Ongoing immigration delays leave more than a million waiting to become citizens and permanent residents
CBC
Deepak Talwar spent thousands of dollars and two years trying to get permanent residency in Canada, but he's only received boilerplate responses from the government's immigration department and he said he feels betrayed.
The Saskatoon resident is still waiting for his permanent residency (PR) application to make its way through Canada's backed-up immigration system since he last spoke to CBC News in December.
"I committed close to $550,000 to invest in Saskatchewan. I sold my properties back in India ... with a hope I'll be in Canada and it'll be worth it," Talwar said.
"I thought I'd be a Canadian citizen by December 2020, then I'd have 10 years to explore this beautiful country," said the 51-year-old. "I never expected that in the last phase of my life I'd be facing these problems."
He's not alone.
According to data received from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) department, the country had a backlog of more than 1.8 million immigration applications as of Feb. 1, including:
In the meantime, Talwar, who owns a cabinet-manufacturing business in Saskatoon, said his work permit expired, even though he applied for an extension on Nov. 2.
"Work permit extension applications take 133 days as per their website. That also expired on March 15," he said, adding his driver's license is only valid until March 31.
"I liquidated all my assets in India to come here, giving jobs to people and investing in the Canadian economy. Is this the treatment I deserve? Had I known about these delays and reality, I'd have never taken the decision."
On the East Coast, Fredericton resident Samson Okpara is also in limbo. He hasn't seen his wife and four kids in Nigeria for more than three years now.
It's been more than a year since Okpara applied for his PR, and he said he hasn't been able to speak with anyone at IRCC.
"I've missed three birthdays," he said. "What should I say when they ask: 'Daddy, when are we coming over?' I tell them, soon."
His attempts to bring his family to Canada have also been in vain. Okpara said he saw his youngest son, who was hardly a few months old when he left, walk and grow over video calls.
Okapara's work permit is about to expire and he is awaiting an extension.
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