“One lakh applications pending for Canada”: BJP MP raises the issue of student visa delays in Lok Sabha.

Lok Sabha member Gopal Shetty on Tuesday urged the government to take up the issue of pending visa applications, particularly of students, with the embassies of foreign countries.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Shetty said several students who had returned to India during the COVID pandemic and the Ukraine war were finding it difficult to get visas to pursue studies abroad.abroad. He said that while some students had managed to get their visas, they were stuck in India as they could not afford to pay the high airfares.

“Several students have paid Rs 10-15 lakh as fees and are finding it difficult to get visas as several embassies are still closed. The problem is particularly acute with Canada, where more than one lakh visa applications are pending, ” Shetty said.

Shetty, a member from Mumbai North, said that the government should take up the issue with the relevant countries and also issue a clarification. He explained that the problem was with the embassies and not with the External Affairs Ministry.