These Syrian refugees won their court fight. But they’re still waiting for Canada to let them in

He doesn’t fit the picture some Canadians might have in mind when they think of Syrian refugees seeking shelter in this country.

He was a man of means, an architect who’d had a stellar career managing some large and high-profile development projects in Dubai, where he lived comfortably.

Still, Mohamad Basel Alnajjar would return to his home in Homs every summer to see his parents and five siblings — until the civil war broke out in Syria in 2011.

His subsequent decision to try to come to Canada with his wife and four children as privately sponsored refugees would become part of a case that raised questions about to what degree a refugee could pay their way into this country.

Yet three years after winning a high-profile court fight, Alnajjar remains in Dubai, his bid to start a new life in Canada in limbo.

In January 2019, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada refused all 22 private refugee-sponsorship applications, including Alnajjar’s, made by Mississauga-based immigration consulting company Fast to Canada. The department alleged the company was making money from these Syrian families and demanding they pay their own settlement funds up front.

Alnajjar and others — Syrian expatriates in United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Kuwait and Qatar on temporary status — took their cases to Canada’s Federal Court, which in March 2019 granted their appeal and sent their cases back for reconsideration, calling the immigration refusal “unreasonable.”

In siding with the families, the court said the law only prohibits “payment of funds for the submission of a sponsorship, not payment for settlement assistance itself.”

However, today, almost three years after the court order, the Syrian families that participated in the litigation are still waiting for a decision from the federal immigration department.

Alnajjar said he and the others are living on the edge as the wait for a resettlement decision extends.

Due to the economic downturn in Dubai, he said the company he was with had to downsize and he was unemployed for several months. Currently, he’s working part-time on a contract.

“According to UAE law, we are not allowed to stay without valid residence visa. In case I get terminated, my visa will only be valid for 30 days and I will have nowhere else to go,” said Alnajjar, 47, who has lived and worked in the UAE since 1995 as an architect and civil engineer.

He said he and his family face removal from the UAE if he can’t renew his work permit to remain in the country.

Another applicant, Wael Rasheed, has already run out of status in Saudi Arabia after he was let go from his job as a business development manager at a large construction company in Jeddah, as a result of the pandemic economic downturn.

With no income but bills to pay, he said he had to use up the resettlement fund he borrowed from a Canadian relative to survive.

“I’m broke and the money doesn’t exist anymore,” said the 58-year-old Damascus native, who has lived and worked in Jeddah since the 1990s.

Rasheed used to send her three girls, aged 21, 20 and 13 to international schools where all subjects were taught in English. The last two years, his two elder daughters have stayed home because he can’t afford to send them to university; the youngest one now attends Arabic school.

On top of all of this, he has also accumulated huge debts and is being sued by his ex-landlord for rent owed.

“I cannot move freely in the city because my residential card has expired and I could be jailed because of that. If that happens, I will be kept in prison until I can pay the fine,” said Rasheed.

“Even if I won a lottery now and paid them off, I do not have the money to travel with my family and pay for our settlement fund unless I can find a job here.”

In response to Alnajjar’s case, the immigration department said the application was reopened in July 2019 and the sponsors — Fast to Canada and Syrian Active Volunteers, which is committed to providing post-arrival settlement help — were asked to submit additional information.

In December 2020, officials notified the parties about their concerns regarding the robustness of the parties’ settlement plan and their financial capability to fulfill the obligations. A response was received in March 2021 and a decision is pending.

“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada cannot approve an application unless it is satisfied that a sponsor is in a position to meet its obligations,” department spokesperson Jelena Jenko said in an email.

“Mr. Alnajjar’s application is currently in the queue to be reviewed for sponsorship eligibility.”

However, Alnajjar is not sure how much longer his family and others can hang on in where they are before immigration officials can make up their minds.

“I do have relatives, Canadian colleagues, and friends in Canada… willing to help me and support my family. English is not a problem, we can communicate in English easily. We are eager to integrate and become part of the Canadian society,” he said.

“The battle for Syria has produced no clear winners as yet. But there is no doubt who the losers are here.”

Since October 2015, the federal government has resettled 46,000 Syrian refugees in Canada as part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign commitment to address the Syrian crisis.

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @nkeung