After waiting nine months for a Canadian work visa that never came, Uduak Edet Nkanga, a public health worker in Akwa Ibom State, says she has been left stranded and financially drained by a travel agency that collected N732,227 from her but delivered neither the promised visa nor a refund.
Nkanga told FIJ on Wednesday that Marela Sky Travels received the payments in instalments between August 2024 and May 2025 for the processing of a Canadian work visa. Despite assurances that the application would be completed within a few months, Nkanga said all communication from the agency eventually stopped, leaving her without a visa, without her money and without answers.
“I have always had the dream of travelling out of the country while searching for better job opportunities. That was how I got to know Mary Obi (CEO of Marela Sky Travels) through a friend,” Nkanga told FIJ.
“When we started communicating, I told her clearly that I wanted a Canadian work visa.
“Obi assured me that everything would go smoothly and that the visa would be processed within a few months.”
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Nkanga said she proceeded to make payments as instructed.
“I made my first payment of N366,000 on August 9, 2024. Later I made another part payment of N160,000 on May 29, 2025, and then paid the balance of N126,227 on May 30, 2025. I also paid N60,000 for police report and N20,000 for medical report, totalling N732,227.00,” she said.
“The payment was strictly for a Canadian work visa. I wanted to relocate in search of greener pastures, but what I expected is completely different from my current reality.”
NO VISA, NO REFUND, NO COMMUNICATION
Nkanga said more than 17 months after her initial payment, she has neither received a visa nor a refund.
“It has been over 17 months now, and I have not received the visa or my money back. No visa, no refund, no communication,” she said.
“I have called and sent several text messages, but Obi and her staff keep ignoring me.
“It’s not as if they don’t see my calls — they do — but they refuse to respond. I don’t understand how someone can take my hard-earned money and then go completely silent without any update on what I paid for or any effort to refund me.”
Nkanga added that she is no longer interested in pursuing the visa application.
“At this point, I am no longer even interested in the visa. All I want now is my money,” she said.
“I need FIJ’s intervention to help me recover my full refund.”
READ ALSO: Marela Sky Travels Unreachable 4 Months After It Took Ogun Man’s N366,000 for Visa Sponsorship
On Thursday, FIJ called Obi about claims that she had taken money from Nkanga for a Canadian work visa but failed to refund the money despite demands.
“Since she said she’s no longer interested, we’ll inform you and her of the date the refund will be made to her,” Obi said.
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