A 78-year-old British widow is facing deportation from Sweden after failing to submit a post-Brexit residence application, with Tuesday marking the latest deadline for her to leave the country voluntarily.
Joyce Thomas, a retired nurse, moved to Sweden 22 years ago with her husband, who died of cancer three years ago. She says the prospect of being forced to leave has left her unable to eat or sleep.
"This is absolute hell," she said from her home in Sweden. "I can't sleep, I can't eat. You get up in the morning, you don't know what's going to happen."
When the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, British citizens lost their EU right of residence. A transitional period allowed them to apply for residence status under the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, but that window closed on 31 December 2021.
Thomas said she and her husband were unaware they needed to submit a formal application. She only learned of the requirement when she attempted to re-enter Sweden in 2023.
After numerous applications and appeals, Sweden's migration authority, the Migrationsverket, informed her last month that her voluntary departure deadline was 8 September. Her lawyers are contesting the deportation, but she is still awaiting a response from the government.
Thomas said the possibility of being separated from her son, grandchildren, friends, and her husband's grave has become too much to bear.
"I'm tired, I really am tired and I'm not young anymore," she said. "Where is the empathy? I've lived here for more than 20 years - I've got friends, I've got family."
Thomas's case is not isolated. According to Eurostat data, between 2021 and 2025, 2,490 UK nationals were ordered to leave Sweden — almost a third of more than 7,500 UK nationals ordered to leave EU member states over the same period. According to separate reports, 458 British citizens have been deported or forcibly removed from Sweden since Brexit.
Last month, a family reported that their father, who has dementia and vascular parkinsonism and lives in full-time care in Sweden, was also threatened with removal after more than two decades in the country.
The Migrationsverket said it could not comment on Thomas's case without her consent and did not respond to questions about how many British nationals remain at risk of deportation.
Swedish Minister for Migration Johan Forssell said the current framework was implemented by a previous government, adding that his administration "will therefore look closely at the situation and examine whether there are measures we can take to make the process easier for those affected." 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," Forssell said. "We are currently in dialogue with the relevant Swedish authorities to get a clearer picture of what measures may be possible."
Thomas's MP, Håkan Svenneling of the opposition Vänsterpartiet (The Left Party), criticised what he called 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 said.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: "We welcome the statement from the Swedish authorities that they will look at this issue. We are ready to support them in doing so."
