Albany woman Ellie Gregory buried fiancé on wedding day, faces deportation Ellie Gregory farewelled the love of her life on the day she was supposed to marry him. Picture: Warren Bellette Source: The Sunday Times ELLIE Gregory farewelled the love of her life on the day she was supposed to marry him. Without warning, her fiance Jukka Guy died suddenly in his sleep - in the days leading up to what promised to be the happiest moment of their lives. Their April 5 wedding day became 27-year-old Jukka's funeral, a tragic reminder of the life they had hoped to share together. Opinion: 'Sometimes the rules need to be broken' And now authorities are warning the UK-raised Ms Gregory she must leave the country by December 6, because she didn't get the chance to wed her sweetheart and become an Australian resident. Today, she makes an impassioned plea for the Immigration Department to let her stay in WA - the home where she and Jukka built their lives together. Ms Gregory set off on the adventure of a lifetime from her home near London in 2009, backpacking around Australia. But after meeting Jukka at his father's pub in Ongerup, 400km southeast of Perth, she quickly found love and a new home in Albany. ``I've given up my life at home," Ms Gregory, 24, said. ``I've moved everything over here - I've said goodbye to my family and friends. My family and friends are here now. I've built a life here. In a letter to the Immigration Department, Ms Gregory said she hoped authorities could recognise the ``truly exceptional circumstances" and ``allow me to remain in the country where we had created our lives together." Ellie Gregory and Jukka Guy. ``Even after this exceptionally devastating turn of events... I still believe that my life is here," she wrote. ``I need to be around friends and family who loved him, to be where he is and where at every turn, I have a fantastic memory of a magical man whom I loved very much and know that I will never forget. ``I very much want to continue with the life we had planned, albeit now on my own. I love Australia and I love living in Albany and I have carved out a good life for myself. ``I would love nothing more than to remain in Albany, continuing to live the life we had planned. Ms Gregory was granted temporary residency earlier this year, in anticipation of the couple's wedding on April 5. She was notified by the department last week that she will need to leave the country by December 6, when her prospective marriage visa expires. But Ms Gregory said the couple had made ``significant sacrifices to remain together as a couple," pursuing ``every option possible to remain together always within the rules of the Australian immigration system," and she hoped authorities could help her realise that dream. Albany MLA Peter Watson, who coached Jukka in junior footy, said his death was ``tragic" and he hoped ``common sense" would prevail. ``Surely there's a common sense rule," he said. ``The circumstances of Jukka's death were tragic. I plan to meet with (Ms Gregory) and I will follow this up with the Immigration Department next week. A spokesman for the Immigration Department said it was unable to discuss individual cases, but said the prospective marriage visa was ``no longer valid" if the person's partner died before they were married. They said the person involved would most likely have to leave the country and apply for another visa to re-enter Australia. ``If the applicant's sponsor passes away under a prospective marriage visa, essentially that visa is no longer valid," the spokesman said. ``Had they married and then something tragic happened, the case would be different. But as the prospective marriage visa grants you permission to be in Australia to marry your partner, that visa is no longer valid. Ms Gregory said more than 1000 people, including the couple's 120 wedding guests, attended Jukka's funeral. A much-loved premiership player with North Albany Football Club, she said ``since the day we met, I knew that we were supposed to be together. The Federal Government was unable to comment because Cabinet has not yet been sworn in.