Sponsorship request | A couple receives a refusal after years of efforts

Roxane Mbikay is not kind to Immigration Canada. “They botched the file, she says, in an interview with The Press. They really screwed him up. »

This file is that of the sponsorship of her husband’s parents. The document she sent us by e-mail, describing all the steps taken over the past five years, is 35 pages long.

Roxane Mbikay was born in Montreal. Her husband, Kally Kalambay Ilunga, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arrived in Quebec in 2001 as an asylum seeker. He was granted refugee status, then permanent residency and Canadian citizenship. Both, married and parents of four children, work for the federal government. M^me Mbikay is with the Department of Justice and her husband is with Environment Canada.

In 2018, Kally Kalambay Ilunga took steps with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to sponsor her father and mother-in-law, together with his wife.

1^er August 2018, IRCC invites him to participate in the Parents and Grandparents Program. He completes the application and pays the requested fees.

On January 4, 2019, he is told that the request is accepted. His father and stepmother will have to provide their biometric data and undergo a medical examination in the coming months.

On December 23, he obtained for each of them the Quebec Selection Certificate, a prerequisite for permanent residence in Quebec.

From January 8 to May 20, Mr. Kalambay Ilunga and his wife relaunch IRCC and the Dakar office, which is handling the file in Africa.

Complications

Meanwhile, the pandemic hits. Mr. Kalambay Ilunga’s father died on June 8. The cause of death? The couple ignores him.

Things get complicated later. Mr. Kalambay Ilunga’s father was the principal applicant. His wife, who is not his biological mother, was considered “dependent”.

In July, the couple informed IRCC of the death of Mr. Kalambay Ilunga’s father and stated that they wanted to pursue the process of sponsoring his mother-in-law.

On November 5, he receives an email from the Dakar office. “We are asked for my mother-in-law’s death certificate,” says Ms.^me Mbikay. Mr. Kalambay Ilunga replies that it was his father who died, not his mother-in-law…

On December 5, a letter from IRCC confirms that her mother-in-law is eligible for the program.

In 2021, he writes to his MP, to the federal Minister of Immigration and to IRCC to have some news. He even makes requests under the Access to Information Act.

Bad surprise

On June 10, 2021, Mr. Kalambay Ilunga discovers that the Dakar office sent him an email to the wrong address, on May 18, to inform him that his mother-in-law is no longer eligible, following the death of his father, because she is not his biological mother.

The email, accessed by The Press, states: “Before we make a final decision, you have the opportunity to explain to us why your request should not be refused. You must send any information and/or documents that you believe will resolve any concerns regarding your application for permanent residence. »

On July 15, Mr. Kalambay Ilunga sends a “justifying” letter to IRCC and remains without news for almost a year.

On June 6, 2022, IRCC wrote to him to inform him that his mother-in-law was to undergo a medical examination in Kinshasa, capital of the DRC. He then understands that his request is being processed. “If the decision had been final, they would never have asked us to go ahead with the medical examination,” he says.

On August 19, he is asked to send the Quebec Selection Certificate, the list of trips made over the past 10 years by his mother-in-law, biometric data and passport. The medical examination takes place on October 17.

On November 18, IRCC confirms having received all the documents.

Then on 1^er February 2023, he learns that the request is refused. The reason ? Maguy Ngandu Ngalula is not his biological mother.

“Normally IRCC doesn’t ask someone to go for a medical and say no at the end. But the problem is that the file goes from hand to hand, from one person to another, in different offices, in Mississauga, Montreal, Vancouver, Dakar,” adds his wife.

Dispute, in vain

The couple challenged the decision in the Court of Appeal, but their request was refused because the appeal period, which is 30 days from the date of the decision, has passed, and Maguy Ngandu Ngalula is not the biological mother of Mr. Kalambay Ilunga.

The Court of Appeal took into account the email of May 18, 2021 rather than the decision of 1^er February 2023. “The refusal was never submitted on May 18 [2021], insists Roxane Mbikay. They continued the file when they then sent the letters for the biometric data and the medical examination. »

As a last resort, the couple applied for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds, but that application was also denied.