A Franco-Quebec couple had to pack up and reluctantly leave their Montreal life in front of a new Immigration Canada cul-de-sac. The government asks for papers for a child, when he was not even born yet at the time of initiating the process.
The Corsican sun shines through Stéphanie Riccini’s window. It is not, however, with joy of heart that she finds herself in French territory, the native country of her spouse. “My spouse had become a tourist. We didn’t want to be illegal in Quebec. We packed our boxes and came to France,” she says.
The couple spun perfect happiness in Montreal. She worked in the legal field, while he rolled his hump in computer science. Happiness multiplied when a child knocked on the door of their life. Little Livio was born in September 2021, in France.
Their lifestyle took a sad turn in March 2022 when the father, Olivier Riccini, began his process to obtain his permanent residence with Ottawa. His request was expressly rejected by the federal government. The reason given by Immigration Canada: “You must provide the Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) issued by the province of Quebec for Riccini, Livio [leur fils]. »
Impossible to provide such a document. Quebec requires rather that “the child [soit] added to the CSQ application of the other parent awaiting permanent residence”, according to a spokesperson for the Quebec Immigration Department, who declined the invitation of the Duty to comment on the file for reasons of confidentiality.
Then, impossible for them to add the child to the Quebec selection certificate, because he was not born when the form was completed. “My child wasn’t even creating when he received it! When the child is not born, how do we go about including it in a selection certificate? Stéphanie Riccini says indignantly.
The birth of little Livio in France certainly complicates the request. “If he had been born here, it would have taken a different tangent,” says the spokesperson for Quebec.
” How [les services à Ottawa] came to this request? The date of birth is surely there, ”wonders the mother, now resigned to living in France. “They completely missed it. »
Radio silence
Calls from both sides for explanations have yielded nothing for the couple. Stéphanie Riccini works daily with “paperwork”, and cannot believe having to consult an immigration lawyer to obtain information. “I couldn’t find any information. I couldn’t find anything that would point me to anything to do. I was a bit in the dark. Why am I being asked this? Didn’t they look at the dates and think it’s an adult child? Or is it really information that I was missing. But, I can’t find it online. »
Their attempts to talk to someone come to nothing. Automated messages respond to them both provincially and federally. “The only communication received from the immigration services is a request received twice several months apart so that we send them the CSQ of our son who is on the request. »
“Given the legislation on the protection of privacy, we cannot comment on a specific case”, has also responded to the Duty Immigration Canada.
They have indeed taken steps to have their son recognized as a Canadian citizen. The length of the delays of the ministries nevertheless led them to a dead end, from which they could only get out by leaving the country.
Stéphanie Riccini confides to having “homesickness”. She could well return to Quebec, but without her spouse and son. This attempt at immigration, which turns into emigration, breaks his heart. The couple saw themselves growing up in America, but must now mourn their project.
“I am a paralegal in Quebec. Here, I cannot necessarily work in my field right away. It hurts, seriously. I feel rejected by my country. I mustn’t think too much about it…” concludes Stéphanie Riccini, her eyes in water.