A budding Australian citizen is being inundated with suitors, after her Bachelorette-style quest for love went viral on social media.

On Tuesday, Kate (not her real name), 20, started the Facebook page “Kate wants a date”, with the aim of finding her soulmate.

Since then, the response has been “out of control”, Kate, told The New Daily.

Her initial post asking for love has received over 11,000 responses, her inbox has received thousands more, and she’s been forced to address accusations she’s using unscrupulous methods to obtain a visa.

“I lost count [of the messages],” she said. “Every time I check there are 600 more.

“I read the messages first, then have a look at their profile. If the message is short, when they only say ‘hey’ I just delete it.

“When there is a longer message with someone telling a bit about themselves then I take the time to read it and reply to it.

“Whenever I see someone too old or talking weird I just delete it straight away.”

Not a scam, Kate claims

Kate assured The New Daily her quest for love “is real”. That’s even though her story bares a striking resemblance to that of a French woman, who fooled the media in September 2015.

Natalie Amyot (real name Alizee Michel) posted a video from Queensland town Mooloolaba, desperately looking for the father of her unborn baby.

“[On holiday in Mooloolaba], I met amazing people,” Ms Michel said. “On the last night, we had a party, we went to O’Malley’s and Wharf Tavern and I met this really cute guy.

Ms Michel said she returned to Australia to find the man, and the media was fooled. Until it was revealed the video was a marketing campaign for Mooloolaba.

‘It’s turned out way too big’

Kate was “born and raised in the Netherlands” and has been in Australia for one year, but was recently dumped by her boyfriend in Coffs Harbour.

“I have a dream to be an Australian citizen, to have a good job, to have my own property and to find an Aussie to stay with for the rest of my life,” she wrote on her Facebook page “Kate Wants a Date”.

“I’m not looking for a visa, I’m looking for love. I’m a nice, sweet, loyal, down-to-earth girl and I’m fun to be around with. Very stubborn too. I’m young but I know what my goals in life are.”

Kate told The New Daily she had used dating sites like Tinder, OkCupid and Hot or Not.

“I actually made the page hoping I could find someone, maybe a friend of a friend or something but it turned out way too big,” she said. “Australia is such a big country and somehow I thought I was missing out.

“Everyone has got Facebook these days so I thought maybe this would be a better idea.”

Read Kate’s criteria below:

Riley Burns responded to the above post: “My good mate Ethan is also looking for the love of his life, he’s very dependable and loves the outdoors although he needs work on his motorbike skills.

“He loves the thrill of adventure but can’t be higher than 3m off the ground, he is the romantic type and a real lover boy.

“He also wants to have 3 kids, 2 boys called Dale and Noosha and 1 girl called Sarah. This could be your man Katie, feel free to message him at any time.”

Kate told The New Daily she hadn’t settled on anyone just yet.

In a post to her page on Friday afternoon, Kate addressed accusations she was only doing this to obtain Australian citizenship.

“I didn’t make this page just to get a marriage visa,” she wrote.

“I made this page to find someone to share my life with. I don’t want to use anyone. I’m not doing anything wrong.

“Maybe I’m applying for a student visa when my time here is up? Maybe I’m not? Maybe I’ve got other plans? Who knows.”