'Let us stay': Family facing heartbreaking deportation after migration agent scam

A family living in Melbourne's east who has worked in Australia for 18 years are facing deportation after being ripped off by a dodgy immigration agent.

Soonyoung Park and her husband Wonsang Lee have been living in their Forest Hill property with their children since 2005.

The family had applied for a permanent residency visa in 2016, but have since been told it had been refused.

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The registered nurse is now fighting for her family's future after receiving the shocking news.

"Let us stay in Australia. We love Australia, we want to stay," she said.

In March 2016, the family applied for Employer Nomination Scheme visas and permanent residency visas through an immigration agent in Glen Iris.

But after no contact, they realised something was wrong.

The Department of Immigration informed them that their application had never been lodged.

Park said the news had caused significant stress and emotional hardship.

"I was panicking, nothing. I can not imagine," she said.

The federal Liberal MP for the seat of Deakin, Michael Sukkar, who is assisting the family with their case, said it wasn't their fault.

He hoped "common sense" would prevail.

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Can you pick the Black Friday scam text message?

"They were the victims and, through no fault of their own, they are now paying the price," he said.

The family's eldest daughter is a nurse who has permanent residency, but now the family could be torn apart.

"We are losing everything, we will lose our jobs, we can not stay all together," Park said.

The family have created a crowdsourced petition which has gathered almost 12,000 signatures in support.

While the immigration minister can't comment on specific cases, it's understood the ministerial intervention team are looking into the Parks' case.

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