Visa delay nixes Kol artists’ Canada performance plans
Times of India | 3 November 2024
123456 Kolkata: Around 10 days ago, singer Raghab Chattopadhyay returned to Kolkata from the United States after failing to procure his Canadian visa in a timely manner for his scheduled performance in Toronto. On Sept 17, tabla player Subhajyoti Guha, who has been flying to Canada regularly for concerts since 1999, had his visa application rejected. Other musicians and their band members are having to cancel or rejig their performances because of delayed or rejected visas. This roster encompasses known musicians like Pt Subhen Chatterjee, Srikanto Acharya, and Jayati Chakraborty. Some among them have alleged that this could be due to the deterioration of diplomatic relations between Canada and India, which have been on a downward spiral since Sept of the preceding year and have further plummeted due to a series of recent allegations.
According to Guha, his visa to Canada would earlier get approved within two weeks. "For Canada, we had to apply as non-immigrant visitors and then cite the reason for travel. I used to write that I am going for performances and attach invitation letters. For similar applications, I have visas mentioning me as ‘worker' or as ‘visitor'. Pre-Covid days, the Canadian visa approval was almost like a cakewalk for all who had solid paperwork. I got the visa approval in even 12 days. But now, even with everything, visas are getting delayed/refused," Guha said. After the pandemic, Guha first applied on Dec 25, 2023. Guha applied for a visa eyeing concerts in May and Sept. "With my kind of heavy travel history, I was still refused in Sept with the reason being I have no valid reason to travel. That is very true since by then my concert dates in Canada were over. Srikanto Acharya and Jayati Chakraborty too faced visa issues to Canada."
Chattopadhyay, who previously performed in Canada on at least three or four occasions, possessed a six-year visa to Canada that expired earlier this year. Consequently, he needed to apply for a new visa to be eligible to perform at the Toronto concert. "My biometric was completed in Kolkata, yet the visa did not arrive in time. Although my US visa was approved, allowing me to travel to the US for my concert, there was no confirmation regarding the possibility of obtaining the visa from Delhi. Eventually, I was advised to attempt the process from New York since I was already scheduled to visit there," Chattopadhyay explained.
The singer left for the US on Oct 9. "Once the US leg of our concert was over, we spent three days in a New York hotel, hoping for some good news. Finally, we decided to return home as ticket prices were going up, and there was no guarantee that we would get the visa even if we applied from New York," said Chattopadhyay, who returned to Kolkata on Oct 18, just a day before his scheduled Toronto show on Oct 19. "I was flying from John F Kennedy International Airport via Delhi to Kolkata. While waiting in transit in Delhi on the night of Oct 17, my Canadian lawyer called to inform me that the stamping for my visa was approved. By then, it was too late for me to make it to my Toronto concert," Chattopadhyay said sadly.
Pt Subhen Chatterjee has a 10-year-long Canadian visa issued in 2018. But in May this year, he faced a problem for a Canada tour when his accompanying artist didn't get the visa on time. "I know about other musicians, including Srikanto and Jayati, who have faced the problem now. I think that the worsening diplomatic ties are adding to the complications. In the process, we lost a lot of money since concerts were cancelled. The visa application fee (185 Canadian dollars) is non-refundable. This is turning into a big professional loss for us. The entire tour-planning is going haywire since we usually club US and Canada tours together."
Most travel agents agree that the situation is tricky. Sandip Chatterjee of Supremo Travels, with 19 years of experience in doing visa applications for artists in Kolkata, said, "Pre-Covid, the duration would be two months. Now, we are not getting a response even after nine months. The worst part is that Canada does not communicate if there is an issue."
Anil Punjabi of Travel Agents' Federation of India (TAFI) said, "Before the Covid-19 pandemic, an applicant could expect to get their work permit within 40 days. But after the pandemic, this duration increased to four months. Now, the processing time has further increased to six months, and in some cases, up to a year. Applicants are called for their biometric interviews within a month, raising their hopes. However, the actual stamping is taking a long time, leading to uncertainty."
Anjani Dhanuka, chairman (east) of Travel Agents' Association of India, said, "In pre-Covid days, the processing time was 15 to 20 weeks. The wait time after Covid is a minimum of 28 weeks. The wait time has not increased after relationships between the two countries became worse over allegations."