canada and Canadians planning to visit India – #Indian visa services in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver to resume on October 26, 2023 👇 pic.twitter.com/qS1RMddwf8
— INC – Immigration News Canada 🇨🇦 🍁 (@CanadaImmigra20) October 25, 2023
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Indian visa services to resume in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver effective October 26
Immigration Minister Marc Miller stated yesterday at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) that of the 38,000 visas for Indians that the IRCC was expected to process by December, the department will now only be able to process 20,000.
Previous Updates
October 20 – Canadian PM makes his statement in a press conference in Brampton
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a statement in response to the Indian government stripping the immunity of 41 Canadian diplomats while making an announcement in Brampton today.
He said that the Indian government is making it unbelievably difficult for life as usual to continue for millions of people in India and Canada by contravening very basic principles of diplomacy and it should concern everyone.
October 20 – Indian Government Update on the situation
🇨🇦 🇮🇳 Indian government says their implementation of #parity is fully consistent with Article 11.1 of Vienna convention 👇 https://t.co/NaiY5Ndt1r
— INC – Immigration News Canada 🇨🇦 🍁 (@CanadaImmigra20) October 20, 2023
October 19 – Federal ministers provide update on situation with India
41 Canadian diplomats and their 42 dependents have left India because the Indian government formally conveyed that their immunity will be stripped by tomorrow, October 20.
All in-person services for Canadian citizens at Chandigarh, Bangalore, and Mumbai consulates are now paused.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will be significantly reducing the number of Canadian employees in India.
However, Immigration Minister Marc Miller reassures that Canada will continue to accept and process all temporary and permanent resident applications from India.
IRCC is decreasing its Indian workforce from 27 to 5. IRCC will continue to accept and process applications from India, but longer processing periods are likely due to lower staffing levels.
The vast majority of Indian applications are already processed outside of the nation, with 89% of Indian applications processed via the global network.
The five IRCC employees based in Canada who will remain in India will focus on tasks that require an in-country presence, such as urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment, and oversight of critical partners.
Clients from India might expect some delays in the coming months. This includes overall processing times, responses to their inquiries, and receiving their visas or passports back.
October 5 Update
Most Canadian diplomats stationed outside of Delhi in India have been evacuated to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, according to verified reports.
While talks were “ongoing” about the timeline for Canadian officials to leave, “given the much higher” presence of Canadian diplomats and “their continuing interference in our internal affairs,” spokesperson Arindam Bagchi of the Indian External Affairs Ministry told reporters earlier on Thursday that India had “sought parity in their respective diplomatic presence.”
October 3 Update
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “We’re not looking to escalate; as I’ve said, we’re going to be doing the work that matters in continuing to have constructive relations with India through this extremely difficult time.”
He also said, “It is important for us to have diplomats on the ground working with the Indian government there to support Canadians and Canadian families.”
October 2 Update
As per the Financial Times article on Tuesday, India has instructed Canada to repatriate 41 Canadian diplomats from India by October 10.
India has stated that there should be 41 fewer Canadian diplomats there than there are now at 62.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said earlier that there was a “climate of violence” and an “atmosphere of intimidation” against Indian diplomats in Canada, where the presence of Sikh separatist groups has frustrated New Delhi.
PM Trudeau has continued his stand on allegations against India but has also said that they want to constructively work with the Indian government.
September 25 Update
According to reports, India will deregister more than a dozen owners of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards for spreading pro-Khalistan and anti-India propaganda.
September 24 Update
On September 24, 2023, Canada again updated its travel advisory for Canadians, asking them to exercise a high degree of caution.
September 23 Update
We are only publishing or posting official statements as well as reactions in this ongoing India-Canada diplomatic rift.
There was actually no official commentary from both sides on the weekend until September 24, 2023.
September 22 Update
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau continues his stand, asking India to work constructively to get to the bottom of this matter.
