With the ongoing ban on direct flights from India to Canada and Indian students taking a connecting flight to Canada, they are struggling to obtain an RT-PCR certificate from a third country.
According to the norms set by the Canadian government, that third country should be on the approved list of Canada.
Canada has further extended its ban on direct flights to and from India until September 21.
This comes at a time when many European countries including France and the United Kingdom have relaxed travel restrictions on India considering the fact that the COVID-19 situation in India is improving.
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The UK recently moved India from its 'Red'List to 'Amber'List, requiring international students to undergo a 10-day quarantine at home instead of a government-approved hotel.
Ajay Bisaria, the High Commissioner for India to Canada, had earlier met with the Toronto Representative of Air India to talk about the resumption of flights between the two countries.
Bisaria mentioned that this was an important decision to make for many travellers including students.
In a tweet, Bisaria said that the resumption of flights would be key to normalising mobility for economic recovery and for obtaining normalcy in business and education.
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A student named Arvind who has been deferring his plans to join offline classes at university of Canada mentioned that it was unfair for Canada to not recognise Indias RT-PCR test. The Indian government should take a step to resolve the same, especially when students have already received two doses of vaccine.
He further said that Canada had opened its border for the US which was reporting above 1 lakh new cases, while Indian flights have been banned.
Many students from India had to spend more than Rs.5 lakh on a trip to Canada, which usually costs less than Rs.1.5 lakh. While some had their travel sorted, many are still figuring out a way to travel to Canada given the excessive expenditure and the uncertainty.
Source: The Times of India
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