Hey, my name is Tien. I am reaching out to you because I am stuck in a very difficult situation.

I was born in Vietnam and migrated to Australia when I was just 3 years old. My family was sponsored by my uncle who owned a bakery in a small town, unfortunately my uncle was taking thousands of dollars from parents promising to renew our sponsorship visa for us to stay but never did. So my parents decided to move away from him to Katoomba, now under a protection visa. I did my high school years at Katoomba and as I got older, I began to understand my situation. I wanted to work and begin building my life like all my friends were but my visa restrictions stopped me from doing that. Watching my parents struggle just to put food on the table, while I couldn’t contribute was difficult.

I was constantly looking for a pathway to getting a PR but nothing seemed possible. There was no luck, until I met my significant other. We both agreed to apply for a De Facto partner visa. However it required me to leave Australia and apply it overseas. It was a huge risk but I dreamed about the new opportunities that arose from being a permanent resident in Australia and believing it would lead to a better future. We proceeded to do all the paperwork and pay all the visa and lawyer fees. So then I returned to Vietnam having a vision to come back to shortly. After 9 months of living in Vietnam, waiting for my application to be approved and maintaining a long distance relationship it unfortunately didn’t workout with her. I was devastated and stranded in Vietnam with no way home. Since then I came across a potential pathway, a student visa based in Darwin. This opportunity will allow me to work legally and slowly build up to a permanent residency. I am an Australian though and through and this student pathway will lead me back home to my friends and family.

Today I am kindly asking for any contribution towards my journey home. It would mean a lot to me and I’ll be one step closer to returning to a place I’ve always called home. Thank you all for listening my story I dream to repay your kindness one day.

My good friend Avalon has organised this GoFundMe as the platform is unavailable in Vietnam. All funds will be sent directly to Tien Nguyen and will fund the student visa requirements.