TORONTO – The Canadian government has reversed a decade-old policy that forced Indian Sikhs with the common last names Singh or Kaur to change their surname before they could immigrate.
The Canadian High Commission in New Delhi had told Indians wishing to immigrate that the religious Sikh surnames were too common to process quickly and thus a name change would be required.
Sikhs, an Indian religious minority, commonly name males Singh and females Kaur.
After the World Sikh Organization raised the issue Tuesday, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced it was canceling the policy Wednesday. CCI said the “policy” was a misunderstanding based on a “poorly worded” letter.
The policy drew scrutiny when Tarvinder Kaur, a Calgary woman waiting for her husband, Jaspal Singh, to arrive in Canada, told the media that his permanent residency application had been delayed for more than a month because of his last name.
Canada’s immigration department then issued a statement Wednesday that said “Permanent resident applicants with the surnames Singh or Kaur are not required to change their names in order to apply.”
Census figures from 2001 state that 278,410 Sikhs live in Canada.
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