No Canadian will be entertained for an Indian visa at any of the Indian missions across the world

The suspension of Indian visas for Canadian citizens, which the Government of India is implementing this week, prevents even physical applications from Canadian citizens to Indian missions in foreign countries from being completed. According to a source who spoke to The Hindu, the suspension of Canadians' access to Indian visas has global implications because Indian embassies outside of Canada would also no longer accept walk-in paper visa applications from Canadians as part of the suspension procedure. 

According to the individual with knowledge of the Indian visa application procedure, this is primarily because, like other visa applications, Canadians must pay a visa fee to Indian missions abroad. The usual operation of the Indian High Commission in Ottawa and other Indian missions has been hampered due to "security threats" that Indian diplomats are dealing with, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). As a result, they are "temporarily unable" to grant visas. Apart from that, the MEA representative said that the ban also applied to Canadians' e-visas.

The recent clarification, however, has widened the reach of the prohibition since no Canadian would be granted an Indian visa by any of the Indian embassies throughout the globe. The fact that the suspension is being put into effect despite what appear to be "security threats" to the country further suggests that bureaucratic and political undercurrents are driving it to be applied globally by Indian diplomatic posts. A temporary halt in the flow of Canadian passport holders to India will result from the visa restriction as India has one of the largest diplomatic networks in the world, spanning the majority of the globe. However, this ban does not apply to Canadians with valid Indian visas and OCI cards.