Canadian visa woes for wife stranded in Mexico
October 08 2010 by Helen Johnson
Canada immigration troubles - Gerhard Wiebe
A couple who live in Leaminton, Canada, have experienced Canadian visa problems after flying to Mexico after a death in the family.
The married couple, Maria Eugenia Vazquez Cortes and Gerhard Wiebe, flew to Mexico after Cortes’s mother died. However, on their return to Canada on 1 July 2010, she was told she would not be permitted back into Canada.
Cortes originally arrived in the country on a visitor’s visa for Canada three years ago and shortly afterwards she met Wiebe. The couple married soon after and she applied for permanent residency. As she waited for her visa to arrive, she renewed her visitors visa every six months to allow her to remain living in Canada legally.
Before flying to Mexico, the couple checked with the Canada immigration department to ensure she would be let back in the country.
Wiebe explained, "They said there's no problem because I have a sponsorship application."
However, the Canada immigration advice was wrong, as Cortes was told she was not allowed into Canada when they arrived back home. Wiebe says the Canadian immigration officer said he did not believe she would return home if her application was not accepted.
Now, unless there is some federal intervention, Cortes will have to start a whole new permanent residency application which could take years to go through the Canadian immigration system again.
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