‘Flagpoling’: How immigrants leave Canada to stay in Canada – By Bobby Hristova (National Post) / Nov 30 2019
Flagpoling occurs when temporary residents of Canada cross the border, then immediately turn around to receive immigration services at a port of entry
Farnoush Dehghnan immigrated from Iran to Canada, looking for the “freedom to be herself.”
She started as a 30-year-old international student in 2016, studying fashion and design at George Brown College. When it came time to apply for her first internship two years later, she needed a work permit.
Dehghnan had 10 days to get the paperwork if she wanted to remain in the program. But a visit to the school’s international student advisor revealed that if she applied in Canada, she might have to wait 90 days just to get a response.
That’s when Dehghnan realized the only way she could stay in the country she loved so much was to leave it … temporarily.
Four days later, in a race against time, after preparing all her documents, she and her husband woke up before sunrise at 5 a.m.
They drove, from Toronto to the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Her husband dropped her off near the border and spent the day in a parking lot, anxiously waiting in his car.
Alone, Dehghnan walked to America.
Continue to article: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/flagpoling-how-immigrants-leave-canada-to-stay-in-canada
