Swedish MP intervenes in Brexit row over elderly Britons ordered to leave
A Swedish opposition MP has urged the government to halt the deportation of elderly British residents who missed a post-Brexit residency deadline, warning the cases are harming UK-Sweden relations.
Swedish opposition MP Håkan Svenneling has written to migration minister Johan Forssell asking what the government intends to do to stop the removal of several elderly British citizens from Sweden, arguing the cases are damaging relations with the UK at a time when ties are being reset.
Among those affected is Joyce Thomas, a 78-year-old widow who has lived in Sweden for 21 years and was recently given four weeks to leave after her appeal against a removal order failed. Thomas, a retired nurse, moved to Sweden with her husband to be closer to their son and grandchildren. Her husband, who died of cancer in 2023, handled the household's administrative matters. Thomas and her friends say they repeatedly checked whether any paperwork was needed after Brexit and were told it was not. She submitted a late application in 2023, after the 31 December 2021 deadline had already passed.
In his letter, Svenneling argues that under the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, Britons lawfully resident in Sweden before Brexit should retain their existing residency rights, and that the treaty was never intended to strip elderly long-term residents of those rights over a missed deadline or paperwork issues.
He also raised the case of Horace George Mason, 74, who has dementia and Parkinson's disease and lives in full-time care, and who was likewise given four weeks to leave. His family's attempt to secure his right to stay, based on the European convention on human rights and his reliance on family nearby, was rejected by Sweden's migration court of appeal.
David Milstead, who leads the campaign group Brits in Sweden, said the organisation had warned about Sweden's approach since 2020 and that, among roughly 9,000 members, it could not identify a single case where a late application was accepted as reasonable. The UK Foreign Office said it has repeatedly told the European Commission that Sweden applies a considerably stricter standard than other EU states. Sweden's migration agency said it could not comment on individual cases, but that being unaware of the need to apply was not considered reasonable grounds for missing the deadline.
