Immigration paperwork interrupts 'happily ever after' for Harvey couple

Love knows no bounds exceptmaybe if Citizenship and Immigration Canada is involved.

Matthew Clark has been trying to get a work permit and permanent resident status since he and his wife, Katherine, were marriedin 2015.

But instead of making progress down that road,Clark is about to fly home to the United Kingdom because, he says, of a glitch in his paperwork.

And there'sno guarantee the Harvey resident will be able to return to Canada.

Clark, a former physical educationteacher, started running into obstacles last year when his application for a work permit was returned to him. He'd forgotten tosign one of the many documents required by Canada's Department of Immigration.

"My opinion of Canada isn't exactly great at themoment," said thefrustrated Clark, who had looked forward to married life in Canada, away from the large crowds of the U.K.

"The place itself is beautiful but the way it's run Ijust can't believe some of the stuff that's happening."

• Immigration paperwork stands to separate Harvey newlyweds

Clark, who met his wife teaching in Britaina few years ago, sent off his application for a work permit in December2015.

He didn't hear from anyone until the end of January 2016, when a form came back highlighting a signature line he overlooked in the pile ofpaperwork,bank statements and photographs required as proof of the couple's relationship.

"The document was like anovel," he said during an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.

That same day, Clark sent back the paperwork with the proper signature, only to see it bounce back again in March.

'It messes with people's lives'

Then, Clark said, he received a notice from Immigration saying there was a form he didn't fill inthat asked for additional family information. He said the departmentalso asked for an additional payment for a work permit.

Clark contacted Karen Ludwig, the member of Parliament for New Brunswick Southwest, whose office contacted the Immigration Department.

That's when Clark learned his application had been accepted and he would be getting a work permit by the end of July.

Two weeks into August, he called Ludwig's office again and was told wasgiven the wrong information. There would be no work permit.

"It's not even the permanent residency that's the biggest issue here," Clark said. "I just want to be able to work."

The Immigration Department said it could not comment on a specific case without a person's signedconsent.CBC tried for a comment fromLudwig's office, which said it is working on a response.

"It was just an ongoing battle from August until now," he said. "The information I've been given from the CIC has been nothing but appalling.

"You have Prime Minister Trudeau constantly saying in the media, 'Canada is a diverse country, Canada needs immigrants to boost its economy,'but you have an immigration system in place that is there to catch people out, instead of helping them," he said.

With his visa running out, Clark has already bought his plane ticket homeand leaves March 26. While there, he'll visit family and hopes to return to Canada on April 13, the day his return ticket is dated.

But he isn't so sure.

"Essentially I've been red-flagged," Clark said.

"They [government officials]prefer you to be in the country being a burden on society, instead of contributing to society," he said. "It messes with people's lives."