Permanent residents feel “held hostage” as they have been waiting for their permanent residence card for months. This move, which is meant to feel just like “a piece of plastic,” as one put it, comes on top of “chain delays” and radio silence from the German Migration Ministry.

More than a dozen permanent residents said so Have to that they have been waiting for this proof of status for 4 to 12 months. These delays are having a real impact on their lives, they denounce.

For Mohamed Amine Daoud, this waiting meant the failure of a romantic relationship. He arrived in 2013 to pursue a master’s degree in aerospace engineering and lived on several different permits before being granted permanent residency in February 2021 after nearly two years of treatment.

“I thought the trip was coming to an end, but I’ve been waiting for the card for a year now,” he says, discouraged. A first card would have been sent to him on August 29, 2021, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC). “It’s February now and still nothing. It’s beyond my comprehension,” Mr Daoud slips. Even his girlfriend back home “can’t understand” why he hasn’t returned to her for more than two years, he said.

Bruno also says that he lost his grandfather after having to postpone a trip to wait for this card. “I didn’t have a chance to see him one last time,” says the man, who prefers to keep his real name a secret to protect his family’s privacy.

Without that little official rectangle, these new permanent residents fear they won’t be able to return to Canada.

Nathalie Dupouy has not seen her family for four years and has repeatedly postponed visits to France to await immigration papers. They and his wife have been waiting for their card for seven months: “We are showing that we want to live here. I work in a hospital, I haven’t stopped for a minute in two years, I pay my taxes. Where did our file fall behind a piece of furniture? »

The only other option is to apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) in the country where they are located. But most people say that this path is too uncertain and too long. You must send an original passport to a Canadian consular post and wait at least 10 days before receiving this title.

The majority of respondents have waited nearly two years to obtain permanent residency and have therefore been burned by the IRCC’s “erratic” and “unpredictable” bureaucracy, like Ms^me dupoy

“It’s just a matter of printing a piece of plastic, no more background checks have to be carried out,” agrees Cédric Moula. He explains this renewed delay “very badly”: “We are traumatized by the delays in the chain and we have the impression that there will never be an end. »

No explanation

In fact, this card should only be a rather mechanical formality, since they have already received a confirmation of residence.

In late May 2021, IRCC allowed new permanent residents to submit their photos electronically, a tool meant to “speed up” ID card issuance, a spokeswoman said. Have to last July.

Eight months after the portal went online, the situation is far from resolved, as these field reports show. The ministry was unable to answer our questions at the time of writing this article. It would take an average of 89 days to receive this proof of status, according to its website20 days longer than last summer.

It is also impossible for these new permanent residents to know if their file is making progress or if the photos sent are valid, adding to the uncertainty. “When we try to call, they hang up after an hour of waiting,” reports M^me dupoy

Mr Moula has resigned himself to making a request for information as nothing is posted on his IRCC online section. The only proof that his photos “didn’t fall into the abyss” is a registered Canada Post acknowledgment of receipt, he ironically points out.

In a May report, the Information Commissioner concluded that such requests have indeed increased “dramatically” as “requesters are unable to obtain the information they seek otherwise”.

Laetitia Batut got “a human on the phone” at IRCC after days of tireless calling. “I was told it was printer issues that were causing this delay for my file,” she says.

An excuse that, in his eyes, is “not valid”: “They just have to buy printers. We feel like we’re being held hostage and helpless during this time,” says M^me Hit.

Her husband received his card in two weeks, but she has been waiting for almost five months. Another element that appears “completely random,” she says. The same applies to the family of engineer Samia Tlili and that of Roger Pereira, where similar disparities occur in the same family unit.

“Did someone stop in the middle of our fall?” We don’t understand how that’s possible,” Bruno slips too.

Last week, Federal Immigration Secretary Sean Fraser confirmed $85 million in investments to hire more staff to “return to processing service standards,” including for permanent residence cards.

“It’s very difficult mentally, we feel abandoned while we’re waiting,” Mohamed Amine Daoud replies.

To see in the video