The British newspaper The Guardian reported in recent weeks about the upcoming deportation of 78-year-old former nurse Joyce Thomas and 74-year-old Horace “George” Mason, who lives in a dementia care home in Skövde. This has once again drawn attention to the issue of deportation of British citizens after Brexit.
In response, Left Party MP Håkan Svenneling submitted a parliamentary question on August 18, which was sent to Migration Minister Johan Forssell on August 19. Svenneling asked Forssell if he plans to take measures to help these people and other UK citizens in similar situations.
Question to the Migration Minister
“Is Migration Minister Johan Forssell prepared to take the initiative to stop the deportation of elderly people who have lived in Sweden for a long time?” the MP wrote in his appeal. According to Swedish parliamentary rules, Forssell has two weeks to respond, meaning he must reply by September 2.
In his letter, Svenneling noted that Sweden has rejected a significantly higher proportion of applications from British citizens for confirmation of the right to reside after Brexit than any other EU country. He argues that this outcome contradicts the essence of the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement from the EU.
“For UK citizens who were already legally residing in an EU country, the Withdrawal Agreement provided that their existing residence rights would continue to apply, and they would essentially be able to live, work, and stay there as before,” wrote Svenneling. He added that the application procedure in Sweden should have ensured and protected these rights, not resulted in “elderly people who have lived in Sweden for decades losing their right to reside due to a missed deadline or deficiencies in the application.”
Source: The Local Europe
