'Despair, betrayal, disbelief': Ukrainians who fled to Canada face uncertainty over immigration status

'Despair, betrayal, disbelief': Ukrainians who fled to Canada face uncertainty over immigration status

Immigration Department confirms wait times could be over 50 years for some Ukrainian applicants

A Ukrainian family in Halifax says the federal government needs to provide answers to the thousands of Ukrainians who are now learning that it could be more than 50 years before their permanent residency applications are processed.

Oleh Zadoretskyy first learned of the possibility of the decades-long wait after reading a CBC News report in October.

He's part of an online community of Ukrainians who arrived using the pathway created under the humanitarian and compassionate stream to help them flee the war. He said some of his friends thought the report was so outrageous, it had to be Russian propaganda.

It wasn't until one of their lawyers filed an access-to-information request which confirmed waits could hit 55 years that reality sunk in.

"Despair, betrayal, disbelief, shock," Zadoretskyy said of the possibility.

"How is it sustainable in their view to have a 55-year waiting time? No one lives that long. No one can expect any kind of provisional temporary status for 55 years."

Zadoretskyy arrived in Halifax with his wife and two daughters in March 2023.

They're from Stryi, Ukraine, but were working in Latvia when the war broke out. They feared Russia would invade the Baltic country as well and applied to come to Canada, where Zadoretskyy's brother-in-law is a citizen.

Zadoretskyy works as a software developer while his wife has a job at a charity. Their daughters, who are now nine and 14, go to school and consider Halifax home.

"I want them to grow up in a place where they're not at risk of being bombed and they don't have to worry about being bombed," he said.

"Of all the places in the world, this country is probably going to be among the most peaceful ones."

Zadoretskyy has three years left on his current work permit, but he's more concerned about his daughters. Both of them are on visitor permits that expire in March. He applied for their renewal a year ago, but still there's no update.

Without paperwork, the girls cannot get health cards or go to school.

"I don't want Canada to give me any money or any public assistance. I don't need it, thank you very much. This is all I want," he said while holding their permits that will soon expire.

The website for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has a processing time estimator. Zadoretskyy's latest update shows it will be more than four years before his file is considered.

Every time he checks it, the number grows instead of shrinks.

The estimator shows there are about 48,900 files waiting in the same queue for processing.

Some of those waiting are clients of Elizabeth Wozniak, an immigration lawyer in Halifax.

"A lot of people feel like the rug is being pulled out from under them," she said.

"I don't think the government is going to let that many people fall completely out of status if there's no option for them to return back home or to apply for some other program here. But it's a bit of blind faith."

While they wait for updates, Wozniak is advising her clients to apply through different pathways to try to stay in Canada.

Zadoretskyy said it shouldn't come to that, noting that each application can cost thousands of dollars.

He said there should be a plan to help Ukrainians stay, especially considering Liberals were in power when the immigration pathway was announced and continue to be the governing party.

"Maybe the federal government is hoping that the war in the Ukraine is going to end and we are all going to go back or something like that. But I do not personally believe it."

In a statement, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said "Canada is regaining control of its immigration system in order to restore balance and sustainability, while continuing to meet its humanitarian commitments."

The statement said the number of Ukrainian applications outnumber the number of spots available in the immigration levels plan.

The department said the 55-year estimate for processing times represents how long someone applying today might have to wait, and it hopes to process 80 per cent of the applications within service standards.

Zadoretskyy said he has no idea what his family will do if they can't stay in Canada permanently — but waiting decades in limbo isn't an option.

"I would be 95 by then. Even if I make it until 95 by some chance, that immigration status at that age doesn't matter much anymore."

Carolyn Ray is a videojournalist who has reported out of three provinces and two territories, and is now based in Halifax. You can reach her at Carolyn.Ray@cbc.ca