Wannon MP Dan Tehan has written to federal Immigration Minister David Coleman asking him to allow a Warrnambool family to stay in the country.
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Rajasegaran Manikam, his wife Premawathy Balasupramaniam and their children Vanisre, 18, and Vela, 8, have been told they may face deportation to Singapore in weeks due to a health issue.
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Their fight to stay in Australia has gained national media coverage and massive community support.
Mr Tehan said he had been working with the family to secure their stay in Australia. They have been in the country since 2013.
"I have been in close contact with the family throughout their visa review process," he said.
"I have written to Minister Coleman and asked him to consider a Ministerial Intervention.
"It is inappropriate to comment further while the matter is ongoing."
A petition urging him to allow the family to stay has garnered nearly 20,000 signatures.
Mr Manikam spent $150,000 moving his family to Australia in 2013 and more than $50,000 attempting to obtain permanent residency status.
However, that bid has been rejected because Mr Manikam has the early stages of kidney disease.
Mr Manikam said he had no symptoms of the disease and with the help of medication and a vegetarian diet he has increased the function of his kidney from 20 to 47 per cent.
He said he was heartbroken that his condition was threatening his children's futures.
"When my kidney fails I will not go on dialysis and I will not get a kidney transplant," Mr Manikam said.
"I don't want to take money from the Commonwealth."
A spokesman for the Department of Home Affairs said it did not comment on individual cases.
"Most visas require applicants to meet the migration health requirement set out in Australian migration law," he said.
"The health requirement is not condition-specific and the assessment is undertaken individually for each applicant based on their condition and level of severity. It is an objective assessment to determine whether the care of the individual during their stay in Australia would likely result in significant costs to the Australian community or prejudice the access of Australian citizens and permanent residents to services in short supply.
"For certain visas, primary criteria for the grant of the visa requires that all members of a family unit satisfy certain requirements including health. If one of the members of a family unit does not satisfy these requirements, then the primary applicant will not meet the criteria for the grant of the visa."
The spokesman said the Minister only intervened in a small number of cases which presented "unique and exceptional circumstances" and where he considered "that it was in the public interest to do so".
He said individuals may remain in Australia while their case was being considered.
When the family's visa expires on August 21 the couple will no longer be allowed to work.
Mr Manikam works in a Warrnambool aged-care facility and Ms Balasupramaniam works at Florence Collins.
You can sign the petition by clicking here.
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