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No job, no visa, no health care -- and barred from returning home. This powder keg of misfortunes is the current reality for tens of thousands of expats who hold the world's ninth most powerful passport.
While situations differ, one point remains the same -- Australians abroad feel abandoned by their government during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sunday marked two months since Prime Minister Scott Morrison introduced a cap of just under 4,000 international arrivals per week. He made the move in response to the country's second coronavirus wave, which was sparked by a hotel quarantine security scandal.
The cap has resulted in a barrage and backlog of cancelled flights, with ticket prices skyrocketing.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) says at least 25,000 Australians, many of who are financially and medically vulnerable, have registered their need to come home since July. However, the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia estimates the true number of those stranded is closer to 100,000.
Prior to the pandemic, the Aussie accent echoed across the world, with over one million Australians living and working overseas at any given time.
Before the cap was put in place, Australia already had some of the world's strictest coronavirus travel measures. Since March, hotel quarantine has been mandated, foreign tourists have been barred from entry and citizens banned from leaving.
Those trying to return home now are Australian citizens who left the country prior to the pandemic, not holiday makers.
"You should have come home"
In the first three months following international border closures, over 357,000 Australian citizens returned home, according to DFAT.
Contrast that to the past two months, where the cap restricted entry to just over 30,000 Australian citizens. It's the argument of critics, including Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, that citizens should have returned in the early stages of the pandemic.
"If you wanted to come back you should have already come back in most circumstances," said Birmingham.
A number of Australians currently stranded abroad told CNN that while the government did urge citizens to return home in March, it was a message aimed at short term travellers.
Those who had a permanent job, home and savings were advised by their consulates to stay put. No one in March could predict the trajectory the pandemic would take, nor the impact it would have on their lives. Six months on, many still have a secure income and home, while others have had their lives crumble apart.
For Stephen Spencer in Abu Dhabi, returning to Australia in March would've meant quitting his job, uprooting his kids' education and abandoning his house -- with nothing secured on the other side. Spencer and his wife Kate chose the most stable option for their kids, which was to ride it out in Abu Dhabi.
Several months later, Spencer lost his job and is now struggling to get his family home. As the sponsor of his wife and teenagers, once he cancels their visas, an act he must do before they leave, they will have just 30 days to exit the country.
"If we are unable to get on a flight to Australia, we are effectively living as refugees, with no legal right to remain in the UAE and a home country that will not allow us to return," he explained. "I cannot believe how quickly the Australian government abandoned its citizens overseas."
It's a story retold by many of those stranded.
Sarah Tasneem was living in Canada when the invisible enemy caused the world to go into hibernation. She had a stable job and was undergoing the process of permanent residency. However, her application was canceled by the Canadian government in June, resulting in the loss of employment. She is now running out of money and is unable to work while she fights to get home.
"I am worried I will eventually face deportation," Tasneem said. "I am running out of time."
She has been advised by her embassy to take money out of her retirement fund. It was an option...