KINGSTON, ON, Aug. 28, 2019 /CNW/ - Due to the Canadian government's slow process for approving Proof of Citizenship, a 3-year-old girl and her family have been separated for 22 months, with the potential for an additional 24 months apart.

The father, who is a Canadian citizen, applied for citizenship for his 3-year-old daughter before returning to Canada to sponsor his Vietnamese wife and 17-year-old stepson. However, since leaving Vietnam to initiate the sponsoring, he has only been able to visit three times for 10 days each and has not seen his family in the last 10 months.

In July, the patriarch contacted Ahmed D. Hussen, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, asking for compassion and assistance in bringing the family back together.

"The child's application has gone beyond expected processing time and has been sent to Program Support—which, according to the Office of MP Mark Gerresten, can add 24 months to the applications processing." In his letter to Hussen. "I do not wish to circumvent the process in place. However, given the circumstances, I am asking for your help."

A member of IRCC wrote back to the family earlier this month, saying we could not give a "precise timeframe for the completion of your daughter's application."

"Currently the US government is being criticized over their dealings with refugee children while the Canadian government sits back and shakes its finger, ignoring the international law that it is signatory to and the rights of a Canadian citizen." The father writes "My wish is that the IRCC do the right thing and issue a visa so my family can land together as soon as possible"

In addition, if the entire family is not able to return because of his daughters' application, her brother will also fall behind in school. And while the family is unsure of their future, he is supporting two residences and cannot afford the additional financial burden of flights and time off work to visit.

The grandmother—who has never met her granddaughter, has an inoperable tumor and is getting weaker every day.

SOURCE Daniel Davy

For further information: Media Contact: Daniel Davy, 613-328-6600