Grandma faces deportation after 40 years in Australia
Mary Ellis, 74, has lived in Australia for over 40 years, but now she faces deportation.
The grandmother is known as a local hero in northern New South Wales, for her charitable acts including helping feed the homeless in Tweed Heads, raising money for the Salvation Army.
She was even nominated for the NSW Volunteer of the Year award last year.
Despite her tireless efforts to help out other Australians, the senior might soon have to leave the country she has called home since she was 31-years-old.
"(I have a) Driver's License, ID card, Medicare Card, Pension card. Everything Australians have," Ellis told A Current Affair.
"I thought well, I'm a permanent resident.
"You know, I carry on doing my daily - what I do every day. Nobody said anything."
Ellis, who was born in London and moved here with her partner in 1981, was told that her partner had already arranged permanent visas for them.
But one day, the Department of Home Affairs suddenly decided she's got to go.
"This is my home and I love Australia ... I want to stay here," the grandma tearfully said.
"Just let me get Australian citizenship, please let me.. that's what I want."
Ellis has a son and two granddaughters in Australia, who are all Australian Citizens.
Migration agent Stanley Schneider has been helping Ellis pro-bono since she was asked to leave, said that she was an absorbed person under the Migration Act and should be allowed to stay.
"She's always paid her taxes.. she's never even had a speeding ticket," Schneider said.
"She's never infringed anything. She's never offended anyone."
The Migration Act requires someone to have been in Australia since April 2, 1984 and not have left, but the Department of Home Affairs claims Mary left the country three times under different aliases.
Ellis denies the allegations.
"I love Australia. (I) didn't want to go anywhere else," she said.
She also said that she has documents that prove she was in Australia during the timeframe in question, which includes a job reference from a Tasmanian restaurant that she worked at from 1983 to 1986, and a Medicare enrolment letter signed by then federal Health Minister Neal Blewett.
Ellis' migration agent said that the documents would not have been sent to her had she not been in the country.
"Mary Ellis is a decent person. A person we should be absolutely thrilled to have in Australia," Schneider said.
"And she's an Australian, Let's face it."
In a statement shared to A Current Affair, the Department of Home Affairs said that they do not comment on individual cases.
"People who do not have the right to remain in Australia are expected to depart," a government spokesperson said.
"Individuals who provide incorrect information may be liable to have their visa cancelled under the provisions of the Migration Act."
Image: Nine/ A Current Affair