Sweden has ordered thousands of Britons to leave – could the same happen in France?
Sweden accounts for around a third of all removal orders issued to Britons across the EU
Published
Almost 2,600 British nationals have been ordered to leave Sweden since 2021, raising questions about how the country has handled the post-Brexit residence rights of Britons already living there.
It has also raised concerns about whether the same thing could happen to Britons who find themselves in the same situation in France.
Eurostat figures show 2,585 Britons ordered to leave from 2021 to the first half of 2026 (prior to 2021 Britons were EU citizens and very rarely told to leave).
The largest numbers were told to leave in the period 2021 to the first half of 2022, around the time Britons in the country were told to regularise their situation post Brexit. However, several high-profile cases are coming to light recently, five years on, which would not be accounted for in the statistics available.
The removal orders represent around a third of all such orders issued to British nationals across the EU since 2021 (8,050, not including second quarter of 2026).
Why are Britons being ordered to leave Sweden?
British citizens who were living in Sweden before the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31, 2020 were protected by the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement.
However, like France, Sweden chose a system in which Britons were obliged to apply for a card to secure their rights, meaning eligible British residents had to apply for residence status. The deadline was December 31, 2021.
For comparison, in France the deadline to apply was slightly earlier – 4 October 2021 – and 169,600 applications had been made by December 31 2023. Of these, 41,600 were granted five-year Brexit cards and 105,900 10-year ‘permanent stay’ Brexit cards. Many are currently upgrading their five-year cards for 10-year cards.
Sweden had a much smaller scheme: 14,100 applications, with 8,000 temporary and 1,900 permanent residency permits granted by the same date.
The Swedish Migration Agency says applications can still be made in exceptional cases. This is also the case in France, though as time goes on it is becoming increasingly hard to provide ‘good reasons’ for not having applied.
In Sweden, applicants must explain in writing why they were prevented from applying on time, and the agency decides whether their reasons are reasonable under the WA.
The agency said, however, that simply being unaware of the requirement to apply is not, by itself, enough to justify a late application.
If an application is refused and the person has no other legal basis for their right to remain in Sweden, they can ultimately be ordered to leave.
This is the case for Joyce Thomas, a 78-year-old retired nurse who had lived in Sweden for 21 years, according to UK media.
Ms Thomas applied for post-Brexit residence status after the December 2021 deadline. Her application was rejected because she was unable to demonstrate reasonable grounds for applying late. A subsequent application under Swedish national immigration rules was also rejected, and she was ordered to leave.
It is important, however, to distinguish between an order to leave and an actual deportation. The latter does not always follow on due, for example, to successful appeals.
The Eurostat figure refers to people who were ordered to leave. In contrast, in 2021-2025 Sweden reported having physically returned 1,655 UK citizens (so, about 66% of those given leave orders).
Could this happen in France?
France also required British citizens living there before January 1, 2021 to obtain a residence card under the Withdrawal Agreement. The original online application deadline was October 4, 2021.
France, like Sweden, has provisions allowing some people to apply late. The interior ministry says British citizens who were living in France before January 1, 2021 can still apply where they have a legitimate reason for missing the deadline.
Examples include health reasons, force majeure, difficulties returning to France because of the Covid pandemic and certain professional reasons. Late applications are handled through the relevant prefecture.
So missing the original deadline does not automatically mean losing the right to remain in the country.
While France and Sweden both required eligible UK nationals to apply for residency status, Sweden’s stricter reinforcement of the consequences of failing to obtain WA status appears to have led to higher numbers of removal cases.
However, a British citizen who does not establish a right to remain under the Withdrawal Agreement and has no other valid French residence status can be subject to an obligation to leave France (OQTF) under French immigration law.
Eurostat figures for France for 2021 to the second half of 2026 show:
555 Britons told to leave
225 Britons returned in 2021-2025 (about 47%)
It is worth noting also that these figures likely combine a mixture of situations, including people who did not apply to secure WA status, people considered to pose a security risk and also people who have come since January 2021 on ordinary visas/residency cards and were not able to meet the residency criteria to remain in France.
