Indian citizens planning to travel and students starting their educational journey would experience a slower visa processing time due to the ongoing diplomatic issue between Canada and India.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is reducing its workforce in India from 27 to 5 as a result of India’s intention to unilaterally remove immunity for all but 21 Canadian diplomats and families in Delhi by October 20, 2023. Applications from India will still be accepted and processed by IRCC, although processing times are anticipated to be impacted by lower personnel numbers.
At the consulates in Chandigarh, Bangalore, and Mumbai, all in-person services for Canadian citizens have been suspended.
The majority of Indian applications are already being processed outside of India, according to the IRCC statement. With 89% of Indian applications going through the global network, the vast majority of applications from India are already handled outside of the nation. The five IRCC employees with Canadian bases who are still in India will concentrate on tasks that call for being present locally, like expedited processing, printing visas, risk assessment, and managing important partners.
Over the next few months, people from India can anticipate some delays in overall processing time, inquiries may take longer to respond to, and placing visas in passports may take longer.
Canada has a close relationship with Indian nationals and will continue to welcome them, whether they desire to travel here temporarily for a visit, to work or study, to be reunited with family, or to settle permanently.
Earlier in February 2023, IRCC expanded online application status trackers to 4 new categories of permanent residence applications. Online status trackers allow individuals to monitor their application and stay informed of any actions they need to take to keep their file moving. Express Entry applicants and their representatives can use the online application status tracker for Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program and Provincial Nominee Program applications.