Thousands of Ukrainians expected to arrive before visa deadline

Andrii Batitskii and his wife Kateryna Bondarenko are building a life from scratch in Surrey, B.C., after fleeing war in Ukraine.

Originally from Kharkiv, a city just 30 kilometres from the Russian border, the couple are two of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who came to Canada through theCanada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET), a temporary emergency visa program that was enactedshortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The program offeredan expedited process forUkrainians to live and work in Canada for up to three years.

According to the federal government, more than 960,000 Ukrainians were approved to come to Canadathrough CUAET, which stopped taking applicants last July. As of Wednesday evening, almost 250,000 Ukrainianshave arrived in Canada under the emergency visa program.

"It wasmy dream to come here," said Batitskii.

Thousands of Ukrainians are expected to enter the country before March31, the deadline for CUAETrecipients toarrive in Canada.

Mykhailo Ozorovych, pastor of the Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in New Westminster, B.C., says many Ukrainians have arrived in the past few weeks.

He expects thousands more tocome before the March31 deadline, and says his church in the Metro Vancouver city is ready to welcome newcomers.

"Just a welcome smile and language, I think, is one of the biggest gifts we can offer," said Ozorovych."It's Canadians andgenerosity and hospitalitythat we're able to successfully welcome tens of thousands of people into British Columbia."

Those already in Canada who wish to extend their visas until 2027, like Batitskii and Bondarenko, also need to apply by month's end.

Missing thedeadline to extend the visa would mean losinggovernment support services including financial support and language courses after March 2025, and could make it harder for Ukrainiansto stay and work in Canada.

Daniel Lee, an immigration lawyer with the law firm Fasken, says there are otheravenues to remain in the countryif people miss out, but they aretrickier.

"You would have to go through the normal channel of applying for a work permit or a study permit, and usually that would be much more challenging," said Lee.

Lee says to apply for a work permit, which could take four to fivemonths, the person would need an employer willing to supporttheir application and demonstrate there are no other qualified candidates they could hire.

'One step away' from homelessness

For Batitskii and Bondarenko,working on the application to extend their visawhile balancing multiple jobs has been difficult.

Back in Ukraine, Batitskii was a massage therapist and was going to school for nursing. Since he has been in Canada, he has had jobsin construction, restaurants, gardening, and background work in films.

It is hard making ends meet,Batitskii says, andthey are "one step away" from homelessness.

The couple, whowed in 2021, had purchasedan apartment in Kharkiv and was planning to have a child before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We just began a good life in Kharkiv to become parents," he said. "In one moment everything is destroyed."

They hope to become permanent residents, andone day afford to raise a child.

"I believe I can get success in Canada, but it will be more challenging than I [expected],"Batitskii said.