WE CAN STAY: Launceston family wins four-year immigration battle

Restaurant owner Dan Thi Tran and her children Linh, Lam and Dat had spent the past four years facing deportation to Vietnam.

After tribunals, appeals, and a six-month wait for ministerial intervention, they received news of a "favourable outcome" from the Immigration Minister's office.

The family's migration agent was crying when she called through to relay news that the family had been granted a permanent visa - a far better outcome than the visa extension they had hoped for.

"I just froze and my sister froze and my mum was crying with happiness," Lam Vo said.

"It was a bit of a rollercoaster."

The family arrived in Launceston in 2017 and set up their Yorktown Square shop soon after.

Their drama began in 2020 when their previous migration agent "failed to properly inform them" about the requirements of their visa application.

After being refused a visa and losing tribunals appeals, the family went public with their story and had their case put before the Immigration Minister.

They had plenty of support - a petition to keep the family in Launceston collected 19,000-plus signatures and many of their customers wrote letters to the government urging that their visas be granted.

But it was a harrowing time for the family.

"Every single day it's every day waking up and thinking 'do I have to leave'?" Miss Vo said.

"It wasn't a good feeling at all - sometime I'd just wake up in the middle of the night and think 'how do I pack up all these things and go'.

"[There were] hundreds of questions and my brain would keep spiralling."

Federal Bass MP Bridget Archer has been among those campaigning for the family since the issue hit a crossroads in August.

She said she was "incredibly pleased" with the outcome.

"The way the community rallied behind Ms Tran and her children is a strong testament to how loved they are by so many," she said.

"It is wonderful that the family can continue to be a part of our region."

The phone hasn't stopped ringing since the good news came through.

Customers have sent in flowers, and after years without a major update, the Tran family can finally say 'yes' when customers ask if their visa has come through.

Miss Vo and her brother are both studying a bachelor of business at UTAS, with the former set to graduate this year.

"We're really happy with our lives [how they are], it was just the visa," she said.

"We don't have any big plans - we'll just keep living and doing what we do - keep studying, serving the customer and making good food for them."