An immigrant from Ukraine received permanent residence in Canada after 2.5 years of waiting and 2 moves
A love and immigration story with a happy ending.
On the eve of the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a couple from Nova Scotia are demonstrating that even amid such sad events, people can find happiness.
Scott Stephenson, from Dartmouth, Canada, met Anna Babkova in Ukraine in 2019, and they married in Kiev in September 2020. The couple's goal was to move to Canada, but war and a pandemic made adjustments to their plans. After two and a half years and numerous obstacles, they were finally reunited in their new home in Nova Scotia on December 28.
Two visa denials
Anna was born in Hungary, but moved to present-day Ukraine as a child. After the collapse of the USSR, her family decided to live in Russia, and growing up Anna returned to Ukraine for permanent residence in 2010. In the summer of 2021, she applied for a visitor's visa to Canada with her Russian passport, but was denied. Her husband then returned home to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and then left for Turkey with Babkova in February 2022, nine days before the Russian invasion began.
According to the UN, millions of people have fled Ukraine since the start of the conflict, and many have lost their movable and immovable property. Babkova's family also lost their home. Anna tried to use the CUAET program, but was rejected because of her Russian citizenship.
Andy Semotiuk, a second-generation immigrant and immigration lawyer, explains that Canada's efforts are focused on Ukrainian citizens, so Babkova's case didn't fit within that framework.
Happy ending
The couple spent a year in Turkey before moving to Georgia. Stephenson recalls that they were ready to despair:
"It's insane to me that a Canadian citizen who's married to someone in the middle of a war had this much trouble bringing them home safely to Canada."
Semotiuk suggests applying for family sponsorship in such complicated cases, but the couple of Stephenson and Babkova took a different route and filled out an application for family sponsorship.
Eventually, Babkova was granted a permanent resident visa in Canada for Christmas. She now admits that she has yet to realize her escape from war, but step by step she is beginning to feel safe.
