Posted on 07/24/2007 6:57:24 AM PDT by BGHater
A Calgary woman waiting for her husband to arrive in Canada is upset by a long-standing immigration policy that forces people with the surname Singh or Kaur to change their last names.
Tarvinder Kaur, who is pregnant, said her husband Jaspal Singh's application to become a permanent resident has been delayed for well over a month because of his last name.
He has no choice but to legally change his name in India so he can get to Calgary before she gives birth next month, she said.
CBC News has obtained a copy of a letter sent from the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi to Singh's family stating that "the names Kaur and Singh do not qualify for the purpose of immigration to Canada."
"Why are we needing to make a different last name?" said Kaur. "You choose what your last name is going to be and if it's always been a certain way, then why should you have to change it?" Traditional Sikh names
Singh and Kaur are common names in the Sikh community. In a tradition that began more than 300 years ago, the name Singh is given to every baptized male and Kaur to every baptized female Sikh.
The names are used differently by different people. Some use Singh or Kaur as middle names, while others use them as their last names.
Karen Shadd-Evelyn, a spokeswoman with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said the policy preventing people from immigrating to Canada with those last names has been in place for the last 10 years.
"I believe the thinking behind it in this case is because it is so common. [With] the sheer numbers of applicants that have those as their surnames, it's just a matter for numbers and for processing in that visa office."
Citizenship and Immigration Canada says there is no such policy against other common last names.
Kaur, who was born in Canada, says that's unacceptable.
"If it's going to be a standard policy it should be standard with all common last names. Why is it that it's only Singh or Kaur that's being attacked by this?"
I did not know the Sikhs baptized babies.
PS - Even though Sikhs look islamic (they wear turbins) - they are pretty peaceful, hard working, take care of their own and very loyal citizens.
Brilliant! pick on the Sikhs and leave the Islamofascist free to run amuck.
Peaceful... but also very proud and fierce warriors.
Wow. That’s amazing.
Think what would have happened if anybody tried that here in our history - no more Murphys or Schmidts.
Wow. That’s amazing.
Think what would have happened if anybody tried that here in our history - no more Murphys or Schmidts.
Sikh turbans appear very distinctive from non sikh turbans though.
This is how leftists operate -
they pick on those that won’t fight back.
So basically, they're saying that their visa office is so incompetent that they couldn't figure out how to process people using (for example) serial numbers.
This doesn't surprise me, as I have had both my health insurance and my college registration upwhacked because one other person in the area shared my first and last name.
Unbelievable.
I’d like to see them try that with Mohammed.
So, change their names to Smith or Jones. Problem solved!......
“John Doe” has a nice ring to it.
Absolute idiocy. I’d take a Sikh for a neighbor any day.
The Sikhs may be ideal immigrants, but if they don’t like the Canadian rules, they need to stay in India. They manage to comply with Western rules enough to remove the knife from their boot when they get on an airplane, although their religion requires them to be armed with that knife all the time. When in Rome...do as the Romans require or go home. Immigration is a privilege, not a universal human right.
Back in the Ellis Island days, if an immigration officer could not spell or pronounce your name, they gave you a new one, that would sound similar or have the equivalent meaning in English.......
Fourth Bruce: Goodday, Bruce, Hello Bruce, how are you, Bruce? Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce a chap from pommie land... who’ll be joining us this year here in the Philosophy Department of the University of Woolamaloo.
All: Goodday.
Fourth Bruce: Michael Baldwin - this is Bruce. Michael Baldwin - this is Bruce. Michael Baldwin - this is Bruce.
First Bruce: Is your name not Bruce, then?
Michael: No, it’s Michael.
Second Bruce: That’s going to cause a little confusion.
Third Bruce: Mind if we call you ‘Bruce’ to keep it clear?
I figured the most popular Canadian surname was MacDonald.
Just as long as they’re not pooftahs.
Actually they eat them.
/sarc
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.