BRITISH WIDOW, 78, FIGHTS DEPORTATION FROM SWEDEN AFTER 21 YEARS

Joyce Thomas, a retired nurse aged 78, is facing deportation from Sweden after authorities rejected her application to remain in the country on the grounds that she submitted it too late. Mrs Thomas was given four weeks to leave in November, three years after her husband died. She had lived in Sweden for 21 years and had no criminal record. Her case is one of 2,500 involving British people ordered to leave Sweden since Brexit, according to figures cited by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Mrs Thomas and her husband learned in 2022 that they needed to file a formal application to stay in Sweden following Britain's departure from the European Union. Her husband died of cancer in 2023. When Mrs Thomas submitted her application in 2024, Swedish authorities rejected it, stating she had not demonstrated "reasonable grounds" for the late filing. She subsequently applied under national immigration laws and was rejected again. The Swedish immigration authority told The Guardian that late applications can only be accepted "in exceptional circumstances" and that "simply stating that the person was unaware of the requirement to apply is not, in itself, considered a sufficient explanation".

Mrs Thomas has said she fears she will be unable to relocate and resettle again at her age. She wishes to remain near her son, grandchildren and her husband's grave in Hammarö. Pro bono lawyers are now taking her case to a higher court. The FCDO has characterised Sweden's approach to post-Brexit applications as "considerably stricter" than that of other European Union countries.