Ukrainian mother given Canada work visa still awaiting approval for 6-year-old son

Iryna Mishyna was granted a temporary visa to work in Canada while she seeks refuge from the war, but her son Nikita is still waiting for a response.

Since packing up a small suitcase and leaving her home in Ukraine with her six-year-old son, Iryna Mishyna has found solace in helping other families in similar situations find some stability.

Her own situation, however, is still less than certain.

The 35-year-old was granted a temporary visa to work in Canada while she seeks refuge from the war, but her son Nikita is one of nearly 279,000 Ukrainians whose applications are still waiting for a response.

“I want to take a (Canadian) visa for my son because for him, it’s a very good opportunity, a very good chance,” Mishyna said in an interview in Warsaw, where she has lived since leaving Ukraine.

She applied in July and her visa came through in September, but after waiting six months she has heard no word from the Canadian government about her son.

“I asked, but they just told me ‘Wait,”’ she said.

And so every day she co-ordinates volunteers in an airy room on the second floor of Warsaw’s central train station, where a dozen small wooden benches are laid with thin foam mats, blankets, and star-shaped pillows so Ukrainian children can sleep after fleeing their home country.

Between 20 and 60 people use the makeshift shelter some nights, Mishyna said while sitting on one of the improvised beds.