British widow faces deportation from Sweden after 22 years

A 78-year-old British widow has told the BBC she is struggling to eat or sleep as the Swedish government threatens to deport her over a late post-Brexit residence application.

Joyce Thomas, a retired nurse, moved to Sweden 22 years ago with her husband, who passed away from cancer three years ago.

This came after they were informed by the Swedish authorities that they should have made a formal application to stay in the country after Brexit.

Thomas has since had numerous applications and appeals rejected, and Tuesday marks the latest deadline for her to leave voluntarily.

"I can't sleep, I can't eat. You get up in the morning, you don't know what's going to happen."

The Swedish migration minister told the BBC that the government will "examine whether there are measures we can take to make the process easier for those affected" by some consequences of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement.

When the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, British citizens stopped being EU citizens, which meant they could no longer stay in Sweden with right of residence status.

During a transitional period, British citizens could apply for residence status under the withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU - which ended on 31 December 2021.