Montreal refugee struggles every day apart from family, with no reunion in sight

Mohamed Nafeel has been waiting for years to be reunited with his family since fleeing Sri Lanka in 2019.

He says he and other Muslim business owners in his region were the targets of violent crimes after the Easter Sunday bombings, leading him to make the difficult choice to leave his country alone.

"I found myself facing a direct and imminent threat to my life," said Nafeel. "I needed to flee to save myself and to save my family."

He couldn't afford airline tickets to bring everyone to Canada at once. But Nafeel never thought that after four years, it could still be years more before he and his wife and three children are reunited.

Nafeel was born and raised in Kattankudy, a seaside township near the city of Batticaloa on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. He worked in the textile industry and owned children's clothing stores.

He received refugee status the same year he arrived as an asylum seeker in Canada. In October 2021, he applied for his whole family to get permanent resident status.

But his family's application still hasn't been processed.

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)'s website, the estimated processing time for his family, who fall under the category of "the dependents of protected persons" is 48 months.

Nafeel said the thought of having to wait for two years or more for their reunion is heartbreaking.

"I struggle emotionally every day without them," he said. "Coming home to an empty apartment has been the most difficult."

Nafeel said it's hard to explain to his family why it's taking so long.

"Every time I call my family, their first question is: 'When can we come to Canada?'" he said. "As I wait, I fear for their safety every day."

Federal Auditor General Karen Hogan released a report this fall that found most people applying for permanent residency in Canada are waiting a year or more to have their file processed by IRCC.

It found that privately sponsored refugees faced the longest average wait times of about three years.