Canada India Updates: Relations between India and Canada seem to be slowly back on track. Canada has given a big update on the visa applications of Indian applicants.
Canada gives update on Indian visa applications: Canada has said that due to staff shortage, out of 38,000 visas for Indians, it will be able to process only 20,000 visa applications by the end of December this year. According to the report of CIC News, Canada’s Immigration Minister Mark Miller said that at present there are only five people to look after the visa work in India. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which processes visa applications, has reduced its headcount from 27 to five this month.
Backlog will be cleared initially
IRCC expects there to be approximately 17,500 Indian applications in the backlog by the beginning of 2024. However, the country’s top immigration department officials said the government is working to return to normal processing for Indian applications by early 2024. IRCC said this could be achieved as the staff evacuated from India are in Canada and the Philippines.
‘Doing work from outside the country’
According to CIC, IRCC is trying to reduce the workload of the Visa Application Center (VAC). IRCC had said in a statement issued last week that most of the applications from India are already processed outside the country. 89 percent of India’s applications are processed through the global network.
‘Only 5 employees left in India’
IRCC said, ‘Five Canada-based IRCC employees based in India will focus on work that requires presence in the country such as urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment and supervision of key partners. The department aims to process 80 percent of all applications, which varies depending on the type of application. An application goes into backlog when it has not been processed within the service standards.
India also restarted visa service
IRCC has temporarily suspended all services at consulates in India. However, applications from India will still be accepted and processed. Meanwhile, India partially resumed visa services in Canada from October 26. They were closed due to the deterioration in diplomatic relations. The Indian High Commission said in a statement, ‘Services for entry, business, medical and event visas will resume. Further decisions will be taken based on continuous assessment of the situation.
