A protester races his fist as he speaks, during a protest outside India’s consulate, a week after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the prospect of New Delhi’s involvement in the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 25, 2023.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
When Dilpreet Singh Chandhoke applied for a Canadian visa in April this year, he hoped to visit his sister’s family in Canada within a few days. His brother-in-law had been diagnosed with a terminal ailment, and as her eldest brother, he wanted to be at his sister’s side in her family’s hour of crisis.
Based in Dubai, the 42-year-old had not faced any problems travelling for work. However, the days of waiting turned into weeks and then months, until Canadian authorities responded on October 12, rejecting his visa application, saying, “The purpose of your visit to Canada is not consistent with a temporary stay given the details you have provided in your application.”
“As a 42-year old Indian passport holder who has his family in Delhi and Dubai, I have no desire to shift all the way to Canada. My sole purpose is to be with my sister who is facing a heartbreaking situation because of my brother in law’s ailment. This rejection is totally irrational,” Mr. Chandhoke told The Hindu. He is determined to appeal the rejection, arguing that his brother-in-law may not live long.
‘Row hurts common people’
With Canada stopping “walk-in” services at its consulates in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Chandigarh, in response to India’s demand for a reduction in the number of Canadian diplomats stationed in the country, Mr. Chandhoke’s plight may soon be witnessed by more visa applicants across the country.
Mr. Chandhoke feels that his visa application was a collateral victim of the ongoing spat between India and Canada, which erupted after Canada accused Indian agents of being behind the June 18 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Khalistan Tiger Force chief, in Surrey, British Columbia. India has already stopped providing visa services to Canadian citizens at its missions across the world, and the Canadian move is now aimed at hurting Indians, he said. “That is the only reason that has hurt my visa prospects. Why should we, the common people, suffer if governments of two countries are caught up in a quarrel?” he asked.
However, even without a diplomatic row to complicate matters, many Indian visa seekers have been hit hard by long application processes and unexplained rejections.
Missed opportunities
Faizan Mohammed of Khajuraho and his friend Anurag Kumar of Delhi, both tourism consultants, had recently applied for Spanish visas, in hopes of studying the Spanish language in Madrid. “My clients in Khajuraho are mostly from Spain and Italy and that is why I had applied for a higher degree at N L College in Madrid. We had shown all the necessary documents including financial viability, but finally the visa was denied after a month-long waiting period,” Mr. Mohammed said. As he was required to submit his Indian passport to the Spanish embassy for the month-long visa process, he missed out on applying for another opportunity in Oman, he complained.
The tourist consultants say they had also paid 2,600 euros each for the course, even before getting their visas. “We have paid our fees and can’t join the course that we were planning to complete. In addition, the N L College is not returning our money which they are rule-bound to return within 20 days,” said Mr. Kumar.
Several embassies, including the U.S. embassy, have claimed that they have taken strong measures to remedy the backlog and make visa services effective and quick, but human experiences on the ground show that much remains to be implemented. As visas are documents granted by a sovereign state to foreign citizens to facilitate time-bound travel to the host country, they are within their right to reject applications. Yet, such applications also carry the dreams and aspirations of applicants, and a visa denial often leaves a traumatic imprint.
