India-Canada row makes students edgy

A purported video of a pro-Khalistani leader issuing threats making rounds has only added to the situation.

Hyderabad: Prospective students are bearing the brunt of the deteriorating diplomatic ties between the Canadian and the Indian governments. While several students from the city have already got admissions into different Canadian universities for the winter intake, they are now in a fix and worried about issuance of visa by the Canadian government.

Students who got admission letters from Canadian universities are now making panic calls to the overseas consultancies in the city seeking clarification about their admission and visa process.

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“We have completed admissions for January and most of the students have got their visas to travel to Canada. However, there are a few whose visa application is pending. Canada has not halted the issuance of visas as the universities depend heavily on international students. So, we have told the students that visa processing might get delayed,” an overseas consultant expert said.

Canadian universities depend heavily on international students for generating revenue with Indians constituting 40 per cent of the lot. During last year, 2.26 lakh Indian students including 20-25 per cent from the Telugu speaking States moved to Canada for their higher studies.

A purported video of a pro-Khalistani leader issuing threats making rounds has only added to the situation.

However, despite diplomatic standoff between India and Canada, the situation in civil activities has not been impacted among the Indian community, an Indian living in Vancouver said. “I spoke to a few students and Indian diaspora living in Vancouver. They told me that right now the situation is quiet. I think the situation between the two countries will calm down,” Ajaya Kumar, Director IMFS Hyderabad, said. The Canadian government has not stopped visas to Indians, he said adding, “If there is a change in the wind, prospective students are in wait and watch mode about their higher education in Canada.”