PM Trudeau said, “Canada has shared the credible allegations that I talked about on Monday with India. We did that many weeks ago and we are there to work constructively with India. We hope that they engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter.”
Morning update:
Canadian government sources are saying that Canada is weighing a response to the visa suspension by India but has made no decision yet.
It is being reported that India is making an effort to get the U.S. on its side by inviting Joe Biden to be the guest of honour at India’s Republic Day.
Joe Biden has not yet accepted that invitation, but the Financial Times has reported that Biden did raise the Nijjar murder with Indian PM Narendera Modi directly when he met with him at the G20 Summit.
CBC News reports that there were several efforts to talk to India even before Prime Minister Trudeau travelled to India and met with Modi at the G20 summit.
Canada’s national security adviser, Jody Thomas, went there for four days in August and then again a couple of days before the G20.
Canadian government sources are saying that contrary to what the Indian government is saying in public, Indian authorities have not denied these allegations in private meetings.
September 21 New Canadian Update
New Update: According to the latest report by CBC News, the Canadian government sources claim there is human and signal intelligence to back up the allegation, including messages between Indian officials and intelligence from an unnamed Five Eyes alliance member, but as of September 21, 2023, the Canadian government has not made the allegation public.
The U.S. has now said some words as a sigh of relief for Canada, urging India to cooperate with the Canadian investigation.
U.S. National Security Advisor Mr. Sullivan stated that the United States has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to work with Canada to apprehend those responsible for the gangland-style death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
He also said, “We are in constant contact with our Canadian counterparts. We are consulting with them. We support the efforts that they are undertaking in this investigation and we have also been in contact with the Indian government.”
Mr. Sullivan told reporters. “I firmly reject the idea that there is a wedge between the U.S. and Canada. We have deep concerns about the allegations and we would like to see this investigation move forward and the perpetrators held to account.”
Morning Update:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues his stand on asking India to work with them in the investigation of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s case and Indian involvement.
Trudeau reiterated his government’s claim that it has “credible” intelligence that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
PM did not provide a definite answer on whether they will also stop processing Canadian visas in India.
The Canadian government is decreasing personnel levels at its diplomatic posts in India, citing concerns for the safety of its employees as bilateral tensions remain high.
The Department of Global Affairs also stated that it expects the Indian government to continue to protect its diplomatic staff.
“In light of the current environment of heightened tensions, we are taking steps to ensure the safety of our diplomats.”
With some ambassadors receiving threats on various social media platforms, Global Affairs Canada is examining its personnel complement in India, according to Global Affairs spokesman Jean-Pierre Godbout.
“As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily adjust our staff presence in India.”
Mr. Godbout stated that Canada’s high commission, or embassy, in New Delhi, as well as Canadian consulates throughout the South Asian country, remain open.
“In the context of respect for Vienna Convention obligations, we expect India to provide for the security of our accredited diplomats and consular officers in India, just as we do for theirs here,” he said.
“Global Affairs Canada will continue to take all necessary precautions to protect the health and safety of all our personnel, including locally employed personnel, as well as our operations in India. Decisions are made based on a variety of considerations, including an employee’s professional profile and personal circumstances.”
Mr. Godbout refused to say how many Canadian employees are being reassigned from Canada’s embassies and consulates in India.
September 21 New Indian Update
The Indian High Commission and Consulate in Canada have temporarily halted processing visa applications for Canadians.
This is due to ongoing security threats being faced by Indian High Commission and Consulate in Canada, causing disruptions in normal functioning
An Indian government spokesman says this situation will be reviewed on a regular basis.
Furthermore, the Indian government has informed Canada to have parity in its mutual diplomatic presence.
The number of Canadian diplomats in India is very much higher than the number of Indian diplomats in Canada.
Details are being worked out and India expects Canada to reduce its diplomatic presence in India.
Our opinion on this latest update: It will be important to see the Canadian government’s response to India’s commentary on halting visas for Canadians.
If diplomatic presence in India is reduced, then it will definitely affect the processing of Canadian visas for Indians, including study visas, visitor visas, work visas, and permanent residency visas.
