TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Britain is threatening to deport a 27-year-old doctor to Taiwan within a week even though she has spent more than half her life in the European country, British media reported Tuesday (Oct. 1).

Chiang Mu-chun lived in Scotland with her parents from 1997 to 2002 and went on to study medicine at Cambridge in 2006. She has been working at a hospital in Liverpool, where she is completing her training as a doctor.

However, the British authorities sent her a letter telling her to leave the country or face detention and removal. “If you do not leave voluntarily and removal action is required you may be subject to a re-entry ban of up to 10 years. You may also be prosecuted for the offense of overstaying, the penalty for which is a fine and/or up to 6 months imprisonment,” the Daily Mail quoted the letter as saying.

Chiang described the letter as “threatening” and “hostile,” and felt like packing up and leaving, The Independent reported. The case started due to a minor administrative issue.

Her student visa expired in June, but an application for a working visa was rejected because her bank balance in one account had dropped below the required £945 (NT$36,000, US$1,159) for a few days during the 90 days before the application, according to The Independent.

Chiang argued that another account showed she had the necessary funds, but the authorities refused to accept her notice because it came too late.

One of her friends, Mina Mesri, launched an online petition campaign in her favor which collected 34,000 signatures in a few days. As a result, the British government is reconsidering her case.