A B.C. mother whose toddler is "stranded" in South Africa says bureaucrats at Citizenship and Immigration Canada are tearing her family apart.

She's not going to be taking anyone's job, she's not a threat to society. She just wants to be with her mom. - Robert Spooner, dad of toddler in South Africa

Susan Standfield said her two-year-old daughter, Meg, has been denied entry to Canada because Canadian officials in Pretoria gave her the wrong advice — telling her to apply for a visitor visa — and her husband, daughter and son are stuck in limbo.

"It's really painful and I wake up in the middle of the night crying, and I feel like I'm failing my kids," said Standfield.

Standfield, who was born in Canada, has been waiting eight weeks for the rest of her family to join her at their new home in Gibsons, B.C.

She'd been running a frozen smoothie store in South Africa, but said frequent power outages, a collapsing currency, violence and unemployment concerns (her husband wasn't working) wore on the family. Standfield was offered a job as a brand consultant at a communications firm in B.C., and made the decision to move.

"I was so excited for my kids to come and grow up here," she said.

The family's planned move back to B.C. was halted when Citizen and Immigration Canada (CIC) denied Meg, who was born in South Africa, a temporary resident visa. Susan Standfield says her family is being torn apart because Canadian officials gave her the wrong advice on what paperwork to file for her daughter to enter the country. (CBC News)

"CIC informed the family that a temporary visa was not appropriate since the child has a claim to Canadian citizenship," said CIC.

Citizenship and immigration officials said Standfield should have applied for proof of citizenship and then a Canadian passport instead.

"We applied for an emergency baby travel passport and citizenship application, but were told since Meg turned two at that time it became invalid, and the visa route was our only option for immediate travel," she said.

The department said people with a citizenship claim can only get a temporary resident visa if they can prove they would suffer hardship without one. But Standfield argues being separated from her family is a hardship.

Her husband, Robert Spooner, said he doesn't understand why Canada won't issue a visa for his daughter.

"She's not going to be taking anyone's job, she's not a threat to society," he said. "She just wants to be with her mom."

Standfield said she wants CIC to fast-track her daughter's paperwork so she can be with her soon.

"I've got to get her here and I want her here by the end of the month," said Standfield.