Couple's battle to unite in Canada ends in success

Canada Day came a little bit early for Tony and Robyn Omayone.

On June 26, Tony, 44, stepped off the plane in Vancouver to finally unite with Robyn, 35, and their two-and-a-half-year old son, Skyler, and end a five-year battle with government bureaucracy to allow him into the country.

Tony hails from Nigeria but had been living in Austria since 2006 after making a hasty exit from the African nation where the couple say he had been unjustly implicated in the blowing up of an oil rig.

The couple met in 2007 through an online matchmaking service and, for the most part, they relied on the internet and all the forms of communication it provides to keep in touch. Tony even witnessed from Vienna via Skype the birth of their son at University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, which was the subject of a story in The Citizen back in December 2012.

Their biggest challenge, however, was maneuvering through the maze of often-confusing steps they needed to take to get him into Canada. The couple has plenty to say about how they were treated and the miscommunication they had to endure but their persistence finally paid off at the end of April when Tony was finally given the go-ahead to fly to Canada.

From there, it was a matter of waiting until the school year had finished - Robyn is a school bus driver - so the family could spend some quality time together.

Once Tony was in Vancouver, the Omayones did the things most Canadians do when they're in the city - walk the sea wall, brave the Capilano Bridge, visit Science World and go to a waterpark.

And on July 1, they celebrated Canada Day watching the fireworks at Canada Place.

They arrived in Prince George on Friday and have quickly got the process going to get Tony settled in. That's included applying to a social insurance number, getting advice from the Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society of Prince George and setting up an appointment with an employment settlement practitioner at WorkBC.

Tony's arrival provided a sense of relief that was a long time coming.

"It's a little bit different between Austria and here so I'm just trying to adjust but I feel good," Tony said.

It's also been an adjustment for Skyler. Beyond a two-week vacation in Austria last summer, he's seen very little of Tony but he's starting to warm up his father, even insisting that he hold both his parents' hands as they made their way towards the family vehicle on Monday.

"I think Skyler is starting to realize that this is a family, we're supposed to be together type of thing," Robyn said.

Tony is now a permanent resident. To become a full-fledge citizen, he must wait a further three years while Robyn continues to be his sponsor.

But the worst appears to be over.

"If you're trying to immigrate into Canada, don't give up," Robyn said. "That is the big thing."