Canadian immigration āa constant battleā for Manitoba man and restaurants ā Winnipeg
The future is unknown for Dhruv Patel.
Story continues below advertisement
āItās been a constant battle with (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) in regards to obtaining some type of insight as to where this application is heading or what agents are reviewing,ā he said.
He has been trying to get his wife to Winnipeg on a spousal sponsorship for 15 months now, but said there has been no progress and very limited communication from the federal government.
āIt is really tough to stay here,ā he said. āThe long-distance relationship, the costs associated with going back homeā¦ it is not feasible.ā
Endless challenges seem to be surfacing for immigrants to Canada, like Patelās spouse.
This has been most recently experienced in the countryās rocky relationship with India, and the federal announcement promising to reduce acceptance of new permanent residents by 21 per cent by next year.
On Oct. 24, Marc Miller, Canadaās immigration minster defended the reduction, saying, āThese changes will make immigration work for our country so that everyone has access to the quality jobs, homes and supports they need to thrive. We have listened to Canadians, and we will continue to protect the integrity of our system and grow our population responsibly.ā
Tony Siwicki, owner of Silver Heights Restaurant & Lounge, said many of his staff are subject to the woes Patel has been facing in immigration processes.
Story continues below advertisement
āI have two kitchen crew ā two girls from India ā that have been with me since 2021. They were now forced to be off work since July, and it is now almost November, and they still have no idea when theyāre allowed to return to work,ā he said.
Get daily National news
Get the dayās top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
āBoth have rent, both have bills to pay, and both canāt make any money. Iām always asking them, āWhen can you come back?ā and they still say, āItās still in processing,āā referring to their permanent residency (PR) application.
He said he also has a Mexican server that is out of work due to an application being processed, and two Nigerians who are trying to get their proof of residency.
āTheyāve been here for a long time, and itās any day now that they might be told that they canāt be working anymore,ā he said.
Shaun Jeffrey, CEO of the Manitoba Food and Restaurants Association, noted itās a hit the teetering industry just canāt afford.
āThe culinary in industry in those rural parts of Manitoba are really, really impacted and require, you know, temporary foreign workers to maintain their business,ā he said. āThis was a decision that was made without any consultationā¦ and unfortunately those decisions make significant challenges in our industry and are going to cause some businesses to cease to exist.ā
Trending Now
Canada Post workers could strike ahead of busy holiday season
Ontarians to get $200 rebate cheque next year, Ford announces
Story continues below advertisement
But Patel said itās also a hit many who want to see their loved ones canāt dig out of their wallets.
āThereās people out there who have been avoided for two and a half years, three years (and) there is no sign of that permanent residence application moving. Out of necessity, what a lot of individuals do, is they withdraw the complete application, lose out on the funds, and then resubmit a fresh application and go from there. And for some it works, and for some it doesnāt work,ā he said.
āHow many people are going to have the money to apply for a (Temporary Resident Visa) or spousal sponsorship multiple times? Theyāre not because theyāre not $100 or $200. Theyāre thousands of dollars.ā
With his wifeās PR application sitting the way it is, he said it may come down to leaving the country altogether. The uncertainty is just too high.
āUp until maybe two years ago, I never thought that was a possibility,ā he said. āThe peopleās applications that are being approved, congratulations. Good on you guys. But itās like a lucky draw. Itās like you either hit the bingo or you donāt,ā
But he said he wonāt easily give up trying to reunite with his wife in Canada, where he has been for the past 26 years.
2:04
Growing the population
#Canadian #immigration #constant #battle #Manitoba #man #restaurants #Winnipeg