A 59-year-old Dutchman who has lived in Canada his whole life is threatened with deportation because of his criminal past, Canadian media report.

Len van Heest who came to Canada with his mother when he was eight months old, does not speak Dutch and does not know anyone in the Netherlands.

Van Heest has fallen foul of toughened up legislation which says foreign nationals who have committed crimes which have landed them in prison for more than six months can be deported. Van Heest spent nine months in prison for possessing a gun and threatening behaviour in his teens.

Van Heest, whose mother ‘forgot’ to apply for Canadian citizenship for her son, says he suffers from bipolar disorder which caused his criminal behaviour and which is now under control.

Van Heest won an earlier court case but if his appeal is unsuccessful he will have to leave Canada next week. One of his arguments is that he has to look after his 81 year-old mother.

According to Canadian media, Canada deported a 52-year-old Jamaican man in 2011 who had arrived as a teenager and committed crimes related to his schizophrenia, drawing criticism from a United Nations committee.