HAPPY HOMECOMING
Relieved Coquitlam couple return from Japan with adopted daughter
Cheers greeted Ryan Hoag and Wiyani Prayetno when they arrived at Vancouver airport on Tuesday, after weeks of being stuck in Japan waiting for a visa for their adopted baby girl.
“It’s a little surreal for sure,” Hoag said of their re-entry to Canada. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Hoag and Prayetno are one of five families who were stranded in Japan for weeks when the Canadian government stopped issuing visas for children adopted from that country.
The government was responding to an update from the U.S. State Department in May that said all inter-country adoptions needed to be authorized by Japanese courts.
Canada was unsure whether that applied to Canadian adoptions, and asked for clarification from Japan on June 7.
Previously, a family received a letter of approval for the adoption from the B.C. government, went to Japan to pick up their child, and were issued a Canadian visa a few weeks later. No court authorization was required.
Hoag and Prayetno spent about two months in Tokyo waiting for a visa for Naomi, who is now almost three months old. During that time, Hoag had to return home to work for about three weeks, leaving Prayetno and Naomi by themselves.
“It was horrible. not just to be away from your newborn, but to know that you’re not in a position to be supporting your wife emotionally, physically. It’s an unforgiving position. I hope that no mother or father needs to be in this position again,” he said.
Hoag flew back to Japan when he received notice from the Canadian embassy in Manila that his daughter’s permanent residency had been approved.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, it processed visas for families who were near the end of the adoption process — including the five from B.C. — but has halted processing for any cases that are not near completion and asked the Japanese government to clarify its expectations for the adoption process going forward.
“Canadian officials have been in regular contact with their Japanese counterparts, and will continue to keep them informed of these developments. We are continuing to seek clarification for future possible adoptions as this would allow us to ensure that an acceptable approach is put in place,” the department said in a statement.
Hoag said there are still many unanswered questions, but they’re just glad to finally be back in Canada.
“It feels very surreal, but it’s good to be home. Finally we can get on with our lives,” Prayetno said.
Brent Hoag, Ryan’s father, described feeling relief, joy, love and happiness at the family’s arrival, and said the family will need time to heal after the ordeal.
“(We) feel like an onerous journey is finally over,” he said.
He said the Canadian government hasn’t offered the family an explanation for the delay, but they’re beyond that now.
“They’re coming home, so we’re happy,” he said. “It’s been a real emotional roller-coaster for everyone, but for Ryan and Wiyani, second to none in terms of the emotional toil — the stress, the anxiety.”
Rhys and Kimberly Lloyd brought their three-monthold son home from Japan on Sunday, just a day after receiving notice that their visa had been granted. The Lloyds, who are from Vancouver, got custody of their child on April 23, and it took nine weeks to resolve the visa issues.
They worked together with the other families from B.C., including Hoag and Prayetno, to get through the stressful process, and they have forged deep bonds.
Lloyd said it was a relief to finally get home, but they are left with a lot of questions about what happened.
“We’re just really grateful that in the end the government saw it the same way we did and processed the visas and allowed us to go home,” he said.