A couple who have been living in Australia for more than a decade have issued a plea to Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to allow them – and their unborn child – to stay in the country.

Michaela Loudinova and her husband Miroslav Sulak have been fighting to remain in Australia for the last five years, ever since their application for permanent residency was rejected in what was assumed to have been a "mistake".

The pair first came to Sydney from their native Czech Republic in January 2013 on student visas.

READ MORE: Moment dad realised missing son was ok

"We absolutely fell in love with this country and wanted to stay," Loudinova said.

Loudinova extended her studies to include management and soon landed a job at a restaurant in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

As the restaurant manager, Loudinova was sponsored by her employer for a skilled visa. 

Three other employees at the same restaurant, who all worked in the kitchen, also applied for a sponsored skilled visa at the same time as Loudinova.

However, the restaurant workers were all left stunned and confused when, in May 2018, two of them were granted visas, and two – including Loudinova – received refusals.

Loudinova's visa was refused because the immigration officer assessing her application determined her employer didn't show enough evidence to prove they were capable of paying her salary for the next two years.

However, all four applications were all based on the same paperwork, leaving everyone scratching their heads.

"We were assured by our lawyer that this must be a mistake, a 'jurisdictional error', she called it," Loudinova said.

READ MORE: Boy plunges 30m after dodging photo at Grand Canyon

Following their lawyer's advice, Loudinova and her husband lodged their case with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

Loudinova continued to work for her employer for two more years until the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the restaurant closed down.

"One day I had a job and the next day I didn't," Loudinova said.

"All our hopes for the future basically ended that day," Sulak said, explaining that, because the business tied to their visa nomination was no longer in operation, their application to stay was also likely to have been rendered invalid.

Do you have a story? Contact reporter Emily McPherson at calls from temporary workers who stayed during the pandemic and contributed to the economy to be provided with more permanent options for residency.

A parliamentary petition on the topic, started by Queensland tourism worker Luca Kattan, was signed by almost 22,000 people.

Responding to the Parkinson review report in a National Press Club address in April, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil acknowledged Australia's migration system was "broken".

Changes planned by the government would help draw skilled migrants to Australia and offer them simpler and clearer ways to gain residency, O'Neil said. 

O'Neil said the government would raise the minimum salary an immigrant needs to receive sponsorship from an employer from 1 July, from $53,000 to $70,000.

It would also create three new pathways for temporary visa holders – a "fast and simple" pathway for high-skilled workers on high salaries, a middle pathway for skilled migrants earning above the temporary skilled migration income threshold, and an easier pathway for lower-earning workers in critical sectors with staff shortages, such as aged care. 

By the end of 2023, all skilled temporary workers would be given the opportunity to apply for permanent residency, she said.