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OTTAWA — Canada has removed most of its diplomatic presence from India after New Delhi threatened to strip diplomatic immunities from them and their families, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Thursday.

Officials said the move would slow down the processing of immigration applications, and Canada has issued a travel advisory for regions of India where it says it's been forced to reduce consular staffing.

Joly said New Delhi had threatened to remove immunities starting on Friday, referring to the special rights and protections provided to diplomats while they are posted to other countries. Canada responded by directing 41 diplomats to leave, along with their 42 dependants, leaving just 21 diplomats in India.

She decried the "precedent-setting" threat as a violation that would have made it unsafe for diplomats to stay, and she said Canada would not reciprocate the move.

"A unilateral revocation of diplomatic privilege and immunities is contrary to international law," Joly told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa.

"It is a clear violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, and threatening to do so is unreasonable and escalatory."

Joly said Canada's high commission in New Delhi remains operational, but Ottawa has paused in-person services at consulates in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bangalore. 

Canadians are now urged to "exercise a high degree of caution in and around" those cities, because "consular services in-person are temporarily unavailable," according to a Thursday afternoon update to Canada's travel advice.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the lower staff levels will hamper the issuing of visas and permits.

"Later processing and slower services are expected for applications from India," he said at the same press conference.

"Clients might see that their applications take longer to process and other questions take longer to answer."

Relations with New Delhi have hit a deep freeze since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a month ago that Canadian intelligence services were investigating "a potential link" between India's government and the killing of a Sikh leader in British Columbia.

Joly would not share more information about the tenor of the current diplomatic conversation between Canada and India, or whether it is even taking place. 

"I believe so much in diplomacy that I really think that diplomacy is best when it's kept private," Joly said. 

She said that Canada is seeking full co-operation from India in an ongoing investigation into the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist leader who was gunned down outside his gurdwara in Surrey, B.C.

"We need to make sure that they first respect our national sovereignty here, and second, that they provide support. That's the only thing I can say at this point," she said.

Senior Canadian officials provided a briefing to reporters Thursday afternoon on the condition that they not be named. 

They confirmed that India was firm on the number and rank of Canadian diplomats for whom it would lift diplomatic immunity. 

India also indicated it would cancel various permits, such as those permitting spouses to work in India and allowing the use of diplomatic plates on cars, officials said.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the most affected department, the officials added. It lost 22 of its Canadian staff in India, leaving just five people still in the country. A dozen of those who left are returning to Canada, while 10 are being sent to Manila. 

The officials said the department's busiest office abroad for processing permits and visas is at the New Delhi high commission. Officials there typically issue 12,000 visas a week and receive 3,000 foreign passports each day for visas.

With the reduction in staff, officials said, it is expected there will be a backlog of approximately 17,500 final decisions across global operations by the end of the year. 

But the Immigration Department is expected to hire additional local staff in India, on top of the existing 140, and rely on employees in Canada and elsewhere to help fill the gaps. Officials noted that 89 per cent of applications received from India are already processed outside that country.

Officials said Global Affairs Canada had to recall 15 staff members who were based in India. Political counsellors and trade commissioners are still on the ground, along with consular officials who help Canadians in distress.

Employees of the Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have also departed India, officials said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2023.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press