A Jamaican mother and her baby have been separated from their family life in Canada for more than eight months because of delays in obtaining the child’s Canadian citizenship certificate.
According to reports published on October 5, Meisha Smith travelled to Jamaica to give birth to her first child, Sofianne, so she could have the support of her family. The plan was for Smith, her partner Pascal Sud, and their baby to return to Montreal together about three months later. Ontario Chronicle
At the time, the expected wait for their daughter’s citizenship certificate was reportedly between four and six weeks.
But more than eight months later, the family is still waiting.
Sud has since returned to Montreal for work, while Smith and their daughter remain in Jamaica. He says the separation has been extremely difficult because he has missed months of his daughter’s early life. Ontario Chronicle
The case comes as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada faces a major backlog in applications for proof of citizenship.
In September, reported processing times for new proof-of-citizenship applications had climbed to about 33 months, compared with 25 months just one month earlier. More than 136,000 applications were reportedly waiting for a decision at that point. CIC News
A citizenship certificate is especially important for children born outside Canada because it can serve as proof of Canadian citizenship and may be needed before obtaining a Canadian passport. The federal government says processing times can vary depending on the complexity of the case, verification requirements and the number of applications already in the system. Canada
For this Jamaican-Canadian family, what was expected to be a short stay in Jamaica has now turned into months of separation.
And their situation raises a bigger question: how long should families have to remain apart while waiting for documents confirming a child’s citizenship?
The family says they are simply hoping the certificate is approved soon so they can finally reunite in Canada.
