Ukrainian families question Canada's commitment as residency applications appear 'lost'

As Canada plans cuts to immigration, Ukrainian families say they're worried and "disoriented" after getting mixed messages about their permanent residency applications under a special humanitarian pathway to reunite families fleeing war.

Some applicants allege Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) "lost" their applications, and question Canada's commitment to continue supporting Ukrainians as the war rages on in Ukraine and Russia.

"It worries me very much because it's once again interruption of promises," said Eugenia Pynchuk, a Canadian citizen, as she sat next to her father. Her parents are currently in Ottawa under a visitor visa that's set to expire next year.

Pynchuk's parents left behind their dental manufacturing business in Kharkiv, and last January applied for permanent residence (PR) under a newer Ukrainian family reunification stream. The popular Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) program ended in 2023 and welcomed about 300,000 Ukrainian nationals.

The temporary PR stream aimed to "build on Canada's commitment" to reunite families and allow Ukrainians to continue building their lives here if they have family who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

That pathway opened in October 2023 and closed a year later, but data from September 2024 released in response to an access to information request shows there had only been 135 admissions that year. The department also reached 191 final decisions and had about 17,438 applications waiting to be processed.

Meanwhile, the same dataset shows other temporary streams under humanitarian and compassionate pathways — such as those for residents from Hong Kong and the Americas — had thousands of applications processed over the same period.

CBC asked IRCC for updated numbers but it did not provide them by deadline.

After this story was published Tuesday, IRCC confirmed that as of Dec. 31, it had received about 23,000 applications under this pathway and made 367 final decisions — about 1.5 per cent of its inventory.

Pynchuk said a year after applying, her parents have yet to receive an "acknowledgement of receipt" (AOR) — an official document marking the start of the process.

Pynchuk said when she checked in with IRCC throughout the year, she was sometimes told her parents' application was visible in the system, but at other times "they can't see anything at all."

"It's really difficult to pass through all fear, all stress of war, survive ... [then] arrive here and just be caught in the impasse, in limbo," Pynchuk said.

Pynchuk said her parents are eager to work in Canada but can't get a work permit yet. She said she's feeling the economic strain, paying thousands every few months for their private medical insurance.

Her father is equally frustrated.

"[It] feels like [I'm] stuck and [I] can't resolve any issues here ... can't resolve any issues in Ukraine," said Vitalii Pynchuk in Ukrainian, interpreted by his daughter. 

He said it's been painful to be unable to return to Ukraine to arrange a proper burial for his mother, who died during the war. He also worries for his business, which has been frozen since their sudden departure.

'They do not see that application in the system'

"When an applicant inquires with IRCC ... [they] responded they do not see that application in the system at all," said Oleh Zadoretskyy in Halifax. His family came to Canada under the CUAET visa in March 2023, then applied for PR under the family reunification stream as his wife's sibling is Canadian.

Zadoretskyy has been tracking the applications of dozens of families, and said they believe several were "dropped from the queue" or "lost." A group of thousands of applicants has been sharing their stories on Telegram. They've also petitioned the immigration minister, MPs and the media, to little avail.

Like the Pynchuks, Zadoretskyy said many applicants still haven't received their AORs.

"It made us feel left behind," he said.

Zadoretskyy explained that as the applicants' Ukrainian passports and Canadian work permits near expiry, they're scrambling for answers.

Because of a recent Ukrainian policy requiring men ages 25 to 60 to register with the military when accessing embassy services such as passport renewal, many fear they'll be forced back home to fight.

Lyudmyla Savyelova, a Canadian who lives near Montreal, said her sister's family applied last January and was told multiple times throughout the summer that IRCC agents couldn't find her application in the system. Her MP received the same response, and in an email, suggested they reapply.

"This shows a complete lack of organization and order in processing these files. People are disoriented," said Savyelova in an email to CBC.

"Applications are lost and disappear in the system. People are worried."

CBC has heard from about a dozen others with similar stories. Some wonder if it's due to a technical glitch, or because the program has been deprioritized.

IRCC working on 'technical glitch'

On Jan. 7, CBC asked the immigration minister's office and IRCC for an interview. Despite being granted extensions IRCC did not provide answers to questions nor updated processing numbers for the Ukrainian family reunification PR pathway by deadline.

The Minister has been clear that he is not sending anyone back to a warzone.- Minister Marc Miller's office

After this story was published Tuesday, an IRCC spokesperson confirmed there is indeed a "technical glitch" causing a "small number of applications under the pathway to not appear in the public-facing IRCC system." 

"We are working to resolve this issue," wrote the spokesperson, adding that IRCC is aware some applicants haven't received AORs, but that those applications have not been "lost."

The department says processing times for all humanitarian and compassionate pathways including the Ukrainian PR stream "are expected to grow" due to the high volume and limited admission. (IRCC's admission target for the whole category is 10,000 people in 2025, 6,900 in 2026 and 4,300 in 2027.)

IRCC confirmed the applications of the families who spoke to CBC News were received, but are still waiting to be processed.

In an email Tuesday, Immigration Minister Marc Miller's office reiterated its commitment to Ukrainians fleeing war. 

"The Minister has been clear that he is not sending anyone back to a warzone," the statement reads.

In the U.S. last week, President Joe Biden's administration extended temporary protected status for more than 100,000 Ukrainians already living there, among other nationals. This comes barely a week before president-elect Donald Trump takes office, and in anticipation of his hardline immigration policies.