Stay tuned for the latest news and updates.
September 20 Canadian update
On September 20, Immigration Minister Marc Miller corrected his statement on date of Hardeep Singh Nijjar becoming a Canadian citizen, saying that Mr. Nijjar became a Canadian citizen on May 25, 2007.
He said, “Mr. Nijjar became a Canadian citizen on May 25, 2007, earlier than I stated below. The error in dates is my responsibility to assume. Again, nothing justifies the killing of Mr. Nijjar.”
Liberal Ministers face questions on the possible link between the Indian government and the June 2023 killing of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C.
Indian update on September 20
The Indian government issues a travel advisory for Indian nationals and Indian students in Canada, urging them to exercise the utmost caution in view of growing anti-India activities, politically-condoned hate crimes, and criminal violence in Canada.
The advisory said, “Given the deteriorating security environment in Canada, Indian students in particular are advised to exercise extreme caution and remain vigilant.”
They also asked Indian nationals and students from India in Canada to register with the High Commission of India in Ottawa or Consulates General of India in Toronto and Vancouver through their respective websites or the MADAD portal, madad.gov.in
Canadian update on September 19
On September 19, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said they were not looking to provoke or escalate the situation with India but to encourage the Indian government to cooperate in the ongoing investigation.
PM Trudeau also asked the Indian government to take things seriously in this matter.
There was an ongoing viral question by people in Canada saying that Hardeep Singh Nijjar was not a Canadian citizen.
In response to this, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller first confirmed that Hardeep Singh Nijjar became a Canadian citizen on March 3, 2015.
In an interview, Stephen Brown, CEO of the National Council for Canadian Muslims and Balpreet Singh, legal counsel for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, called on the Canadian Government to do four more things
- Immediate recall of Canada’s Ambassador
- Start the process to expel India’s ambassador to Canada
- Cease all discussions of trade negotiations with India
- Immediate banning of the RSS organization in Canada and the expulsion of all of its Agents from the country
India’s First Response and September 19 update
The Indian government released an official statement rejecting all the allegations made by the Canadian government.
Furthermore, they also asked a senior Canadian diplomat in India to leave within the next five days.
Situation Worsens on September 18
The situation caught fire when Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced that they had expelled a top Indian diplomat from Canada.
Canada also updated their travel advisory for India, asking Canadians to “exercise a high degree of caution” due to the threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country.
Previously, this issue got viral when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced possible allegations against Indian interference in Canada, with already fumes around Canada-India relations at the G20 summit.
On the first day of the House of Commons on September 18, he said that Canadian intelligence is actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Indian government and the killing of Canadian citizen and Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Diplomatic Commentary Began on September 10
The Canada-India issue of Khalistani Sikhs has always been a topic of discussion, but the situation got highlighted at the September G20 summit in India.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the issue of Indian interference in Canada, especially in relation to the killing of Sikh leaders on Canadian soil.
The situation was still good at that time, with the Canadian PM saying, “We recognize that India is an extraordinarily important economy in the world and an important partner to Canada.”
Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar?
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Sikh separatist from India who was active in the Khalistan movement. Nijjar was wanted by Indian authorities and declared a terrorist under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after allegedly plotting the murder of a Hindu priest in Punjab. On June 18, 2023, Nijjar was shot and killed in British Columbia.
How will the Canada-India issue affect immigration?
The Canada-India issue may impact immigration between the two countries. It is advisable to stay updated with the latest news and official statements from the governments involved to understand the specific effects and any changes in immigration policies or procedures.
India has already indicated that they are halting the visa processing for Canadians in Canada due to service disruption.
Canada is yet to respond to this situation, but it does not seem to be in a position to halt visas for Indians.
Is Canada suspending visas for Indians?
As of now, Canada has not suspended visas for Indians. According to Canadian government sources, Canada is considering a response to India’s visa suspension but has not yet made a decision.
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