Swedish court upholds deportation of British widow in Brexit policy row

The administrative court in Luleå has upheld the Swedish migration agency’s decision to deport Joyce Thomas, a 78-year-old British widow who has resided in Sweden for 21 years. The ruling determines that her application for residence, submitted in 2023, was ineligible as it failed to meet the 21 December 2021 cut-off date established under the EU-UK withdrawal agreement.

Thomas, who described the prospect of removal as “hell,” argued that she and her late husband were never notified of the deadline. Her legal representatives contended that it was disproportionate to deport her solely due to a missed deadline caused by insufficient information from Swedish authorities, who held their identification documents and email addresses.

The court rejected the argument that ignorance of the requirement constituted a “reasonable ground” for a late application under Article 18 of the withdrawal agreement. In its ruling, the court stated that no circumstances indicated Thomas was “particularly vulnerable,” citing her UK pension, previous residence in the UK, and the existence of another son in the United Kingdom.

Thomas now faces a four-week deadline to leave Sweden voluntarily. Failure to comply will result in forced removal and a Schengen re-entry ban, preventing her from entering Sweden and other member states for the duration of the ban. She has expressed shock and distress, noting she is self-sufficient, has no criminal record, and has contributed to the Swedish economy without drawing state benefits.

The case has drawn criticism from campaign groups and raised concerns in Brussels and the UK regarding Sweden’s handling of the withdrawal agreement. David Milstead of the campaign group British in Sweden stated that the outcome was not an intended result of the treaty and called for immediate action from the UK, EU, and Swedish governments to address systemic implementation failures.