'There's nothing left to do': Soon-to-be Canadians slam long waits for citizenship oath ceremonies
CBC
When Rakhee Barua and her family's permanent residency (PR) cards expired last year, she said she didn't even consider renewing them.
After all, the Bangladesh-born family, who came to Canada in 2016, had passed their Canadian citizenship exam months earlier, and had just one last step to take before becoming full-fledged Canadian citizens: being sworn in at an oath ceremony, typically scheduled three to four months after passing the exam.
But almost a year later, Barua and her family are still waiting for an invitation to take their oath from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
"We were thinking, 'we'll get it next month, we'll get it next month, we'll get it next month,'" said Barua's husband, Jewel Debnath, of the torturous wait for the invitation.
WATCH | Couple describes tearful wait for citizenship:
The uncertainty weighs heavily on Barua, who can't travel to Bangladesh to be with her mother — who has breast cancer — due to her expired PR card and the delay on her status.
"My mother is sick. I cannot wait because I don't know what will happen."
Barua said her mother has been pleading for a visit before undergoing more treatment.
IRCC delays in scheduling the simple ceremony, which has been moved online due to COVID-19, has left thousands of Canadian hopefuls like Barua and her family in limbo — waiting months, and even years, to become citizens.
"There's nothing left to do," said a frustrated Debnath of the citizenship process.
Because her PR card has expired, Barua would not be allowed back into Canada after travelling overseas to visit her mother. Renewing the card costs $50 per person, and after looking into the process, she said the wait time is between five and six months due to the backlog at IRCC.
"Like us, many people are suffering," she said.
Oleksii Verbitskyi, a software developer from Ukraine, says his family has been waiting for more than two years for their Canadian citizenship, and he's spent 11 months of that time period waiting for a date to attend the oath ceremony.
"It's ridiculous, I have everything completed, I'm just waiting for that oath," said Verbitskyi, who came to Canada with his wife and daughter in 2016 and passed the citizenship exam in March 2021. His youngest son was born in Montreal.
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