Study permits to students from India sharply drop due to dispute: Canada
Ottawa: The number of study permits Canada issued to Indian students fell sharply late last year after India ejected Canadian diplomats who would process the permits and fewer Indian students applied due to a diplomatic dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, a top Canadian official said.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller added in an interview that he believes the number of study permits to Indians is unlikely to rebound soon. Diplomatic tensions erupted after Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in June said there was evidence connecting Indian government agents to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
The tensions are likely to weigh on the numbers going forward, Miller said.
“Our relationship with India has really halved our ability to process a lot of applications from India,” Miller said.
In October, Canada was forced to pull 41 diplomats, or two-thirds of its staff, out of India on orders from New Delhi. In addition, the dispute has prompted Indian students to seek to study in other countries, a spokeswoman for the minister said.
