Help UBC Prof Elif Sari Maintain Her Job & Status in Canada

On Thursday, October 31, Professor of Anthropology Elif Sari received the news that her second attempt to renew her work permit was rejected by Canadian Immigration. With this decision, Elif has abruptly become an “out of status” person and is required to leave the country to reapply for a work permit from abroad. Immediately following this notice, Elif was put on unpaid leave by her employer, the University of British Columbia, losing her income and leaving her unable to continue teaching and supervising her students.

Now, with no income and her savings nearly depleted after ten intense months of working on this legal case, Elif needs urgent community support. This fundraiser aims to raise support for Elif’s fight to maintain her job and legal status in Canada, where she is deeply valued as an educator, researcher, and community advocate.

As friends, colleagues, and students at UBC know, Elif has enlivened classrooms, and indelibly enriched our lives. Since coming to Vancouver in 2021, she has been a central figure for groups like Rainbow Refugees, advocating tirelessly for the rights of queer immigrants and refugees. Elif’s research on the vastly misunderstood and understudied populations of queer and trans refugees has been crucial in fighting state-sanctioned violence against LGBTQ+ peoples and refugees in Canada and across the globe. Elif’s presence has also been a valuable lifeline to her students, who have professed profound, life-altering learning experiences taking her classes, and for her colleagues, who have come to rely on her unique combination of determination and compassion.

Elif is not planning on leaving her communities, students, and loved ones behind. Yet, with mounting legal fees, combined with unexpected moving, storage, and airline expenses due to the removal order, she is facing overwhelming financial challenges.

Breakdown of Estimated Costs:

Immigration Lawyer Fees: $8,000

Re-application fees: $1,000

Moving and Storage: $3,000

Flight Ticket: $2,000

Temporary Housing: $4,000

Any amount you can contribute will be deeply appreciated. Thank you for standing with Elif in this critical moment. Every contribution will go directly towards her legal representation and essential expenses as she fights to remain in the place she now calls home.

All unused funds will be donated to the Rainbow Refugee's Butterfly fundraising, of which Elif is a member, to support the resettlement process of a queer nonbinary refugee (who is also currently facing deportation) to Canada.