Help Needed: Escaping a Scam and Rebuilding a Life

Hey there family and friends

I hope you're all doing well.

You probably remember me from our time at the Gold Coast or maybe from Lola's cafe or during travels around Aus.

I want to share my story of what has happened to me in the past few years - how I fell victim to a scam and ended up being stuck in a foreign country for 3.5 years.

hoping with your help, I'll have the opportunity to start my life over again.

Then here it goes:

Unfortunately, everything took a turn when my sponsorship visa expired and I was unable to apply for residency as I had originally intended.

The government had changed the law a few months before my visa expiration, leaving me with no choice but to leave Australia.

Despite my efforts, I couldn't find another visa option because the requirements called for at least 3 years of experience since obtaining my certificate,

but I only had 2.6 years at that point.

It was with sadness that I needed to leave Australia on February 25th, 2020 for a holiday and to travel.

I planned to visit a foreign country for three weeks, and then explore a few more countries in Asia for one to two months.

After that, I intended to visit my mum and family in Israel before heading to Europe.

The goal was to obtain residency and work for a few months to fulfil the required experience months for the visa before Brexit in 2021. Since I hold a UK passport,

then return to Australia and apply for a new visa that offers a pathway to residency.

However, my flight out of foreign country was cancelled the night before, and shortly after, a lockdown started.

Waiting for the world to open up again and leave.

I obtained a free emergency visa for 8 months.

After that, I have been applying for a social visa while waiting for travel restrictions to ease so that I can leave the country

The reason for this delay is that I have not been vaccinated.

As my finances started to dwindle, I began searching for a more affordable visa agent.

A friend of mine highly recommended one to me. Everything went smoothly until it was time to renew the visa again in November 2021, as I was waiting for them to send me my visa.

The agent requested money for the visa extension, claiming that the visa was in process.

He continuously sent fake documents while making empty promises.

Fed up after a few months, I threatened to report him to the police for stealing my passport. In response, he agreed to meet and return it.

However, when the day arrived, he failed to show up as promised.

After finally managing to find his number again, as he kept on changing it, I reached out to warn him once more. However, there was no response from him. On the day I reported my stolen passport to the police and almost cancelled it, I received a call from a new guy who requested a meeting. During this meeting, he informed me that he would be taking over the agency and assured me that he would handle my visa matters. He even agreed to cover any fees related to overstaying.

A few months later, he asked to meet again to inform me that he was leaving the company/agency and could not fulfil his promise.

I was informed that I had been stamped out of Indonesia and was waiting to reenter from Jakarta to obtain my visa. As it turns out, my friend from my first week in the country told me that his company would be taking over the agency. However, I have been waiting for months and nothing has happened.

My friend's company ended up going busted and I attempted to retrieve my passport. However, it turned out that the first agent still had it and I couldn't get in touch with him again.

Meanwhile, I seek help from friends at immigration to get info on my status and understand the situation.

Unfortunately, I couldn't go to immigration directly because I had overstayed for more than 60 days. It is considered a crime in The country  to overstay and can result in being held in immigration detention or prison until all fines are paid, $AU100 per day of overstay.

Despite speaking to people who claimed to offer assistance, nothing came of it. A few months ago, I visited an agency recommended by another friend to see if they could help me without me having to pay, as I did not have any money.

They agreed to help, but after a couple of weeks, they discovered that nothing had happened with immigration since November 2021. Everything the agency said was a lie.

That means I overstayed more than 635 days from writing this.

Once I realised there was no chance of getting my passport back, I cancelled it.

Now I'm unsure of what to do next. Turning myself in to immigration isn't an option for me, as I know it would result in detention or prison, significant expenses and fines, which I have no way of paying.

As soon as I received the news from my sister about my mother's passing, I felt the need to be with my family.

During this time, I also received information about someone who could potentially help me.

We met, explained how I got scammed and he passed on my information.

A few days later, I received a reply stating that negotiations were underway with a high-ranking immigration official.

A few days later, I received a reply stating that they had conducted negotiations with a senior immigration official and were able to reduce the fine for overstaying which is 38,800AU$

They instructed me to go to the airport ASAP with my emergency passport and a flight ticket to the UK, so I would be able to settle the matter. and leave the country

Also, in addition to other expenses, there are various costs to consider.

For instance, an Immigration Lawyer would cost up to

$AU5,000

Flights from the country i am in to the UK range from $AU 1,000 to 3,000

while flights from the UK to Israel are around $AU 300-400

emergency passport from the country i am in to the UK, the fee is 100 GBP or 200$AU.

Applying for an urgent passport in the UK, the cost would be 155 GBP or 310$AU

Looking at the total, expenses + fine amount is almost $AU47,000

I’m not including unexpected expenses on the way or to start my life again to get back on my feet .

Going from high to low.

I had the incredible opportunity of living my dream in Indonesia, travelling with no worries, staying in comfortable accommodations, and enjoying amazing food.

Then I woke up one morning, unsure of where my next meal would come from.

What was my obvious basic daily thing like good food, a hot shower and a comfortable bed became a dream again.

I felt incredibly blessed to have met my amazing girlfriend.

Despite her not being able to work due to Covid, she shared her small room with me, providing a place to sleep. Together, we navigated the challenging days when we needed to find meals even if she just had enough for us to eat only rice and salt

After numerous failed attempts to generate income, I have realised that nothing seems to be working out for me. The main obstacle is that I can't work legally in the country.

About 9 months ago I needed to move out of my girlfriend's place and on the same day I met an amazing friend who needed some help around the house and taking care of his dogs when he was away.

He agreed to let me stay in the small room beside the house since I didn't have a place to sleep.

I needed to sleep on the floor and use the old toilets to wash myself with a bucket of water.

He noticed a couple of weeks later that I was sleeping on the floor so he kindly bought me a small mattress

In a gesture of kindness, he even went a step further with his kindness by providing me with a bit of money, which allowed me to buy some rice every day.

After nearly two years of living in a way that I wouldn't wish upon anyone, and trying to sort things out on my own without success, it's clear that I can't handle this alone.

The situation is only getting worse. Therefore,

I am seeking help from anyone willing to help me.

Your support would be greatly appreciated in helping me escape from this situation and start my life over again.

Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to be with my family again for the 30-day burial ceremony of my mother.

Here are my living conditions:

Here are my living conditions:

Disgusting toilets and shower

Daily lunch:

P.S. You Can help with Anything you can spare or even just help spread the word around.

But, for my safety, let's not mention names or places then please don’t  tag me on social media.

Thank you so much for your generosity, kindness and support.

Much love ❤️ 

Mo

RIP my beloved mum ♥️