‘We need to be together:’ Quebec-Colombian couple denied visa to reunite in Canada

MONTREAL – Quebecer Marc Paquette and his Colombian wife, Melissa Contreras Cuspoca, have been apart since March when borders closed, flights were cancelled, and the pandemic began forcing drastic changes in Canada.

The couple is waiting for Contreras Cuspoca’s sponsorship application to be processed so she can immigrate to Canada.

CityNews first brought you their story in June, when their only hope of reuniting was through a visitor visa. That visa has been denied three times.

WATCH: Canadian man separated from Colombian wife amid COVID-19

“They said they don’t believe the spouse will return when the visa expires,” said Paquette.

“The visa is good for six months—that reason makes no sense. We have a sponsorship case open. If my wife disobeyed anything she would get banned from Canada. We would lose our sponsorship case.”

The couple was married last October in Colombia and visited each other, flying back and forth before the borders closed.

Contreras Cuspoca’s sponsorship application to become a permanent resident began in January but she hasn’t had any progress since then.

Experts say its something that usually takes six months to complete and is now taking more than a year for some.

“If the applications had faster processing, you wouldn’t have a need for her to apply for a visitor visa,” explains immigration lawyer Viviane Albuerque.

RELATED: Married couple waiting to reunite

“Unfortunately, due to the delays, the application’s taking a long time. The visitor visa is not a solution for them because they’re meeting the same criteria as someone coming to Canada to visit Banff.”

In June the Trudeau government lifted border restrictions so immediate family members of Canadians could reunite, but their most recent visa application—done in July–was denied.

“We feel like we’re being ignored right now by the minister and it’s a horrible feeling,” said Paquette.

“We need to understand that we’re not talking about applications and numbers, we’re talking about individuals and their situation,” said Albuerque.

Paquette and others going through the same situation protested on Parliament Hill earlier this month, calling on the feds to create a new special temporary resident visa.

RELATED: Husband and wife separated by COVID-19 border closure

The temporary visa would allow spousal sponsorship applicants to travel to Canada and remain until their application is processed.

Paquette says his only hope of reuniting with Contreras Cuspoca is by going to Colombia as he was approved for a migrant visa last month. But travel plans may still be far off with no commercial flights going into Colombia.

“We need to be together.”