India resumes visa services for Canadians

India will resume visa services for Canadians after it was halted due to a major diplomatic row in September, the Indian High Commission in Ottawa said.

India said at the time that this step was due to “security threats” disrupting the work of its Canadian missions.

But the comment came amid a serious dispute over the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

Ottawa accused India of being behind the murder, an allegation New Delhi described as “ridiculous.”

Officials said on Wednesday that they would resume issuing some visas after reviewing the security situation at their missions, and in light of recent Canadian measures, which they did not name.

They added in a statement that “further decisions will be taken, as appropriate, based on the ongoing assessment of the situation.”

Services will reportedly resume on Thursday, and will apply to entry visas, as well as business, medical and conference visas.

The visas are for “persons of Indian origin” and their spouses and children, according to the website of the Consulate General of India in Toronto. It also applies to the immediate family of the Indian citizen.

It is unclear whether the resumption of services will apply to Canadian tourists, who will need a specific tourist visa.

Relations between India and Canada reached a historic low after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was investigating credible allegations of Indian involvement in the shooting death of Hardeep Singh Nigar, a Sikh separatist leader, in Surrey, British Columbia, in June.

Police at the time described the incident as a “targeted killing”, but no suspects have yet been identified.

Trudeau urged India to cooperate with the ongoing investigation into the murder, stressing that Canada is not looking to escalate the dispute with India.

Canada recently withdrew dozens of its diplomats from India, after the country threatened to lift their diplomatic immunity.

India said that Canada has more diplomats in Delhi than the number of Indian diplomats in Ottawa, and has demanded parity since the dispute broke out between the two countries.

But the World Affairs website, which lists the names of Indian diplomats in Ottawa, notes that they have about the same number.

Twenty-one Canadian diplomats remain in India.