Great-grandmother, 93, is set to be deported from Australia to Britain - and her devastated family are worried she could DIE on the flight
- A devastated family are trying to prevent their matriarch from being deported
- Mollie Manley, 93, moved to Australia 11 years ago to be closer to her family
- She now faces deportation after not meeting the health criteria for a visa
- Family are pleading with the government to show compassion for Ms Manley
A great-grandmother is being deported back to Britain where she has no family after she was declared to be too much of a burden on the Australian health system.
Mollie Manley, 93, moved to Australia 11 years ago from Somerset, England to be close to her family.
However, after suffering a minor stroke recently Ms Manley's family feared the worst and gathered at her bedside to say their last goodbyes.
She survived the ordeal but now faces being sent back to England after she failed to obtain a permanent residency visa - and her family are worried she will die on the flight back to the UK.
Frail great-grandmother Mollie Manley (pictured with her great-grandchildren) is being deported back to Britain where she has no family after it was decided she was too much of a burden on the health system
Her grand-daughter Lauren Oliver brings Ms Manley's three great-grandchildren, Logan, 9, Evan, 7, and Jasmine, 3, to visit her every week from their home in Perth, and told Daily Mail Australia the family were shattered by the news.
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'We are so devastated. We love her so much and the thought that she could be sent back after 11 years is so heartbreaking,' she said.
'She would have no one and would die alone, here she has her only child, my mother, her son-in-law, my dad, three grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.'
Ms Manley was informed on May 12 that her application for an aged parent visa was rejected because she does not fit the criteria due to her poor health.
The health criteria state that an applicant must be free from disease and must be free of any condition which would cost the health sector more than $40,000 in total.
Ms Manley's full-time care would cost about $145,000 for the next three years.
'We are desperately hoping that they can show our family and Mollie just a little bit of compassion and allow her to stay with us,' Mrs Oliver said.
Sadly, Mrs Oliver said she still hasn't been able to bring herself to tell Ms Manley she is set for deportation.
'We haven't told our children or Mollie at this stage. I don't think Mollie would be able to hear this news, it would upset her too much. We don't believe that she would survive the flight home even she is that frail,' she said.
'We just want people to know that to us she means the world. We love her so much and just want to make her final days full of joy and happiness, which she gets from her family.'
Her granddaughter, Lauren Oliver (pictured), brings Ms Manley's three great-grandchildren to visit her every week and told Daily Mail Australia the family were devastated
Mrs Oliver said it was heartbreaking to think of Ms Manley being isolated from her family on the other side of the world in the last years of her life
Ms Manley's son-in-law Robert Rowe said she wouldn't survive the flight from Australia back to Britain and she has no family there to help care for her, which has also worried Mrs Oliver.
Mr Rowe told SBS the family only had one other avenue available to them.
'The next step would be ministerial intervention, and this, if she's still alive, I would think will probably succeed because it would be unconscionable to deport her,' Mr Rowe said.
Mrs Oliver said it was heartbreaking to think of Ms Manley being isolated from her family on the other side of the world in the last years of her life.
'I just think it's very sad for a lady of that age to die alone without her family around,' she said.
Mr Rowe has written to the Home Affairs Office pleading for them to reconsider their decision and reiterated that the flight alone posed a severe risk to Ms Manley's health and wellbeing.
Mollie's son-in-law Robert Rowe has written to the Home Affairs Office pleading for them to reconsider their decision and reiterated that the flight alone posed a severe risk to Ms Manley's health and wellbeing
The Home Affairs Office told Mr Rowe they assess every application on an individual basis including meeting relevant health checks.
Mrs Oliver said her grandmother was not a burden and after living for 93 years deserved a more dignified end.
'She's not a drain on the society, she's a 93-year-old lady who is going to die peacefully in her bed,' she said.
'All she wants is to pass away peacefully here with her family by her side. We ask that they just allow her to do this.'
The family is expected to hear the final decision on Ms Manley's visa very soon but are also expecting to be told she has 28 days to vacate the country.
'She would have no one and would die alone, here she has her only child, my mother, her son in law, my dad, three grandchildren and nine great grandchildren,' Mrs Oliver said (pictured - Mollie with her extended family in Australia including Robert Rowe - centre back)
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