UA 38-year-old Portuguese man was sentenced to eight months in prison in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, August 13.
Dario Rocha, of no known fixed abode, was sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court for entering the country illegally.
He pleaded guilty to entering the UK legally but overstaying.
According to the North Wales Chronicle, the man was found by officers on July 3 after arriving in Holyhead by boat, the prosecution told the court.
At that time, Dario Rocha had a construction skills certificate card. However, he currently does not have authorization to enter the United Kingdom and has already been refused entry and exit from the United Kingdom several times.
Additionally, he was charged with illegal entry after being found by immigration officials at a ferry terminal in Belfast in January and sentenced to a month in jail, suspended for a year.
When questioned on July 4, Rocha said he “made a mistake” knowing he was not allowed to enter the UK, but said he wanted to see his wife, who lives in London.
He did not appeal against the refusal of citizenship status and did not apply for a residence permit in the United Kingdom.
The Portuguese added that he did not go directly to London because he “did not want to be arrested” and that a taxi driver paid for his ferry ticket.
Lawyer Gemma Gordon, who represented Rocha, who had no criminal record before he was detained in Belfast, said his life “really changed when he was denied citizenship”.
Until then he was legally living and working in the United Kingdom.
Rocha, who broke down in tears during the hearing, also has a 12-year-old son in Cape Verde, whom she hasn’t seen since 2023, according to local press.
The lawyer said that several earlier attempts to bring his son into the UK had also been rejected.
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