A Brisbane couple want a two-year-old boy, who was born on Manus Island and they consider their "son", to be granted Australian residency to prevent him being deported.
Craig and Karen Wells say they have cared for the child, who they have called "Cal", for more than a year and have not been able to contact his parents since Christmas.
The couple, from Deception Bay, north of Brisbane, claim the boy's Papua New Guinea-based father, who worked with Mr Wells at the Manus Island Detention Centre, gave them permission to raise the child when he visited Australia last year.
Mr and Mrs Wells say Cal's father told them he did not have the means to take care of Cal himself and the boy was going to be given away to another village.
They have set up a change.org petition to put pressure on the immigration department to overturn its decision to reject a permanent residency application for the boy.
The petition states that Cal is a "very much loved and wanted child in his Australian family and our wider community".
"He is a beautiful, funny, cheeky little boy who just wants to be loved and cared for and we are fighting the decision to deport him."
The couple did apply for Cal to be placed on an orphan visa but that has been rejected.
The decision is under review by the Administrative Appeal Tribunal.
They said they have had to travel back and forth to PNG every three months to renew Cal's temporary visa, which has put the family under strain financially, physically and emotionally.
A crowd funding page to assist the family with legal and travel bills has also been set up.
So far 896 signatures have been attained, about a third of the 2500 target, and $1125 has been raised towards the $5000 goal on the gofundme.com website.
