Bathurst-based Ngyuen family fighting deportation to Vietnam after their sponsor made a ‘mistake’ then abandoned them

A Vietnamese family who have lived in Australia for nearly 10 years are fighting to be allowed to stay in the country after their sponsor made a mistake before ‘abandoning them’. 

Thanh Duc Nguyen, 30, along with his parents and 20-year-old brother, have had their application for permanent residency rejected for a reason that was out of their hands.

‘For nearly 10 years we have been waiting and hoping and because of someone else’s mistake, we got refused. It is very frustrating,’ Duc told Daily Mail Australia. 

That mistake was that their sponsor employed a worker in 2019 who had an expired visa – which nullified the sponsor’s ability to nominate any workers for permanent residency. 

After appealing the decision, the family were rejected for another reason that was out of their control – the sponsor was no longer seen as financially strong enough.

The family, who reside in Bathurst in NSW, now have just one option left – to lodge a ministerial intervention this week – otherwise they risk losing ‘everything’ they worked hard for over the last decade.

Duc said his mother Hue, 54, moved to Australia in January 2015 after being sponsored as the head chef at a Vietnamese restaurant in Bathurst.

A few months later he, his dad, Hoa, 60 and brother Justin, 20, joined her.

Hue, 54, (pictured serving customers) was sponsored in January 2015 to be the head chef at a Bathurst, NSW Vietnamese restaurant

Two years later, Ms Nguyen was eligible to apply for permanent residency for the family and lodged the application in June 2017.

Over two years later, in August 2019, the family received notification that their residency was refused.

It was at this time the Nguyens found out their sponsor, who owned the restaurant along with other businesses, including a nail salon, had employed a person with an expired visa.

In March 2019, the company lost its ability to nominate workers – but the family weren’t informed until they received their rejection letter in August of the same year. 

Adding to the family’s frustration was their purchase of the restaurant from their sponsor just a month before their rejection  – because they were told they had no choice but to buy it.

‘Our sponsor told us around April or May (2019) they intended to close down the restaurant and if we wanted to continue with our visa, we had to buy the business,’ Duc said.

‘They told us it was a requirement for our visa. If we didn’t buy it, they would close it down and we would lose sponsorship.

‘At that time we didn’t know any different so we did whatever they said.

‘We now know they shouldn’t have told us that. We didn’t understand the law and what to do.’ 

After finding out their application was rejected just a month later, the Nguyens lodged an appeal with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) in October of the same year.

But due to Covid, the process was delayed.

After finally being assigned three hearing dates over May and June last year, the family’s application was again unsuccessful.

This time the family were told the reason was because the same, original sponsor’s financial position wasn’t strong enough to sponsor Ms Nguyen.

The family reached out to the sponsor to try and ‘work together’ but they then stopped communicating with the family.

The family were told by the sponsor the restaurant would close unless they bought it – and the purchase would be the only way they could stay in the country

The family have been working mostly seven day weeks to slowly pay off the restaurant – which they did last year (pictured, centre, Justin and Hue with customers)

‘They abandoned us last year. They made so many mistakes, I think they wanted to wash their hands of it,’ Duc said.

‘Our case is based on sponsorship and they don’t want to do it anymore.’ 

After months of not hearing anything back from Ms Nguyen’s sponsor, the family lodged an appeal to the Federal Court in September 2023 after legal advice.

But after being told there is no fixed time for an outcome, the family have discontinued this appeal and will be lodging a Ministerial Intervention with the Immigration Minister Tony Burke later this week.

The family, who have worked nearly seven days a week at their Anam Vietnamese Restaurant, finally paid it off last August – but are terrified it will have been all for nothing.

‘We will lose everything we have worked hard for over the last 10 years,’ Duc said.

‘We will be very sad to leave when we have a strong bond to the community and  many friends.

‘We are very frustrated that we might have to leave our home.’

Duc, who came to Australia as a 20-year-old and is managing Anam, is worried that his brother – who was just 10 when the family arrived here – will find it the most difficult if they are forced to return to Vietnam.

‘He has no friends in Vietnam. He wouldn’t be able to find a job because the schooling is different,’ he said.

The family were told their sponsor made a mistake by hiring an employee with an expired visa, which meant they were no longer able to nominate workers (pictured second from right, head chef and owner of Anam Vietnamese restaurant Hua Nguyen, 54, with customers and Justin in background)

‘He wanted to go to uni here but that has been put on hold because it is very complicated with the visa.’

The 30-year-old said he is also worried for the financial future of his mum and dad as pensions ‘don’t really exist’ in Vietnam, where citizens need to have worked for a company for some time in that country to be eligible.

‘And if they could get the pension it is very little – $100 a month,’ he said. 

Apart from having strong community ties, Duc said the only Vietnamese restaurant in the area is doing ‘really well’ and serves a wide range of locals including families and Charles Sturt University students.

‘We pay our taxes. Last year we paid an estimated $45,000 in GST alone,’ he said.

‘We are very grateful to run the restaurant in Bathurst and for all the great support.’

The family has contributed to the local Bathurst community and has strong ties and friendships (pictured, Hue with customers)

‘But losing our home and business would be losing everything,’ Duc said. 

As evidence of the local community’s support for the family, Bathurst Mayor Dr Jess Jennings sent a letter to the immigration minister in early July.

The mayor told Daily Mail Australia he organised a mayoral minute to have a support letter written and signed for the Nguyens – the vote was unanimous and every councillor signed it.

‘We wanted to express support for the family who are well-established and contribute to the local economy and community,’ he said.

‘The fact they have 18,000 plus signatures of support demonstrates how much people want them to stay.

‘Personally, I have been eating there (at Anam) for the last decade and I didn’t realise they were under an immigration cloud.

‘I want them to stay in this community where they belong.

‘They have also made a unique contribution to the culinary landscape in Bathurst, which adds to the culture of (the city).’

The mayor will resend the letter of support from council to the new immigration minister.