After seven years of procedures and $70,000 in expenses, a 57-year-old man can finally live in Quebec with the woman of his life, a 29-year-old Vietnamese woman who has obtained her permanent residence in Canada.
“They didn’t believe me. Because of the age difference, they thought it was a fake marriage,” explains the resident of Trois-Pistoles.
Harold Rioux and Nguyen Thi Linh had to work hard before Immigration Canada officials recognized their union. “While I was paying and struggling, it happened a gang illegal immigrants via Roxham Road, but that’s not a big deal,” laments the man.
Marriage in 2015
Madly in love, the couple never got discouraged. After a first contact on Facebook and months of virtual exchanges, the two met in Vietnam to get married in 2015.
Photo Louis Deschenes
The marriage contract issued in Vietnam.
From then on, the process began and a spousal sponsorship application submitted to the Canadian government was finally approved in 2018.
Meanwhile, Harold Rioux who is a seasonal worker went every year for five to six months in the Asian country to live his honeymoon.
“I think that’s really what made the difference in the decision. They saw that it was serious, ”he said.
Leek 30 months
Subsequently, a request was sent to obtain a permanent residence permit, but before the prescribed deadlines, the pandemic struck. Already there, Mr. Rioux remained for almost two and a half years in Vietnam without news from Immigration Canada.
It was finally last February that the email came in. “My spouse had to pass mandatory medical tests and finally in March everything was settled,” he says.
The lovers are now well settled in the land of Victor-Lévy Beaulieu. Nguyen Thi Linh has opened his hair and care salon at Galeries Trois-Pistoles.
She is doing very well in French and the lovebirds spin the perfect happiness.
“We have a good shell. And those who don’t understand, I tell them it’s like Céline [Dion] to be born [Angélil] concludes Harold Rioux.