A family of four facing deportation to Vietnam after their Australian sponsor made a “mistake” have been allowed to stay after they were granted permanent residency.
The much-loved Nguyen family has lived in Bathurst, central New South Wales, since 2015 after the matriarch, Hue, was sponsored as head chef at a local Vietnamese restaurant.
The family applied for permanent residency in 2017, but two years later they were told their application had been rejected, for a reason beyond their control.
It was at that point that the Nguyens discovered that their sponsor, who owned the restaurant along with other local businesses, including a nail salon, had hired a person with an expired visa.
This meant that the company sponsoring them had lost its ability to nominate workers, but the family was not informed until they received the rejection letter.
Adding to the family’s frustration was the purchase of the restaurant, ‘Anam’, from their sponsor a month before their rejection, because they were told they had no choice but to buy it.
Eldest son Duc previously told Daily Mail Australia that his sponsor said the restaurant would close if the family didn’t buy it and they would lose any hope of his residency being approved.
“At the time we didn’t know anything different, so we did what we were told,” Duc said.
The Nguyen family recently shared an update on their petition saying that their permanent residence visas had been approved. Picturedare father Hoa front left, mother Hue third from left, eldest son Duc second from right and former Bathurst mayor Jess Jennings
The Nguyen family (pictured, left to right: Duc, Hoa, Hue and Justin) had left with uncertainty after their sponsor made a mistake and their permanent residency application was rejected twice.
The Nguyens appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) in October 2019, but the process was delayed due to Covid.
After eventually being assigned three hearing dates between May and June 2023, the family’s application was again unsuccessful.
This time the family was told the reason was that their original sponsor’s financial position was not strong enough to sponsor Ms. Nguyen.
The family’s last chance was to present a ministerial intervention to Immigration Minister Tony Burke in August, and the family is “extremely grateful” they were successful.
The Nguyens recently shared an update on their change.org petitionthanking the Minister and his community.
‘Victory. We finally have it! We have been granted permanent residency,” they wrote.
The much loved family is grateful for all the support they have received and were excited to announce that their permanent residence visas had finally been approved (pictured, mother Hue serving local customers)
‘We want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to all of you who have supported us during these difficult times.
‘Your unwavering support and encouragement has been the lifeline we needed and we truly couldn’t have done it without you.
They also thanked their local MP Andrew Gee and former Bathurst mayor Jess Jennings, who had previously told Daily Mail Australia how much Bathurst loved and supported the family.
“Personally, I’ve been eating there (in Anam) for the last decade and I didn’t realize they were under an immigration cloud,” Cr Jennings said.
‘I want them to stay in this community where they belong.
“They have also made a unique contribution to the culinary landscape of Bathurst, which adds to the culture of (the city).”
The local mayor had said the family made a “unique contribution to Bathurst’s culinary scene” (pictured, customers with Hue and youngest son Justin standing).
Cr Jennings even organized a mayoral minute to draft and sign a letter of support for the Nguyens to send to the Immigration Minister; The vote was unanimous and all councilors signed it.
The community’s support for Nguyend has made them even more proud to belong to the city.
‘We are proud to be part of this wonderful community and look forward to sharing many more moments together!’ the family wrote.