Canada suspends some consulate services in India, issues travel advisory

As a fallout of the ongoing India-Canada diplomatic row, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a slowdown in Indian visa applications, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET). The development comes after Canada's foreign minister said Thursday that 41 diplomats had been removed from India after the Indian government said it would revoke their diplomatic immunity.

Visa and in-person consular services in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai have been temporarily suspended by Canada. The services will be available only at the Canadian High Commission in Delhi.

IRCC said that it would reduce its workforce in India from 27 to just 5 employees. " The 5 Canada-based IRCC staff who remain in India will focus on work that requires an in-country presence such as urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment and overseeing key partners," the IRCC said. IRCC is the department of the Government of Canada which deals with matters related to immigration to Canada, refugees, and Canadian citizenship.

 

India planned to "unethically" revoke diplomatic immunity for all but 21 of Canada's diplomats and their families by Friday, forcing Ottawa to pull out the others, Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said.

"We have facilitated their safe departure from India," Joly added. "This means that our diplomats and their families have now left."

Joly said removing diplomatic immunity is contrary to international law, and said for that reason, Canada won't retaliate. India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had previously called for a reduction in Canadian diplomats in India, saying they outnumbered India's staffing in Canada.

"Canada will continue to defend international law, which applies to all nations and will continue to engage with India," she said.

"Now more than ever we need diplomats on the ground and we need to talk to one another," Joly added.

Canada issues travel advisory

Hours after the country withdrew 41 diplomats and suspended most of its consulates in India, Canada updated the travel advisory for its citizens in India asking them to exercise a high degree of caution.

"Exercise a high degree of caution in India due to the threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country," the advisory issued by Canada stated.

Demonstrations, including anti-Canada protests, could occur and Canadians may be subjected to intimidation or harassment. In Delhi and the National Capital Region, you should keep a low profile with strangers, and not share your personal information with them," the advisory read.

Earlier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada was investigating credible allegations that the Indian government agents were involved in the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., earlier this year.

Nijjar, a Khalistani separatist, was shot dead in his truck on June 18 outside a gurdwara in Surrey. He was wanted in India for being the "mastermind" of the Khalistani Tiger Force, a designated terror group in India.

In a statement in the House of Commons in Canada's parliament, Trudeau said Canadian security agencies have been "actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar".