India vs Canada: Massive visa backlog due to diplomatic dispute, situation to normalise by…

As the ongoing Canada and India dispute slowed down the Indian visa processing, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) confirmed that it can return to normal only by early 2024.

Last week, 41 of Canada's 62 diplomats in India have been removed, along with their dependents. Following this, Canada Immigration Minister Marc Miller mentioned that the move would impact the visa processing services in the country. 

IRCC said in a statement a reduction in Canadian diplomatic staff in India may cause delays for Indian citizens in various services, such as visa processing and passport issuance. 

The statement also mentioned, “revoking diplomatic privileges and immunities is contrary to international law and this action taken by India is unreasonable and escalatory. India had accredited each of the Canadian diplomats they are now expelling, even though they were all carrying out their duties in good faith and to the greater benefit of both countries.”

However, IRCC assured that the staff in Canada will handle necessary tasks.

How large is the expected backlog?

Senior IRCC officials said, as reported by CIC news that the shortage of staff in India is likely to create a backlog of 17,500 "final decisions" across Canada's global immigration system over the next two months. 

What operations will be impacted?

Currently, all in-person services at Consulates have been paused until further notice. However, IRCC will continue to accept and process applications from India. Certain application requirements will need to be completed locally or on-site in a secure environment.

As a result, the reduction in the size of the IRCC team in India will affect service standards for residents of India. The team is being reduced from 27 to just five.

The remaining IRCC staff in India will focus on work that requires an in­-country presence such as urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment and overseeing key partners, including visa application centres, panel physicians and clinics that perform immigration medical exams. The rest of the work and staff will be reassigned across IRCC's global processing network, the CIC News report said. 

When the situation can get back to normal?

The government hopes that the visa processing in India can get back to normal only by "early 2024".

To achieve this, 22 immigration staff pulled from India are being re-established in Canada and the Philippines and getting the work done.