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It is 8:30 a.m. on a cold Friday morning in Surrey, B.C., and a queue of individuals snakes round a strip mall within the Metro Vancouver suburb.
They don’t seem to be right here for the mall’s candy store or the Filipino fusion restaurant. Most of them have been ready hours for an Indian visa on the BLS Worldwide Visa Software Centre.
Arminder Bajwa is one among tons of of Indian visa candidates who say backlogs within the system are leaving individuals like him in limbo as visa purposes have spiked amid a drop in world journey restrictions. He is been right here since 5:30 a.m. when temperatures have been close to zero.
Indian visa candidates are calling for the return of an electronic visa program that allowed on-line purposes and was in place in Canada earlier than the pandemic, in addition to extra staffing to deal with reported processing delays throughout the nation.
“I’ve spent like $8,000 on tickets,” Bajwa says from the queue, surrounded by dozens of others making an attempt to maintain heat. “For my sister’s marriage … that is my sister, and I’ve to be there as a result of that is like a practice.
“That state of affairs, inflation and all the pieces … $8,000,” he repeats.
However Bajwa’s passport has been with authorities contained in the BLS workplace for over 17 days, and he is getting determined.
One other particular person in line stated they’d been ready over two months — regardless of the Indian consulate’s stated timeline of 30 days for a visa.
Earlier than the pandemic, candidates like Bajwa had entry to an digital visa utility that was totally digital, a program that was dropped at a halt amid journey shutdowns.
And although this system has been restored to over 156 international locations, it hasn’t been restored but to Canada, regardless of India’s status as the largest source of recent Asian immigrants to Canada since 2016.
The Indian excessive commissioner-designate, Sanjay Kumar Verma, stated that visa purposes have spiked to dramatic ranges however denied widespread delays.
However a voicemail from BLS Worldwide, to which the Indian Excessive Fee has outsourced its visa purposes, says that “processing instances have been elevated.”
The corporate didn’t return a request for remark. However an acknowledgement of delays is little comfort for Bajwa and others in his state of affairs.
“The inhabitants in Surrey, Metro Vancouver, is ballooning. It is, like, growing day-to-day,” he stated. “They want extra places of work. They want extra individuals.”
Journey agent says e-visa needs to be restored
Manpreet Grewal, the supervisor of the My Dream Traveler company in Mississauga, Ont., says that BLS ought to contemplate opening extra places of work throughout Canada and Ontario.
She says she’s been listening to of delays within the system for months and has even revealed a number of TikToks for visa candidates looking for recommendation.
“As of late, there’s solely one location in Brampton for the entire GTA,” she instructed CBC Information in an interview.
At present, there are 9 BLS Worldwide places of work throughout the nation — the one centre that processes purposes for Indian visas in Canada. They’re concentrated within the largest city centres, whilst extra immigrants make their method to smaller communities. This implies those that dwell away from city centres both need to mail the BLS centres their paperwork, or make their method there in particular person.
Grewal, and the Indian Association of Tour Operators, have referred to as for the e-visa program to return. This system permits these in qualifying international locations to fill out the applying and get an digital journey authorization (ETA), earlier than having their e-visa stamped on their passport at their vacation spot.
If candidates have Canadian citizenship, even when they’re born in India, they need to get a visa to return, as India does not permit twin citizenship.
“The primary motive [for] the delay for the visas is as a result of they aren’t opening e-visas,” she stated.
Excessive commissioner cites strained assets
The excessive commissioner-designate denied there have been vital delays taking place throughout the system, although he conceded there have been large will increase in utility volumes that had tightened assets.
“If I have a look at Ottawa … October 2022 [visa] submissions as in comparison with October 2021, submissions have elevated by 605 per cent,” Verma instructed CBC Information in an interview.
He stated the comparisons have been related for Vancouver and Toronto, with respective will increase of 203 and 188 per cent since final October.
Verma inspired candidates to take a look at visa utility timelines on the fee’s web site and stated that these ready in queues at BLS places of work have been walk-ins with out appointments.
“So far as we’re involved, we’re processing the visa purposes and granting the eligible candidates’ visa a lot, a lot quicker than individuals in any other case notice,” he stated.
As for the e-visa program, Verma stated this system was being restored “nation by nation, wanting on the constraints on assets.”
“There are discussions. There are concerns. There are actions in that course. When it’s lastly determined by the 2 governments, then, after all, we’ll hear the result,” he stated.
A request for remark from Overseas Affairs Canada was not returned by deadline.
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