EXCLUSIVE: One year ago, Sydney schoolgirl Tran Kha Han lost her mother in unthinkable circumstances.
Now, the 10-year-old's family is fighting for her not to lose her home as well, after being told by the Department of Home Affairs her application for permanent residency can no longer proceed because of her mother's death.
Tragedy struck the family on October 23 last year, when Han's mother, Pham Huyen Trang, was on an outing with friends to regional NSW.
The car she was travelling in was swept off the road in floodwaters north of Mudgee.
Trang's husband and Han's stepfather, Linh Hoang, was at the family's home in Sydney's Bonnyrigg when he got the call from police late at night.
"They just said there has been an accident and she is missing," Hoang said.
While the three other passengers in the car managed to escape and survive, Trang did not.
The 36-year-old's body was found by emergency services on the banks of the flooded Cooyal Creek the next morning.
The fatal accident came less than two years after Trang and Han moved to Sydney from their native Vietnam to start a new life as a family with Hoang, who is Australian.
Hoang, 41, told 9news.com.au he met and fell in love with his "beautiful wife" in 2016 when he went on a holiday to Vietnam with friends.
"We just connected and then I flew back a few more times to see her," he said.
The couple got married in 2018 and then applied for an offshore partner visa so that Trang and her daughter could move to Australia.
A provisional partner visa was granted, allowing Trang and Han to come to Australia in 2020.
Trang was just a few months away from being eligible to apply for a permanent partner visa, which would have also granted permanent residency to her daughter, when she died.
Hoang said the family was still struggling to make sense of their loss 12 months on, which came just as Trang and Han had settled into their new lives.
"(Trang) was always happy and cheerful. She was hard working and just really loved her daughter," he said.
"She came here for a better life and this is what happened."
Han, who had an extremely close relationship with her mother, was suffering greatly, Hoang added.
"Han cries a lot and misses her mum so much," he said.
"She was a lively, outgoing girl but now she avoids social situations."
Adding to the family's distress is the uncertainty about whether Han will be able to stay in Australia.
As Han was named as a dependent on her mother's visa application, her application had been "suspended" by the Department of Home Affairs, Hoang said.
"They haven't given any more details about what is going to happen. She could be told tomorrow that she has to go back to Vietnam, or in six months time, no-one knows."
Hoang said Han had no-one to care for her properly if she was sent back to Vietnam.
"Han's biological father was not involved in raising Han at all and her grandparents are old and not able to look after her," he said.
"I've spoken to her grandparents and they want her to stay here. They think Australia will offer a better education for her and a better life."
"Han also wants to stay here. She has all her school friends here, she has her life here."
Hoang said his late wife's sister, Han's aunt, was also living in Sydney, and had been able to provide much-needed emotional support for Han.
Migration Agent Nguyen Minh Thanh, who is handling the family's visa matters, said he had lodged an application for ministerial intervention into Han's case in June, but was yet to receive a response, leaving the family to live in a painful limbo.
"I have spoken to the girl a few times and she was crying every time," Thanh said.
"She's always afraid that people will ask her to leave the country because her mum is not here to protect her.
"Her mental health is getting worse. She wants to stay here with her stepfather and continue her mum's dream - be a good citizen of this beautiful Australia."
A government spokesperson said: "The minister's office is aware of the case, however is unable to comment further due to privacy."
9news.com.au understands the outcome of the application for Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to intervene in Han's case could hinge on the family being able to formalise custody arrangements for Han.
Thanh said custody was not in dispute in Han's case.
Han's biological father did not have the means to support his daughter and had not expressed any interest in applying for custody, he said.
Her biological father was also aware of the family's efforts for her to stay permanently in Australia and was not opposed to them, Minh said.
The family has started an online petition calling on Australian authorities to let Han stay in Australia, which has so far attracted more than 10,000 signatures.
