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Permanent residency approved for family members of Ottawa attack victim
Summary
Canada has approved permanent residency for the brother and father of an Ottawa man whose wife and four children and a family friend were killed in a March 2024 attack. The two relatives are awaiting their permanent resident cards, and the brother plans to sponsor his wife and daughter after earlier visitor visa denials.
Content
Canada has approved permanent residency for the brother and father of Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, whose wife, four children and a family friend were killed in an attack at the family's Ottawa home in March 2024. The two relatives had come to Canada to support Wickramasinghe and submitted permanent residency applications after the incident. Their applications were approved earlier this month and they are now waiting for their permanent resident cards to arrive. The brother, Chelaka Wickramasinghe, intends to sponsor his wife and daughter, whose visitor visa applications were previously denied.
Reported facts:
- In March 2024 an attack at the family's Ottawa home killed Wickramasinghe's wife and four children and a family friend; Wickramasinghe was injured and survived.
- The accused, Febrio De-Zoysa, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in November to life with no chance of parole for 25 years.
- The brother and father applied for permanent residency after arriving to support Wickramasinghe; both applications were approved earlier this month and they are awaiting their permanent resident cards.
- Chelaka Wickramasinghe plans to sponsor his wife and daughter, but their earlier visitor visa denials and reported processing times (about 14 months for sponsorship) mean their arrival timeline is uncertain.
Summary:
The approvals allow the two relatives to remain in Canada while they wait for their permanent resident cards. The brother's planned sponsorship of his wife and daughter is in progress, though previous visa denials and long processing times were reported. Undetermined at this time: when the sponsored family members might be able to travel to Canada.
