A 65-year-old British man, identified as Charles, has been deported from Sweden, arriving at Heathrow Airport today with only two bags and no home in the UK. His deportation follows a five-year battle to remain in the country after Brexit, which ended with his pre-Brexit residency application being rejected.
Charles, a former business director, was detained for two weeks before being marched onto a plane in Stockholm, separating him from his Swedish wife and home. He stated, "I have nothing, nothing in the UK at all," and expressed a desire to return to his wife and life in Sweden.
His forced flight on Tuesday indicates that deportations of British citizens who lived in Sweden before Brexit are continuing. Sweden has already deported 458 British people due to rejected residency applications, a proportion higher than any other EU member state.
Campaign group British in Europe has raised concerns about Sweden's hardline treatment of Britons, with chair Jane Golding questioning if the implementation aligns with the spirit of the withdrawal agreement. Charles's case follows others, including a 78-year-old widow and a 74-year-old man with dementia, who also faced removal orders.