A 57-year-old woman who has lived in the UK since she was three has been told she faces deportation to her native South Africa. A job application revealed that Eve Woods was not a British citizen‚ MailOnline reported on Saturday. She was asked to prove she had the right to work in the UK‚ but government officials told her she did not have "settled status"' in the country.Woods‚ a mother of two‚ said there would be no one to care for her elderly father if she was forced to leave. She said she arrived from South Africa in 1962 with her mother and two siblings‚ travelling on her mother's passport."All I wanted to do was get a job and earn some money for myself. I didn't want to get citizenship as I don't see why I need to take a citizenship test when I've lived here all my life. I've never known anything different‚" said Woods."I don't know anyone in South Africa. I don't have any family there. I'm devastated."Woods said she was educated in the UK‚ worked‚ married twice‚ and brought up two sons. One of them‚ James‚ died in 2003‚ and she decided it was time to go back to work when her youngest son‚ Shane‚ turned 18.A letter from the government said: "You do not have permission to be in the United Kingdom. Whilst you remain in the UK without leave you are liable to be removed." Woods asked her MP for help‚ and a Home Office spokesman told MailOnline: "'We have been in touch with Ms Woods via her MP to explain the options available to her‚ which includes the option of making another application."All immigration applications are treated on their individual merits and on the basis of the evidence provided."- TMG Digital/The Times..