India will resume issuing visas from October 26 to people of Indian origin, and those requiring permits to attend conferences or for business or medical reasons, the Indian High Commission in Ottawa said on Wednesday.
The decision was taken after a “considered review of the security situation that takes into account some Canadian measures in this regard”, it said in a statement.
The Indian High Commission and consulates will also address any emergency situation, according to the statement.
The move comes days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration forced the North American nation to cut its diplomatic staff in India, which External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said was triggered by concerns about interference by Canadian diplomats in his country’s internal affairs.
Nijjar, who emigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a Canadian citizen in 2015, was shot dead by two masked assailants in the car park of a Sikh temple near Vancouver in June.
An advocate for a separate Sikh state carved out of India, Nijjar was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder. Canada has called for India to cooperate in the investigation into his death.
Sikh murder row: Canada pulls 41 diplomats out of India after immunity threat
Sikh murder row: Canada pulls 41 diplomats out of India after immunity threat
New Delhi called the allegation “absurd” and retaliated with several measures, including a suspension of visas for Canadians.
Canada announced last week it had withdrawn 41 diplomats from India as a result of the row. New Delhi was about to revoke diplomatic immunity for all but 21 of Canada’s diplomats and their families, forcing Ottawa to pull out the others.
The Indian government had also advised its nationals not to travel to parts of Canada “given the increase in anti-Indian activities”.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse