India has decided to resume visa services for Canadians after suspending them in September amid recent frosty diplomatic relations, India’s High Commission in Ottawa announced Wednesday.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar earlier promised to reopen visa offerings if Canada addressed “security threats” that New Delhi claimed its diplomats were facing.
In Wednesday’s press release, India’s High Commission in Ottawa promised to allow Canadians to apply for entry, business, medical and conference visas “after a considered review of the security situation” found that Canada has made progress in improving “the security situation.”
Ottawa has long affirmed its commitment to the safety of foreign diplomats. India did not identify specific threats to its ambassadors.
The development comes in the weekslong fallout of what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an Indian expatriate living in suburban Vancouver. India has denied any role in the killing.
Since Trudeau leveled that accusation, the two nations have ousted each other’s top diplomats. In early October, India issued an advisory to its citizens, including students studying abroad, to exercise utmost caution when in Canada.
