Sister Mon awaiting word on her recent Permanent Residency Application

First of all, we wish to thank all of you for your immense support of Sister Mon and Birken Forest Monastery these past months as we have continued to pursue permanent residency in Canada for Sister Mon. We also want to update you on where we are now on this journey.

Sister Mon applied for an extension to her work permit in December 2017 and was granted an 18 month work permit starting in February 2018 and expiring in August 2019. After careful consideration the monastery decided to enlist the aid of an immigration attorney in Vancouver to guide us in the next steps of Sister Mon’s immigration process.

Her Canadian Permanent Residency application was filed on July 17, 2018 under the Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations (HCC) Program and included over 1,500 signatures from this change.org petition, as well as many comments and letters of support from both individuals and local politicians.

Our attorney has told us the HCC application process can take from 1-2 years for review so once we have more news, we will update you again on Sister Mon’s progress towards permanent residency.