Swedish minister defends strict post-Brexit removals of British citizens

The Swedish government has reaffirmed its commitment to removing and deporting British citizens who missed the deadline to apply for post-Brexit residency permission.

Migration minister Johan Forssell strongly defended the Swedish migration agency’s enforcement of the Brexit withdrawal agreement on Wednesday, responding to a parliamentary question regarding Joyce Thomas, a 78-year-old British widow who, after 21 years in the country, has been instructed to leave.

Forssell stated that the European Commission, which is legally responsible for overseeing EU member states’ correct implementation of the withdrawal agreement, supported Sweden’s approach.

“The migration board has followed up on the application of the withdrawal agreement and the assessment is that Sweden has fulfilled its commitments. This assessment is shared by the commission,” he said.

A dispute has been growing over removal orders issued to British citizens unaware that Sweden was one of 13 EU countries requiring formal applications to remain post-Brexit.

In a separate case, John Sellers, a 34-year-old British man deported despite having lived in Sweden since the age of 10, highlights the issue.

Häkan Svenneling, Thomas’s local MP from the Left party, told CuriosityNews: “It seems to me that the Swedish government thinks everything is fine even though British citizens are being deported from Sweden right now. Not acting is also an action in this situation. What Sweden needs is a new government and a new migration minister who stops deporting people with strong connections to Sweden.”

In his written reply, Forssell offered a glimmer of hope to British citizens facing deportation. He said: “The relationship with the UK is very important to Sweden and the government will continue to safeguard the correct implementation of the withdrawal agreement. As part of this, the government is investigating whether further measures can be taken to facilitate the process in the future.”

Thomas has been ordered to leave Sweden by Tuesday 8 September or face deportation and a possible Schengen area entry ban.

She is among several British citizens who received removal orders after the migration agency turned down their late applications.

The UK Foreign Office has raised Sweden’s handling of late applications for post-Brexit residency multiple times in the specialised committee on citizens’ rights, established to ensure the proper implementation of the withdrawal agreement.

David Milstead, who leads the grassroots organisation Brits in Sweden, said the Swedish response was predictable. “The government was hardly going to disown the decisions of [the migration agency] or the Swedish courts. The real question is whether Sweden’s approach is consistent with EU law and the [withdrawal agreement],” he said.

He noted that the UK was required under the agreement to establish the Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) to ensure the Home Office implemented the Brexit deal correctly, while the European Commission played the corresponding role for EU member states.

“The IMA has taken a much more robust approach. It is hard to imagine it not challenging the UK had it operated a policy like Sweden’s, which would have put the rights of around a quarter of a million successful late applicants [in the UK] at risk,” Milstead said.

“Sweden’s approach now needs either to be tested before the European court of justice or addressed through measures that remedy the problem. The government’s response leaves open the possibility of change, and that must include fixing unjust deportation decisions.”

The European Commission has been contacted for comment.

Eurostat data shows that from 2021 to 2025, a total of 2,490 UK nationals were ordered to leave Sweden. Foreign Office analysis indicated this represented 32.9% of the 7,565 UK nationals ordered to leave across the 27 EU member states during this period. Although it is unclear exactly how many were in Sweden before the end of the UK-EU transition period, the majority likely were.

Thomas has lived in Sweden for 21 years and reports that her late husband inquired about Brexit’s impact and was informed by the authorities that no action was required to remain legally.