A Russian family stranded in Bermuda for more than five months while their application to reside in Canada was caught up in red tape are celebrating news that they can finally head there to start a new life.

Vitaly and Marina Bondarenko are preparing to say goodbye to the friends they have made in St George?s while waiting for permission to settle in Nova Scotia.

The couple, who spent 14 years sailing the world after leaving their home in central Russia in 1991, had decided to move to Canada in July 2004 after visiting and falling in love with the place.

However, they then discovered that legal requirements meant that they had to leave Canada, and make their application for residency from another country.

Together with their sons Ivan, 12, and Vasily, seven, the couple landed their 37-foot yacht in Bermuda in June, and after a battle with the authorities here were eventually granted exceptional leave to stay on the Island while pursuing their goal of Canadian residency.

The long delay which ensued in processing their application hit the headlines in both countries, and the situation came under fire last month from the Nova Scotia justice minister Michael Baker who called on the Canadian government to speed up the process.

However, Mr. Bondarenko, 57, has been told that the green light has finally been given for the move, and hopes to pick up his family?s passports ? newly stamped with permission to reside in Canada ? from the Canadian consulate in Bermuda this week.

?We feel very happy at the news that our application has been granted and we hope to soon move to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and start the jobs that are waiting for us,? he said. ?We have enjoyed our stay in Bermuda very much although sometimes we have had some bad stresses because we didn?t expect the process to take so long. We would like to say thank you to the wonderful people here and our friends who have helped us.?