At 51, he moved to Sweden with his wife in the hope for a better life; at 60, he is being asked to return to Britain.
asserted
he → move → Britain
With authorities on his back and no option in the future, Mark Smith has been forced into hiding alongside his wife Petra due to fears he will be deported as a result of what he says is a government Brexit residency error, as per a report by The Guardian.
asserted
he → force → Guardian
Smith, who has had heart attacks, strokes, severe headaches and chronically high blood pressure, was told on the phone that he should leave Sweden by October 17, as he was an "alien" without permission to stay.
asserted
he → have → permission
Terrified of deportation, he and his wife moved out of their home in Falkenberg, in south-west Sweden, to a caravan park.
asserted
he → move → park
"We are in hiding; we daren’t go back to our apartment.
asserted
we → dare → apartment
We are scared to go out as we don’t know if the police will come and take us," Smith said.
asserted
Smith → scar → us
A court ruled on October 12 that a decision on deportation would not be suspended but gave him until October 20 to "submit his application for a retrial" in relation to "the grounds for the decision on indefinite deportation."
It was back in 2017 that he moved to Sweden.
asserted
he → rule → Sweden
At the time, Smith was told by the authorities that he did not need to do anything to stay after
Brexit in 2020.
asserted
he → tell → 2020
He had a job, private health insurance, and was registered on the population register administered by the national tax authority, as required under Swedish rules.
asserted
He → have → rules
However, he was unaware that Sweden was among 13 of the 27 EU member states that required Britons living in the country before Brexit to make a formal application to remain.
asserted
that → require → application
“I asked the tax authorities three times on different occasions if I had to do anything because of Brexit and they said no, telling me I had to wait for five years to apply for permanent residency," he told The Guardian.
asserted
he → ask → Guardian
“Because it was the tax authority, a government body, I took it for granted that what they told me was correct,” he added.
asserted
he → take → me
It was in 2021 that Smith's troubles began, when he started to get ill and applied for sickness benefit.
asserted
he → begin → benefit
He was then told by the officials that he should have applied for post-Brexit residency.
asserted
he → tell → residency
The couple did so immediately at the end of 2021, with the deadline being 31 December.
asserted
deadline → do → 2021
They waited for two years to hear back and when they did, it was only to get a rejection on the grounds that they were not married and therefore did not have a family connection to merit his residency in Sweden.
asserted
they → wait → Sweden
Having lived together since 2017, the couple tied the knot in 2023.
asserted
couple → live → 2023
“We were so much in love; we lived together, we did everything together, even now we hold hands walking down the streets.
asserted
we → live → streets
We wanted to get married, we wanted to do it the right way.
asserted
we → want → it
I wanted to ask Petra’s father for permission and have him give her away, but two weeks after he gave me permission to marry his daughter, he passed.
asserted
he → want → daughter
So we were looking into marriage but things just kept happening.
asserted
things → look → marriage
But we don’t understand why this matters,” said Smith.
asserted
Smith → understand → ?
Family connections are not a criterion under free movement rights, which apply to any individual regardless of marital status, so campaigners believe they have a strong case.
asserted
they → apply → case
The couple also said they had not been given the full court paperwork from the first case appealing against the migration agency's decision, so they appealed to a higher court without the full arguments against them.
asserted
they → say → them
After speaking to a judge, Petra has had assurances that all the paperwork will be sent to them by post, but they feel angry that they were not apprised of the information that the migration agency was arguing before the courts.
asserted
agency → speak → courts
According to David Milstead, a British-Swedish volunteer citizens' rights activist working with Brits in Sweden group, Smith's case was typical of many Britons living in Sweden.
uncertain
case → accord → Sweden
I have encountered many British citizens who actively sought information from the Swedish authorities about their residence rights after Brexit, only to receive vague, unhelpful answers, sometimes being told that they needed to do nothing,” he shared with the outlet.
asserted
he → encounter → outlet
Milstead said Smith’s case was “depressingly familiar” and should warrant the urgent attention of the European Commission, which has previously said Sweden was not breaking any laws.
asserted
Sweden → say → laws
“A gentleman with Mark’s serious health conditions should not be having to fight deportation.
asserted
gentleman → have → deportation
It is difficult to understand how the European Commission has concluded that Sweden’s treatment of late applications under the [Brexit] withdrawal agreement does not warrant a challenge,” he said.
asserted
he → understand → challenge
According to Petra, Smith's health conditions have left him so vulnerable that she is not sure "if he will last until Christmas."
uncertain
he → accord → Christmas
“He has been told he can’t drive, he can’t fly – what do they expect him to do?
asserted
him → tell → what
Come on, Sweden, we need to step back from all of this and be better,” she said.
asserted
she → come → this
After 12 years with Smith, she said deportation would be devastating for her and her 15-year-old son with special needs, whom Smith co-parents.
asserted
Smith → say → whom
“It is wrong what they are doing; I feel ashamed to be Swedish.
asserted
I → do → what
What they are doing is racist to British people,” Petra said.
asserted
Petra → do → people
78-year-old widow Joyce Thomas, whose husband also inquired about Brexit residency and was told by the tax authorities there was nothing to do, is fighting a removal order.
asserted
husband → inquire → order
Previously, Sweden has deported 458 Britons, including one man who had been in the country since he was 10 years old, and a 65-year-old man married to a Swede with no family or property in the UK.
asserted
he → deport → UK
The country also issued removal orders to a man with dementia who is in 24-hour care and has been in the country for 25 years.
asserted
who → issue → years
The Scandinavian country has found itself under mounting pressure over its approach to the withdrawal agreements having deported 458 Britons.
asserted
country → find → Britons
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
