She'd like to help the doctor shortage, but immigration rules are holding her back

A Dalhousie University student from Fredericton says she's caught in a citizenship loophole that's hurting her and costing the community a potential new doctor.

Ashley Osa-Peters is about to begin her fourth year of study in microbiology and immunology and wants to apply to medical school but is not allowed to do so because she's not considered a resident of Canada.

"It feels like a rejection and like a separation," said Osa-Peters, who has been living in New Brunswick since she was 12.

"Maritime culture is what I know at this point," she said.

"My family's here. We moved here in 2011. … I went to middle school here. I went to high school here. Now I'm almost done my undergrad."

Osa-Peters has a study permit to be in Canada. She's originally from London and has been living with her uncle, Dr. Anthony Njoku in Fredericton, since her own family broke up when she was about 10. Njoku was her legal guardian until she turned 19. 

Her uncle and his family have all become Canadian citizens, but Osa-Peters had to be removed from the application because she is not considered part of the family under the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

"A nephew or a niece, even though you're the guardian, would not be considered a family member," said Nicole Druckman, a lawyer in Moncton who specializes, in part, in immigration law.

Osa-Peters applied for Canadian residency on compassionate grounds last August. She has heard nothing back, other than that her application was received.

The Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship says people with a Canadian education, like Osa-Peters, get extra points when their applications are considered.

"We recognize that international students are often ideal candidates for permanent residency, given their language skills, Canadian education and Canadian work experience," said Mathieu Genest, press secretary in the office of Minister Ahmed Hussen.

But processing time is about 32 months.

In the meantime, as long as she has a "valid status," Osa-Peters would be "welcome to continue to work and/or study" in Canada, Genest said.

Osa-Peters said her classmates are applying to medical school now. But she's "stuck in limbo," and cannot move to the next step of her career as planned.

She has renewed her study permit a few times and could continue to do so for several more years. But the bigger issue is her diminished opportunities as an "international student."

Only a small number of Canadian medical schools accept any international students at all, and Dalhousie is not one of them. Those that do only take a handful of students each.

Competition for those spots is fierce and fees are double or triple what a Canadian would pay. At the University of Toronto, for example, it's about $80,000 a year.

"It would be devastating for me to leave my family, friends and everything I have known at this point," she said.

Osa-Peters may end up returning to England or Nigeria to pursue her studies, in which case, she'd be unlikely to come back to Canada.

"Why would I when Canada rejected me?" she said.

Osa-Peters described the process she's going through as "brutal," and "a disadvantage" to Canadian communities.

"I feel sad for my community that I want to practise in."

"We're losing people. I doubt I'm the only person in this situation. Imagine the number of people who have to leave the country every year, and we are in the middle of this health-care crisis and we send away potential doctors. I think we're hurting ourselves."