The Walker family from Okotoks is now a family of five following the adoption of a two-year-old girl from India but delays in their dealings with Canadian Immigration postponed her arrival on Canadian soil and extended the family’s time in Asia.
The family had been looking to adopt for nearly three years and, in the summer of 2016, they fell for a little girl from Bhopal, India.
“We found out about Opal in August of last year and have been doing the paper chase for her until now,” said Georgina Walker from a hotel room in New Delhi, India. “We applied for citizenship in January.”
Walker says Indian officials did not object to the adoption application but the family’s dealings with Canadian Immigration were frustrating from the get-go. After seeking an update from Canadian Immigration on Opal’s citizenship application, officials told the family there had been an error.
“They said ‘Yeah, sorry. We made a mistake. We need to send it to Delhi,” said Walker. “We lost almost a month because they had mixed it up.”