IRCC officials said they continue to accept and process applications during the pandemic "notwithstanding that our operational capacity remains at a limited capacity both domestically and abroad."

On Sept. 24, the department announced it was increasing the number of decision makers on spousal applications in Canada by 66 per cent. The plan is to use new technologies to allow staff working from home to deal with the complicated documents keeping privacy and security in mind.

It was disappointing for Mohamed Khashaba that his son Yahia wouldn't begin Grade 1 this year on P.E.I.

"School here for him will be great," Khashaba said. "Two years ago, his mother is trying to teach him little of English, just preparing him, [so] when he come here in Canada, he will not be shocked."

Instead, his son remains in Damietta, Egypt, with his mother Sara Saad. While Khashaba and his son are Canadian citizens, his wife of eight years is not.

"By the time he was born in Egypt, I was already a Canadian here," Khashaba said. "So he got his citizenship certificate but the thing is — how can he travel without his mother? Like we are a package — a family together."

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