I can't help but share this story; it touched a deep chord in my soul, where divorce, Immigration Canada, and exes become characters of a thriller movie
What do you know about toxic marriages?
The ones where one partner doesn't just leave...they destroy. Methodically, coldly, through court cases, complaints, and spurious accusations. And then they take off, leaving behind a trail of cases that take on a life of their own, and paralyze yours.
Now imagine you're a Canadian citizen. Law-abiding, educated, a mother, a professional.
And for five years now, you've been stuck on an island in the Indian Ocean, unable to leave because your ex-husband keeps filing new charges. And your country, Canada... remains silent. Or, as they say, "waiting for written permission from the other side."
Love is gone, bureaucracy remains.
Vanita Mirpuri, a Canadian citizen (born here but living in Ontario her whole life), has been unable to leave Mauritius since 2021. Formally, it's because of a charge of "computer abuse" (you know what that means: checking her husband's emails without his consent), which was dropped in March of this year.
But they still haven't returned her passport. Why?
Because her ex-husband managed to file a new complaint.
And the Canadian consuls respond curtly:
"We cannot return your passport without the approval of local authorities."
The whole dispute began in 2021!!! That's when Canada demanded the woman surrender her passport while the investigation was ongoing.
Five years on an island. No trial, no sentence, no escape.
Her own country is out of the picture. Because of the "procedure."
We're used to thinking that abuse is personal. That it ends when you divorce. But here's another scenario:
- He files a complaint.
- The local police opens a case.
- The court drags the new case.
- And the Canadian Embassy, instead of protecting ITS own citizen, chooses to ignore the protocol.
And that's it, you're no longer a citizen, you're a file without resolution.
"Absolute nonsense," said former Director of Consular Services of Canada Gar Purdy, commenting on Ottawa's position.
"It's absolute nonsense to say that Canada can't return a passport to its own citizen without permission from a foreign government."
This isn't about an "island" anymore. This is about a system where rights end where bureaucracy begins.
Where your "I" dissolves between "we can't" and "wait for an answer."
Where psychological violence is given a second life through government language.
So here you are, a grown up, smart, educated, with a degree and experience,
but you live in a foreign country, renting out a room on Airbnb to make both ends meet, because your ex can't get over the fact that you're gone.
And your country can't get enough of playing the next James Bond movie.
And what's interesting is that once again we doubt the Department of Immigration (which, by the way, is responsible for issuing passports) has any common sense.
P.S.
Sometimes the enemy isn't the one filing for divorce.
It's the one who simply does nothing while you're being destroyed.
And here’s my own story: five years ago, I renewed passports for three children. Do you know how long the process took me???? Almost a year! Do you know why? The passport service decided to put three small children, aged 8-3, through a security check and summon me for a couple of interviews.
My indignation knew no bounds, and by the way, I’m still furious about it.
Oleksandra Melnykova, Canadian Immigration and Refugee Consultant.
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