A 35-year-old was granted a temporary visa to work in Canada while she seeks refuge from the war, but her son Nikita is one of nearly 279,000 Ukrainians whose applications are still waiting for a response.
Since packing up a small suitcase and leaving her home in Ukraine with her six-year-old son, Iryna Mishyna has found solace in helping other families in similar situations find some stability.The 35-year-old was granted a temporary visa to work in Canada while she seeks refuge from the war, but her son Nikita is one of nearly 279,000 Ukrainians whose applications are still waiting for a response.
Inflatable mattresses are flipped up against the wall, awaiting families arriving from Ukraine who need a place to rest while they figure out what to do next.Mishyna isn't the only mother in this situation, said Randall Baran-Chong, the founder of Pathfinders for Ukraine, a Canadian organization that has helped people navigate the immigration system since the war began.
Applying for the visas wasn't an easy process, Mishyna said. It meant leaving her son in Poland while she returned to Ukraine -- and the war -- to update their passports and get all their documents in order. People who apply under the emergency program are offered "accelerated, prioritized processing," she said, and it is the fastest way for Ukrainians and their families to get to Canada.
"I think it's because of a shortage with financing from local authorities," said Andrii Melnyk, a former Ukrainian diplomat living in Warsaw. Of the more than 540,000 Ukrainians who have received visas to come to Canada, only about 158,000 have made the journey.
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