Wife of British man facing deportation from Sweden urges Burnham to step in
A British man was detained by Stockholm police and told he faces deportation within two weeks, despite an ongoing court appeal against the order. His Swedish wife has appealed to UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to intervene.
A British man known only as Charles was summoned with his Swedish wife, Lily, to a Stockholm police station on Tuesday, where he was informed he would be held in a detention centre and deported within a fortnight. Lily, a lawyer, was told to fetch his passport despite pointing out that a court process appealing the deportation order was still under way.
Lily said she felt shame at seeing her husband detained simply for wanting to live with her in their home, questioning whether Sweden was upholding basic human rights and civilised standards.
The couple met in the UK, where Lily began a law degree in London in 2010. She returned to Sweden in 2015 to work for a local authority, and Charles, a retired business consultant, joined her in 2017, three years before Brexit. He applied to remain in Sweden before the post-Brexit deadline, but the application was rejected in 2022. The family has since lodged six or seven appeals against deportation.
Lily has called on Burnham to contact the Swedish government directly, even suggesting the UK-EU trade agreement be used as leverage, saying numerous British families have been forced to sell homes and leave Sweden.
The case adds to mounting criticism of how Sweden applies the Brexit withdrawal agreement, which was meant to protect EU citizens in the UK and British nationals settled in the EU before Brexit. Others recently threatened with removal include 78-year-old widow Joyce Thomas, resident in Sweden for 21 years, and 74-year-old dementia patient George Mason, who has lived there for 24 years. A 34-year-old man also revealed he was deported in January despite living in Sweden since age 10.
Sweden's migration minister has defended the country's handling of the agreement, saying the Migration Agency follows the rules. However, the UK government has formally raised concerns through the EU-UK specialised committee about Sweden's unusually high rejection rate — analysis shows 27.5% of applications were refused, three times higher than any other EU member state.
