A convicted Polish drug dealer has overturned a bid to deport him from the UK because he cannot speak Polish and has no family in his birth country.
Nikodem Lopata, 22, of Crewe, Cheshire, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison at age 19 and was told by the Home Office that he would be sent back to his birth country.
But after being released Lopata, who came to Britain aged four, appealed the decision under human rights laws.
He said he could not speak Polish and had no close family or friends living in Poland anymore, meaning he would find 're-integrating' very difficult having lived almost all his life in the UK.
The Polish national was arrested at the age of 16 for possession of cocaine with intent to supply, leading to a community order.
Two years later he was convicted of motor vehicle offences and possession of cannabis, which saw him incur six points on his licence and a fine.
Three months after that, he was caught with more than £1,000 of drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine, while carrying a 'Rambo'-style knife.
At this point, the Secretary of State, then Suella Braverman, decided to pursue deportation.
But judges have now rejected the Government's argument that he should be forced to leave the UK.
The Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber in Manchester was told Lopata 'has an unenviable list of convictions given his young age.'
Lapota appealed the decision to deport him as well as the refusal of his application for leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme on human rights grounds.
The case was heard in August, 2024, with Lapota and his mother giving evidence.
'Lapota had spent the majority of his life in the UK, including his formative years and attended school in the UK, and it was accepted that he is likely to have built friendships and ties outside of the family unit,' Judge Ali said.
'It was also accepted that he would have little physical family support in Poland given that his mother and uncles are resident in the UK, and he does not appear to have had any contact with his father.'
The law states that foreign nationals who have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of 4 years or more 'must demonstrate there are very compelling circumstances [to overturn deportation].
'The exception will be met where the person has been lawfully resident in the UK for most of their life, they are socially and culturally integrated in the UK and there would be very significant obstacles to their integration into the country to which it is proposed they be deported.'
Relevant factors when considering whether to deport a convict include 'the length of time the foreign national has lived in the UK and the strength of their social, cultural and family ties to the UK' and 'the nature of any support family in the country of return can provide'.
The judge concluded that Lapota's human rights would be breached by the decisions, a ruling the new Home Secretary Yvette Cooper appealed.
Ms Cooper argued there needed to be 'very compelling circumstances' not to deport foreign criminals sentenced to four years in prison.
'The First Tier Tribunal Judge [FTTJ] failed to give adequate reasons for his conclusion that there were very significant obstacles to Mr Lopata reintegrating into Poland,' the Home Office argued.
'The Secretary of State rejected the finding of the FTT that Mr Lopata does not speak Polish and says that this conclusion was not adequately reasoned.
