On May 3, 2021, the Canadian High Commission in India announced a closure of all but the most urgent consular services due to the emerging COVID-19 situation. Consequently, VFS centers closed for regular services indefinitely. This echoes similar measures last year when VFS centers in India were closed during the beginning of the pandemic, only to finally reopen in late November 2020. Although there is no direct instruction regarding when the centers will reopen, and thus many people are left with no concrete idea of how long they will have to wait for the processing of their applications, we do have some positive news that should at least alleviate some concern. Once the services resume, VFS centers will waive the deadlines for passport submission and biometric collection (30 days and 90 days respectively). No further action will be required from applicants, and the letters they have received will be valid despite expired dates.
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