A 78-year-old British widow who has lived in Sweden for 21 years has lost her appeal against deportation after a court upheld a decision that she missed the deadline to apply for post-Brexit residency rights.
Joyce Thomas said she was left in shock after the administrative court in Luleå upheld the Swedish Migration Agency’s decision.
“I am in shock. I feel sick,” Thomas said. “An individual’s life is at stake at my age. It is hell.”
The court found that Thomas was not eligible to remain in Sweden because she submitted her application in 2023, after the December 2021 deadline.
Her legal representatives argued that deporting her solely for missing the deadline was disproportionate, particularly because they said she had received insufficient information from Swedish authorities about the need to apply.
Thomas now faces the prospect of receiving a letter giving her four weeks to leave Sweden voluntarily. If she does not comply, she could face forced deportation and a re-entry ban affecting travel within the Schengen area.
Thomas moved to Sweden 21 years ago and said her life is now rooted there. Her son, grandchildren, friends, church community and her late husband’s grave are in the country.
Her husband died of cancer in 2023. Thomas said he only discovered they needed to make a special post-Brexit residency application after border officials informed him during his final trip to the UK.
Under Article 18 of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, late applications can be accepted where there are reasonable grounds for delay.
The Swedish Migration Agency said not knowing an application was required did not amount to reasonable grounds. Thomas disputes that assessment, saying neither she nor her husband were informed of the deadline despite the authorities having their identity-card details and email addresses.
The court said no circumstances had emerged to show Thomas was particularly vulnerable, noting that she had lived most of her life in the UK, receives a UK pension and has another son there.
Thomas said 23 people, including doctors, priests, friends and fellow churchgoers, had written in support of her case.
Her case has raised concerns about Sweden’s approach to the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, which was intended to protect British nationals who lived in EU member states before Brexit.
