Toronto: Less than 45 days because it normalised issuing to visas in Canada, India has expanded its footprint for such companies within the nation, including three new centres.

While the agency BLS International Services Canada Inc, to which India outsourced a number of visa companies, had 9 centres working within the nation, it has now elevated to a dozen, with the opening of services in Regina, capital of the province of Saskatchewan, Halifax, capital of Nova Scotia and the city of Mississauga within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). These new centres turned purposeful on January 1.

These centres will settle for passport, visa, Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card and attestation functions by means of appointments or walk-ins.

“In the new visa and consular service outsourcing contract, there are three new centres, which have become functional, in addition to the 9 which existed earlier. The outsourcing contract also provides for taking a decision on a later date to have a new centre at any other city in Canada, depending on stable demands for visa and consular services,” India’s High Commissioner to Sanjay Kumar Verma mentioned.

“Premium services offered by the outsourcing centres, including seasonal visit to a Canadian city, as per its terms and conditions, are also a part of the contract,” he added.

Demand for these companies have elevated together with the inhabitants of Indo-Canadians, which grew from about 1.8 million 5 years again to roughly 2.4 million now.

“With considerable increase of immigrants from India into Canada, the demand for consular services is on an increase,” Verma mentioned, including, “Similarly, demand for Indian visa is also displaying a healthy trend.”

Visa companies had been solely normalised on November 22 when India India restored e-visas for Canadian residents throughout all classes.

The opening of e-visas, which might be utilized for on-line, was the newest rest in visa issuance for Canadian residents after they had been briefly suspended on September 21, within the aftermath of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s assertion within the House of Commons that there have been “credible allegations” of a possible hyperlink between Indian brokers and the killing of Khalistani determine Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.

On October 26, India resumed visa companies in 4 classes: entry, enterprise, medical and convention visas.

In a launch previous to that rest, the High Commission of India had mentioned that it, together with the Consulates General in Toronto and Vancouver “were constrained to suspend visa services temporarily because of safety and security considerations”.