Indian visa suspension for Canadians done as per official order: BLS International

Private agency BLS International has suspended processing Indian visas for Canadian travellers, as per official requirement. A notice on the BLS website said visas have been suspended from 21 September 2023.

The private agency responsible for processing Indian visas for Canadian travellers has said that it has carried a notice about suspension of Indian visas for Canadians as per official requirement. Ministry of External Affairs is yet to officially announce the suspension though sources have hinted that a formal announcement could be made in this regard.

“We are the wrong party to answer the query about suspension of visas as we have done what was asked of us,” said a source over telephone from the BLS International that processes Indian visas for Canadian citizens. The source also informed that the decision to suspend visas is taken generally at the government level which is then implemented at the level of the private agencies like BLS International that handle Indian visas for foreigners.

Earlier, a notice on the BLS International’s website flashed saying “Important notice from Indian mission: Due to Operational reasons, with effect from 21 September 2023 Indian visa services have been suspended till further notice.” The notice however went missing briefly adding to confusion about the precise status. However, the notice was back on the blsindia-canada.com website sometime later.

BLS is a leading visa processing company with dozens countries under its coverage. 

Earlier a source at the High Commission of Canada informed that they were not aware of “any formal suspension” but maintained that that the visa policy is the “prerogative and sole jurisdiction” of the High Commission of India in Ottawa and Ministry of External Affairs here.