Family faces deportation after making a mistake on VISA
A family that's built an award-winning Australian business risks losing everything after being given incorrect VISA advice. The trans now faces deportation within two months and they're not the only family that's faced huge uncertainty after a small bungle.
Transcript
00:00 The Tran family moved to Australia in 2015.
00:06 They built a life in Tasmania, running a Vietnamese restaurant in Launceston.
00:12 "An integral part of our life."
00:15 But despite owning an award-winning restaurant, the family's future is now unclear.
00:21 The Trans must leave the country in two months, and they say it's due to incorrect migration advice.
00:27 They were advised to apply for a business visa extension,
00:31 but what they weren't told is that they had to have owned and operated the business for two years before applying.
00:37 "We weren't aware of it at all, so it led to stress and then scare. It just scared us of losing home."
00:50 It's a familiar story for Cesar Penuelas.
00:54 Five months ago, his family was facing deportation after his employer didn't provide necessary documents for his visa.
01:01 "We come from other countries with a dream of putting an application, a clean application with the department,
01:10 but other people will make a mistake and we're the ones paying for those consequences."
01:18 Government intervention stopped the Penuelas from being sent back to Colombia,
01:22 and now the Trans family are hoping for a similar fate.
01:26 "We really don't have anything now."
01:29 "Unfortunately, there's not always something we can do for people,
01:32 but in the case of the Trans family, we can still seek ministerial interventions."
01:37 There's hope the minister steps in again.
01:40 "I'm so glad that he let us continue to call Australia our home."
01:53 The Department of Home Affairs said it doesn't comment on individual cases.
01:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]