A man who escaped a murderous dictatorship in his native El Salvador and fled to Canada 18 years ago, spending the last two years in the sanctuary of a B.C. church, has been "set free."

Jose Figueroa stepped through the doors of the Langley, B.C., church on Wednesday, also his 49th birthday, and was reunited with his wife and three children after taking refuge for two years.

"Today, is a special day for the Figueroa family … it is a special day for Canada," he said with his arm around his daughter.

"Today, I was set free from sanctuary and that makes it a very, very special day."

Figueroa cried as he clutched his wife, before taking his first steps outside the church.

"I am free. Thank you God, thank you everyone," he yelled.

Friends, family and supporters proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday" to the 49-year-old.

Figueroa was granted an exemption to remain in Canada by Immigration Minister John McCallum on humanitarian and compassionate grounds Tuesday.

A permanent residence application can now be processed, 18 years after he arrived in the country.

Figueroa was also notified on Monday that the Canadian Border Services Agency had cancelled the arrest warrant and deportation order that originally prompted him to seek refuge.

On Wednesday, Figueroa thanked McCallum for his support.

"I wanted to first of all thank the minister of immigration for taking this step in making a decision -- a decision that should've happened a long time ago," he said.

Figueroa also took some parting shots at the Stephen Harper government for its treatment of his case.

"The previous government actually … had a hard approach to my situation, and I'm pretty sure if that had continued, basically, I would still be here," he said.

Figueroa had engaged in a series of legal challenges over his status until a May 2010 decision ruled that he was inadmissible to Canada.

Immigration officials cancelled his previous permission after he admitted to taking part in political activism in a revolutionary movement during the Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s.

Officials said he had connections to the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, which they stated was believed to have engaged in terrorism.

However, the left-wing coalition of guerrilla groups opposed a U.S.-backed military government that used death squads, and it was never listed as a terrorist organization by Canada's federal government.

Figueroa repeated his innocence on Wednesday.

"There is no proof that I did anything wrong," he said.

"And there is no proof that the FMLN is a terrorist organization -- it is not and hasn’t been -- so no people (should) be suffering this situation."

Figueroa said that before he received the exemption from McCallum he had been preparing to challenge the legality of his arrest warrant.

Despite being just minutes into his newly granted freedom, Figueroa already had plans for his future. He said that his situation has inspired him to take the law school admission test.

Figueroa also hopes that he and his wife will be granted Canadian citizenship.

With files from The Canadian Press