Jon and Karissa Warkentin from Waterhen, along with their 5 children, have been rejected Permanent Resident Status in Canada.
The Warkentin family moved from the U.S. to raise their family here in Manitoba because it provided the quality of life they were looking for and the perfect business opportunity.
Karissa Warkentin provides the explanation as to why Immigration Canada declined their applications.
“In November of last year, 2016, we got word from Immigration Canada that our dependant daughter, Karalynne, is a person who is health conditioned,” explained Warkentin. “Our daughter has a Global Developmental Delay and Immigration Canada told us that she is inadmissible to Canada on health grounds and therefore our entire family is inadmissible for Permanent Residency in Canada. What that means is that because she has a Global Developmental Delay, they felt that, and in the words they used, were ‘her care would be too expensive for Canada to provide for’ so therefore they did not want to accept our permanent residency.”
Global Developmental Delay is defined as a condition that occurs during the developmental period of a child between birth and 18 years and the child being diagnosed with having a lower intellectual functioning than what is perceived as ‘normal’.
Karissa Warkentin notes they were never provided with an estimated cost of what they deemed as too expensive.
The Warkentins’ have hired an immigration lawyer to help the appeal the decision but it could take up to 2 years and their work visas run out as of November this year.
