A Romanian court has rejected a man’s attempts to persuade them that he is alive.

Constantin Reliu, 63, tried to convince a court in the city of Vaslui that his government-issued death certificate was incorrect, but failed.

The legal system said that the decision to register him as deceased in 2016 is final, even though he is definitely alive.

His wife obtained the death certificate after she had lost contact with him for a period of several years when he moved to Turkey for work, the Associated Press reported.

Mr Reliu was eventually deported from Turkey on the grounds that his immigration papers had expired. He learned of his apparent death when he got back.

He was quoted as saying: “I am OFFICIALLY dead, although I’m alive; I have no income and because I am listed dead, I can’t do anything.”

According to the Romanian TV channel digi24, judges told Mr Reliu that the appeal period for changing the death certificate had passed, meaning there is nothing they can do.