A Portuguese national jailed for carrying out a bank robbery using a fake bomb has successfully avoided deportation after an immigration tribunal ruled that returning him to his home country would seriously damage his mental health.
The 43-year-old, who has been granted anonymity, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison after admitting to robbery and a bomb hoax in December 2023. He had walked into a bank wearing a mask, hood and reflective sunglasses, placed a black cylinder designed to resemble an explosive device on the counter, and handed over a note reading: “Put the money in the bag. I have a bomb.”
He repeated the threat verbally, warning staff that the device would explode. Believing the threat to be real, a cashier handed over £5,000. He further claimed there was another bomb at the door that would detonate in 20 minutes, instructing staff not to alert police until then. The branch was evacuated after he fled the scene in his own car, and he was later identified through CCTV footage, arrested and made a full confession.
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At sentencing, the trial judge described the offences as “very serious” and said the robber had caused “serious psychological harm” to two cashiers who believed they were about to die. Both victims later detailed the lasting trauma caused by what they described as terror in the face of threatened extreme violence.
Following his conviction, the Home Office sought his deportation, arguing that the gravity of the crime made removal from the United Kingdom a matter of public interest.
However, in a ruling that has drawn attention, Elizabeth Ruddick of the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber upheld his appeal against deportation.
Although the judge acknowledged that the offender had strong linguistic and cultural ties to Portugal, including fluency in the language and regular visits, she concluded that his “serious mental ill health” would likely deteriorate if he were removed from the UK. That deterioration, she said, would create “very significant obstacles” to his reintegration into Portuguese society.
A psychologist who assessed the man told the tribunal that abuse he had suffered in Portugal before moving to Britain at the age of nine had had a “significant, long-term impact” on his mental health. The report linked his condition to difficulties maintaining relationships and a deep sense of insecurity.
The offender has lived lawfully in the UK since joining his parents in 1992 and has worked in various roles, including at McDonald’s and in a bank. In her judgment, Judge Ruddick cited his single offence, vulnerability at the time of the crime, and what she described as the “exceptional strength” of his relationship with his parents.
Taking into account his decades of residence from childhood, she found that he had established an exceptionally strong private life in the UK. On that basis, the tribunal approved his appeal, allowing him to remain in Britain despite the seriousness of his crimes.
