Living in Canada like living in limbo — unless you're one of the select few Ukranians with permanent residency

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Close to 300,000 Ukranians are living in Canada as part of the federal government's emergency travel program.

Ottawa doesn't have numbers on how many people have settled in the city, but some agencies speculate they've assisted around 3,000 Ukrainians.

Many, like 27-year-old Tatiana Piatkovska, are still on temporary work permits.

Working for a non-profit organization called StartUp Canada, Piatkovska wonders when she'll be able to obtain permanent residency — and feel as though she's not in the middle of nowhere.

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Jamie Liew, a University of Ottawa law professor and immigration lawyer, said she feels compassion for those seeking refuge here.

"Many people only have temporary status. So it means they're living in limbo and it means that there isn't any durable solution in sight for people who want to make a life here," said Liew. "I think people feel like they're in purgatory."

Liew said she feels for those who are only given temporary status without any assurances they can stay in Canada permanently, calling it "a Band-Aid solution."

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"There are large categories of multiple groups of people who are fleeing more zones, fleeing humanitarian crises that should be given permanent resident status," she said.

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Lena Diab said that as of the end of January, more than 3,250 applicants have been approved for permanent residence.

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