A junior NHS doctor has been told to leave the UK in 10 days otherwise she could face deportation or prosecution - despite living in the UK for the majority of her life.
Mu-Chun Chiang, who is originally from Taiwan, works in Liverpool as a doctor. She moved to Glasgow aged five with her parents and lived there until 2002. Then she moved to the UK in 2006 on her own for secondary school education.
Now aged 27, she has lived in the UK for longer than she has been in Taiwan but because of a 'small administrative error' the Home Office has told her she must leave the United Kingdom.
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A Change.org petition has been set up to help Mu-Chun stay in the UK which says: "We have a doctor shortage in the UK. Mu is a loving friend and has been a caring doctor to her patients and an amazing colleague to her NHS co-workers for the past 2 years while working as a foundation doctor. The decision to deport her is devastating for Mu, and non-sensical for everyone else."
The doctor has been here on a student visa since 2006 but earlier this year she applied for a working visa in order to stay, this included a sponsorship certificate from Health Education England.
Her application was rejected in August because she couldn't provide evidence that showed that she had greater than £945 throughout the last 90 days in her bank account - a requirement to prove she is self-supporting.
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The Change.org petition explains Mu-Chun's position: "Unfortunately, her current account balance had dropped to less than this limit as she was under the impression that this balance only needed to be met at the end of each month."
Speaking to Sky News, Mu-Chun said: "When I went back to Taiwan, it was a different environment and a little bit tricky for me - I was quite young and really wanted to get back to the UK.
"My family is in Taiwan, but I'm more in tune with what's going on in the UK, it feels like I'm at home. I enjoy helping people, always enjoyed biology and science at school, and since pursuing that path have never looked back."
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She continued: "I failed to realise they meant at no point, not even one hour of the day, was my money allowed to drop below the £945. This was a genuine misinterpretation of the rules."
In a statement to Sky News, a Home Office spokesperson said: "All visa applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the immigration rules. Ms Chiang did not provide the evidence required to be granted a visa but we are in contact with her and are discussing the options available to her."
Featured Image Credit: Change.orgTopics: UK News, News, Home Office