Ukrainian couple's Canadian visa was supposed to take 2 weeks. 3 months on, they're still waiting
CBC
When Russia first invaded Ukraine, Oksana Grygorieva's parents, Iryna Kubatina and Leonid Kubatin, wanted to stay in Ukraine rather than flee their home in Kharkiv, a city in the northeast near the Russian border.
But, Grygorieva convinced them to leave with the promise they'd be safe in Canada and with family; they could temporarily stay with her in Toronto and would be able to spend time with their granddaughter.
But, three months after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) received their visitor visa application under an accelerated program for Ukrainians fleeing the war, Grygorieva's parents are still waiting to be accepted by Canadian officials and remain displaced — they're currently staying with volunteers in Warsaw, Poland.
The government says it tries to process applications within 14 days, but many of them are taking longer, and more than 164,000 Ukrainians are still waiting.
"I just love my parents and I want to help them, and I feel like I can't help them," said Grygorieva, who moved from Ukraine to Toronto three years ago and is a permanent resident.
She helped her parents apply for a visa through IRCC's Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) program.
The Canadian government established the temporary residence program to help bring Ukrainians and their family members to Canada "as quickly as possible" while providing them with the ability to work and study in Canada for up to three years, according to its website.
The latest figures from IRCC show that as of June 8, it has received 296,136 CUAET applications and 131,763 have been approved.
IRCC says it tries to process most CUAET applications within two weeks, but Toronto-based Ukrainian immigration lawyer Ksenia Tchern says it's taking on average four to six weeks. She says Grygorieva's parents' case of three months is unusual.
"Any extra day for them is already adding to their trauma and their fear of what's going to happen," Tchern said.
IRCC spokesperson Rémi Larivière says the CUAET program is the fastest and most efficient way for Ukrainians and their families to come to Canada.
"We recognize that many Ukrainians are eager to get their visas and come to Canada and we are working around the clock to help Ukrainians and their families get to Canada as quickly and as safely as possible," Larivière said in an email.
Larivière said IRCC is unable to comment on specific cases without written consent due to privacy legislation.
While Grygorieva desperately tries to figure out why the application is stalled, she says her parents are giving up hope of coming to Canada and are considering going back home to Kharkiv — a city where war crimes have been committed by Russia, according to Amnesty International.
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