Kept apart for years, Iranian couples decry Canada's heartbreaking immigration delays

One spouse in Canada,the otheroverseas for years.

For a group of Iranian nationals, the wait to live withlet alone hug and kiss theirpartnershas beenpainfully long as they wait years for Canada to process their permanent residency (PR) applications.

They say Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)has failed themwith "unreasonably long"delays and in some cases by denying their visitor visas,keeping them physically apart for years.

"They don't care about us," said Azadeh, one of the applicants. "Enough is enough.... Please do something."

We have been waiting for five years to get together, to be with each other. So if this is not love, what is your definition of love?- Hamidreza, asked by IRCC to prove 'genuineness' of his marriage

This group of 55 couplesbanded together through social media over similar experiences withstuck applications. Several of the couples and some outside the group seeking spousal work permitsshared with CBCNews that being forced to live apart for years has caused fertility concerns andfinancial hardships.

Some say they're taking anti-depressants and are even discussing divorce due to strains on the marriage.

IRCC's own processing time estimator says spousal sponsorship should take about 16 months, but some couples say they've been inlimbo foryears.

Meanwhile, protests erupted in Iran and around the world last Septemberfollowing the death of 22-year-old MahsaAminiafter she was arrested by morality police for "unsuitable attire."

Iran has been executing its own citizens as unrest continues into the new year. Iranians have been targeted and surveilled by the regime inside and outside the country evenin Canada, where CSISconfirmed ongoing investigations on "lethal threats to Canadians" from Iran.

This iswhy the group says it's critical for IRCC to act quickly on their files, which they say are stuck in Turkey's Ankara visa office,and is also whyCBC has agreed not to publish the surnames of the Iranian nationalsinterviewed for this story.

"We are afraid of going back to Iran to be with our family and spouses because ofthe fear of getting arrested, tortured, executed,"explained Alex,who's waiting for his wife's PR application to be processed. He's in B.C., whileshe's in Iran.

"It is real. It happens," Alex said.

IRCC declined to be interviewed, but in a written statement, a spokesperson said the department is "deeply concerned" about people affected by the situation in Iran, and said family reunification is a priority for the government.

But the group'spetition a letter signed by all 110 individuals and addressed to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser on Jan. 9, 2023,demandingfor some reprieve or answers was ignored.

Fraser's office, despite CBC'srepeated requests to comment on this letter, did not.

The longest wait:5 years apart

At two years and seven months, Hamidreza and his wife have the longest wait time in this group.

They've been living apart since 2018. Their first spousal application was rejected, so they reapplied in July 2020.

Through an interpreterfrom Kerman, Iran, Hamidreza told CBCthe stress of this process has had severe health impacts for his wife, a hairstylist in Quebec. He saidthe mental health impacts are causing both of them to struggle in their careers.

"I can't focus on doing anything. Even financially, I've had problems. I cannot work properly,"Hamidreza said in Persian.

"At the end of the chat [with my wife], the only thing that is left is the wet eyes."

WATCH | Applicant shares desperate plea from Iran:

'What is your definition of love?': He hasn't seen his wife for years

2 years ago

Duration 1:22

Hamidreza and his wife are waiting for his permanent residency application to be approved. Hamidreza said the process has involved IRCC requesting proof of the "genuineness" of their relationship.

The process hasn't been easy for the couple this second time around. AnIRCC email to Hamidreza in April 2022 questions the "genuineness of your relationship" and asked the couple to submit more proof.

"We have been waiting for five years to get together, to be with each other. So if this is not love, what is your definition of love?" he said."I have almost lost everything."

$30K on fertility treatments

Sonia is worried she and her husband may never have children together.

Sonia has waited two years and two months for her husband's PR applicationso he can join her in B.C.The couple,longtime family friends who grew up in Iran,married in October 2021, after COVID delays, and applied for his PR shortly after.

I don't want to lose the chance of being a mother forever.- Sonia, spousal PR sponsor

Now intheir 40s, the couple has spent about $30,000 at fertility clinics. They've beentrying to createa viable embryo by shipping samples between B.C. and Germany, where he lives.

"When it gets to my age, at 40s, even one day is important," Sonia said.

"We want to have a kid. We want to start our life," she said."I don't want to lose the chance of being a mother forever."

Sonia moved to Canada about a decade ago. Though she's built a successful career and life for herself here, she saidit's lonely without her partner here.

"I love him and I want to be the rest of my life with him," she said.

The thought of leaving her job, selling her houseand moving overseas hascrossed her mind.

"I worked very hard.... Idon't want to quit everything here and then go move," she said."But eventually, if I need to, I have to."

Daughter 'crying all the time'

Azadeh says being separated from her husband for almost four years has had devastating impacts on their daughter.

Azadehand her daughter, who livenear Toronto, came as refugees in 2019 and received PR shortly after.Her husbandlives in Tehran.

"She's really looking for her dad. And then ask me, 'Why everybody has dad? ...Mom, what happened to my dad? Did you apply for my dad?'" Azadeh said. "She startcrying all the time now."

Her husband's visitor visa applications have been rejected twice during the pandemic, even with adoctor's note outlining her daughter's depression and anxiety disorder due to the separation.

Azadeh says her daughter is now seeing a psychologist.

Azadeh says she feels abandoned by the Canadian government. Nevertheless, she has a plea for IRCC officials and workers.

"Please, please do something about our applications. We need [to] have our family together," Azadeh said.

Approval rate for Iranians 90%: IRCC

IRCC declined an interview.

In an email, spokesperson IsabelleDuboisnoted the department'sapproval rate for Iranian spouses and children seeking PR was 90 per cent in 2022.

Duboiswrote that despite delays due to COVID-19, the department implemented measures such as digitization, remote processingandremote interviews to help speed up its spousal sponsorship applications.

She saidvisas may be refused on a case-by-case basis.

"Family reunification is a fundamental pillar and priority," wrote Dubois. "[IRCC]is working towards processing applications for permanent residence expeditiously."

IRCC confirmed the recent earthquake in Turkey's southeast region "had no impact" on its processes,nor will it cause delays at its Ankara visa office.

Fraser's office declined an interview and did not address why he ignored the petition sent to him over a month ago, signed by all 110 Iranian applicants.