Jonathan “Yoani” Kuiper was born in the Netherlands, but his family moved to Canada, when he was just fourteen months old. He lived in Canada for 27 years, and his Canada citizenship got denied because, he did not meet the criteria for citizenship according to Canadian immigration rules.
Jonathan took birth in 1982 and moved to Aylmer, Ont., He grew up in Aylmer, spending 27 years and moved overseas to do his Post Graduation, eventually got back to the Netherlands for a job which was not available in Canada.
Kuiper did not apply for citizenship until 2013, years after he already relocated.
He was denied for citizenship, because after applying for citizenship, he did not spend enough days in four years.
It was a kick in the stomach, Kuiper said. When his application for citizenship was rejected.
During the two-year wait for an answer, he let his permanent residence expire, thinking citizenship would be a certainty.
When he was eventually denied citizenship, Kuiper said it was like a kick in the gut.
“My entire life I’ve always identified and understood myself to be Canadian,” he told Global News in a June Skype interview from Amsterdam.
After being denied for citizenship, there was an error in the process of getting approved for a visa.
Kuiper said, Last December, they issued me a visa by mistake, which I used to attend my citizenship hearing in February.
“Then Minister McCallum said ‘that the visa was to attend his appeal hearing and the visa which he could have used to stay in Canada from then on.
“Kuiper is only allowed one visa,” he added. “That means Kuiper don’t have a visa anymore that he can use to come into Canada. It’s one-time entry, and so the only way you can come back into Canada in this situation is if you travel through the States and cross the border by private car or walking.”
He flew from the Netherlands to Newark, New Jersey, from which he was supposed to go to Buffalo but ended up in Rochester, New York due to a nasty snow storm.
From there, he took a bus to the Peace Bridge, cleared customs and walked the full two kilometres across in the stinging cold.
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Officials only consider the letter of law, not the spirit of it, Kuiper’s family said.
He was a baby, when he came here, I raised him here, myself I have a Canadian citizenship.
Kuiper’s visit to the home is not for the battle of citizenship, which he feels has lost, But the main reason for his trip is to spend some time with his family.
Kuiper has a job and also a girlfriend in the Netherlands, and now he is not at all feeling confident about his appeal.
“My Chances are very low, “ he said. I think they are going to continue to ignore my appeal”.
