Man faces deportation over fatal crash

A man from Afghanistan faces deportation to his homeland if sent to jail for causing the death of a friend in a car crash, a court has been told.

Hashmatullah Ghafari fell asleep at the wheel in 2016, causing the death of Ajmal Abdi in the crash at Dry Creek in Adelaide.

Defence counsel Paul Charman told the District Court on Monday that if Ghafari was jailed for more than one year his visa would be automatically cancelled and he would have to rely on the discretion of the immigration minister to stay in Australia.

Mr Charman urged Judge Paul Muscat to impose a non-parole period of less than 12 months and to suspend the sentence.

He said without such leniency, Ghafari faced a "substantial risk of going straight to immigration detention or being returned straight to Afghanistan".

To avoid such action, Ghafari would need to make submissions to the minister on why his visa should not be revoked, the court heard.

Mr Charman said Ghafari had come to Australia to "avoid being killed" in his homeland.

Judge Muscat will sentence Ghafari in November.