Indians bound for Canada likely to face visa delays

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Canadian visa processing in India will take a hit with Ottawa temporarily suspending in-person consular services in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai. The same will be available only at the Canadian high commission in New Delhi. India had suspended visa processing in Canada about a month ago.

According to the travel industry, Canada and the UK were among the major destinations for Indians and this had taken visa processing to higher than pre-Covid levels, while the US still has very long interview wait periods for visitor visas and many key Schengen countries have severe appointment capping here.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the immigration unit of the Canadian government, has cautioned about delays owing to reduction of its staff strength from 27 to five. IRCC added that the majority of applications from India - 89% - are already processed outside the country. To this extent, repercussions will be mitigated.