A grandmother fighting deportation has been recognised as a model citizen for her selfless volunteer work after living in Australia for 40 years.
Mary Ellis, 74, is still on on a merry-go-round of bridging visas as she battles to stay in the country, and was even told she can’t officially use her own name.
The hard-working gran, amid her gruelling battle with the Department of Immigration, has been nominated for the latest New South Wales Senior Volunteer of the Year award for a second time in recognition of her service to her community.
Now her migration agent has hit out at the Albanese government for her ‘appalling’ treatment by migration department staff and branded the pensioner’s ordeal ‘torture’.
Stanley Shneider told Daily Mail Australia he believes Migration Minister Tony Burke ‘will be appalled by the behaviour of his staff’.
The Gold Coast migration agent had previously urged the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, to use his power to recognise his client as an ‘absorbed person’.
‘She is one of the nicest persons ever to fill that role,’ she said.
‘But I’ll bet London to a brick the Minister hasn’t ever been given the file by his minions.’
Getting nominated for the second year running as NSW Senior Volunteer of the Year brought a smile to Mary Ellis (pictured) amid the ‘torture’ of her running battle with the Department of Immigration to stay in Australia
Migration agent Stanley Shneider (pictured with client Mary Ellis) fired a broadside at the behaviour of migration staff, saying that new minister Tony Burke would be appalled
Ms Ellis worked in hospitality and then for the NSW government for 30 years.
A popular figure in her community due to the time she spends volunteering and raising money for The Salvation Army, Ms Ellis also worked in home care. Her volunteer work earned her award nominations for 2023 and 2024.
Two weeks ago, Daily Mail Australia revealed that Ms Ellis’ case worker had stunned the gran and her agent with the ‘absurd’ demand over what name she must use.
The case worker insisted Mary stop using Ellis in her migration dealings and start using ‘McHugo’, the name of her first husband who died decades ago.
Mr Shneider has now given Daily Mail Australia the letter he sent to Mary’s case officer over the name switch, 57 years after the couple married and around half a century since they divorced.
‘Your department started making demands of her many years ago and always addressed her with the surname Ellis,’ Mr Shneider wrote to the case officer.
‘Right up until today, when you first started calling her by her long unused name McHugo.’
There have been about 34 applications granted in her true name Ellis by the Department over many years and an application made to the Minister for ministerial intervention in her name Ellis.
Mary’s volunteer work earned her award nominations for 2023 and 2024, all the while as she is threatened with deportation
Stan Shneider wrote to Mary’s migration case worked about the ‘absurd’ demand she use the surname of her long dead, ex-husband
‘She has used the name Ellis quite properly and quite legally for some 45 years,’ he added.
After the Mail’s last story, Daily Mail Australia readers rallied around the grandmother and have been scathing about ‘confusing’ migration rules.
It sparked furious debate among readers about immigrations rules, Australian citizenship, and acquiring ID documents.
Many female readers focused on the traditions of changing one’s name to get married, and than back after divorce.
One reader said: ‘Not everyone comes from functional families.
‘She relied on her partner and lived here de facto. Even the government employed her. Let’s see if Albo Government can have the strength to use common sense and humanity here.’
Another posted: ‘In my eyes the 40 yrs of good behaviour and good character is sufficient cause and reason for the Good Australian Immigration dept to allow her to carry on living there’.
A third wrote: ‘Whatever the reasons … she has, legally, been here for 40yrs … has worked and contributed to this country … has not committed any crimes and has been a model citizen.
Mary has been forced into ditching her own name for an old married name she hadn’t used for 45 years sparked furious debate among readers about immigrations rules
‘There should be no discussion on whether she can stay or not … she is being treated appallingly … but typical of the Labor government … there is absolutely no reason to send her back’.
The responses to Mary’s plight included people both in Australia, the UK and Ireland lambasting government procedure.
One Irish reader wrote: ‘This is a tragic case and the Government are either applying the regulation very dogmatically, or they are indeed simply embarrassed that she was a Government employee for many years. What is her company director relative doing to help? It is unfortunate that she never applied for citizenship though.’
Another said: ‘The temporary bridging visas last for 3 months each. So 4 per year, since she was called to the dept of HA &told she was there illegally. Not rocket science… she’s a grandmother who has lived, worked (including for government!) & paid taxes in Aus for decades.’
AnywhereAustralia posted: ‘British subjects were granted special treatment until the early 80’s when Keating changed the laws. There was a grace period for the change over and I think it was early 80’s. I think if she had stayed from 81 even without a PR as wives often did just take husband’s word she may have been covered but that they say she left twice could be causing the issue. All very confusing.’
Mary Ellis’ fight to stay in Australia first came to light when she went on television last year to beg the Department of Home Affairs to let her stay in Australia after she was threatened with deportation.
Home Affairs claimed she left Australia three times under an alias between 1983 and 1986, making her ineligible for qualifying to stay as an ‘absorbed’ person.
The Department also said Mary’s late second husband Martin Ellis was really a man named Trevor Warren, and that she had lied about her past. She denies both allegations.
A popular figure in her community due to the time she spends volunteering and raising money for The Salvation Army, Mary Ellis also worked in home care
Mary was only 19 when she married soldier Sean McHugo (pictured) in London in 1968, but they divorced and he remarried and died 20 years ago
Ms Ellis told Daily Mail Australia that on arrival in Australia in 1981, her partner told her he acquired permanent residency visas for them both – which she discovered to her shock was not true decades later.
In an interview with Australia’s Nine Network, she said: ‘I have a Driver’s Licence, ID card, Medicare Card, Pension card. Everything Australians have.
‘I thought well, I’m a permanent resident. You know, I carry on doing what I do every day. Nobody said anything.’
The discovery came when the pensioner was asked to visit the Brisbane office of the Home Affairs department, where she was told she had been living in Australia illegally.
Home Affairs told Daily Mail Australia that the minister’s personal intervention powers were only enlivened under certain sections of Migration Act, which are when a person is refused a visa, or a review tribunal refuses to intervene in the case.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk