British widow faces deportation from Sweden after 22 years

Image source, Felix AndlerImage caption, Joyce Thomas, 78, is facing deportation away from her son, grandchildren and husband's grave.

• Legal bid to stop dementia patient's deportation Published22 August.

Publicado em 8 de setembro de 2026, 17:23 BST.

A 78-year-old British widow has told the BBC she is struggling to eat or sleep as the Swedish government threatens to deport her over a late post-Brexit residence application.

Joyce Thomas, enfermeira aposentada, mudou-se para a Suécia há 22 anos com o marido, que faleceu de câncer há três anos.

The threat of deportation came after Swedish authorities said they should have made a formal application to stay in the country after Brexit.

Thomas has since had numerous applications and appeals rejected, and Tuesday marks the latest deadline for her to leave voluntarily.

Isso é o inferno absoluto," ela disse de sua casa na Suécia.

I can't sleep, I can't eat. You get up in the morning, you don't know what's going to happen.

The Swedish migration minister told the BBC that the government would "examine whether there are measures we can take to make the process easier for those affected" by some consequences of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement.

When the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, British citizens stopped being EU citizens, which meant they could no longer stay in Sweden with right of residence status.

Durante um período de transição, cidadãos britânicos podiam solicitar status de residência sob o acordo de retirada entre o UK e a EU - que terminou em 31 de dezembro de 2021.

Thomas disse que ela e seu marido não tinham conhecimento de que precisavam apresentar uma solicitação e que ela só foi informada da regra quando tentou reentrar no país em 2023.

After years of appeals, the Migrationsverket, the Swedish government agency responsible for migration, told her last month that her voluntary departure deadline was 8 September.

Her lawyers are arguing against the deportation, but she is still waiting to hear from the government.

Thomas said the possibility of having to leave her son, grandchildren, friends and husband's grave has become too much to bear.

I'm tired, I really am tired and I'm not young anymore," she said.

Onde está a empatia? Eu moro aqui há mais de 20 anos – tenho amigos, tenho família.

According to Eurostat data, between 2021 and 2025, 2,490 UK nationals were ordered to leave Sweden. This is almost a third of more than 7,500 UK nationals ordered to leave the 27 EU Member States over this time period.

O Migrationsverket disse que não poderia comentar sobre o caso de Thomas sem o seu consentimento e não respondeu a uma pergunta sobre quantos nacionais britânicos estão em risco de deportação.

However, it told the Guardian last week that 458 British citizens had been deported or forcibly removed since Brexit.

Last month, a family told the BBC how their father, who has dementia and vascular parkinsonism and is living in full-time care in Sweden, was also threatened with removal after more than two decades in the country.

O ministro sueco da Migração, Johan Forssell, disse ao BBC que o atual quadro foi implementado por um governo anterior e que 'por isso, analisaremos de perto a situação e examinaremos se há medidas que podemos tomar para facilitar o processo para os afetados.

He did not address Thomas's case directly but said "the government believes the rules should be applied generously.

The UK is a very important partner for Sweden, and we want British citizens who live and work in Sweden to be able to remain here," he said.

We are currently in dialogue with the relevant Swedish authorities to get a clearer picture of what measures may be possible," he added.

Håkan Svenneling, Thomas's MP from the opposition Vänsterpartiet (The Left Party), has criticised the government's "inhumane migration policy.

That is why I hope that Sunday's election in Sweden will be a turning point where the opposition can form a government and change migration policy so that Joyce and other Britons with strong ties to Sweden can stay here," he told the BBC.

Um porta-voz do Escritório de Relações Exteriores, Comunidade e Desenvolvimento do Reino Unido disse: 'Damos boas-vindas à declaração das autoridades suecas de que elas irão analisar essa questão.

We are ready to support them in doing so.