COPY LINK

For members

BREXIT

Brexit: What changes for Brits in Sweden now?

After more than three years of delays and limbo, the UK has left the EU. Here's a look at some of the questions that might be on your mind.

Published: 8 January 2020 16:35 CET
Updated: 1 February 2020 08:08 CET

Brexit: What changes for Brits in Sweden now?

A member of protocol removes the UK's flag from the atrium of the Europa building in Brussels. Photo: Olivier Hoslet/Pool Photo via AP

Why is January 31st important?

This is the date that the UK exited the European Union. While other Brexit deadline days have come and gone due to delay after delay, this one actually happened.

That's because there was both an agreement with the EU and a parliamentary majority for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and the agreement was passed by the UK and European parliaments. So the UK left the EU at midnight (11pm GMT) on January 31st under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement.

So what changes after January 31st?

When the UK left the EU at midnight under the Withdrawal Agreement, in practical terms for British people living in Sweden, not a lot changed straight away.

At that time all UK citizens who do not have dual nationality lost their status as EU citizens, but a transition period has begun, during which they will largely continue their lives in the EU as they have done previously.

There was no paperwork or permit that needed to be completed before this in order to remain in Sweden during the transition period, but there may be things to do to prepare for the end of the transition, which we'll explain below.

What do Brits need to do now?

The transition period will give people time to sort out their status, and it's best to start preparing as soon as possible.

All Brits should try to get as much information as possible about their post-Brexit residency rights. The framework of the Withdrawal Agreement gives anyone who is legally resident in Sweden before the end of the transition period the right to stay.

But being legally resident is not the same as simply living in Sweden; for example, as EU citizens, Brits are currently able to move to Sweden as a job-seeker for up to six months in total. After those six months were up, they would no longer meet the requirements to be legally resident in Sweden (unless they had met residency requirements in another way, for example by moving in with a Swedish or EU partner).

How to get Swedish citizenship (or at least stay forever)

Photo: Lars Pedersen/TT

So anyone who has not yet done so should make sure they are in Sweden's population register if possible, by applying for a personnummer. And for Brits who are employed in Sweden, it may be worth speaking to your company's HR department to clarify your position.

There is no way to apply for a residence permit as a Brit in Sweden (there are some exceptions if you are moving to join a partner in Sweden) until the UK actually leaves the EU, and it's not yet clear how this process will work in Sweden.

What we do know is that Brits who have spent five years legally resident in Sweden will earn the right to permanent residence, while those with less time accrued by the end of the transition period will be allowed to remain in Sweden under the same conditions as today until they are eligible for permanent residency.

The Swedish government hasn't announced a timeline or an explanation of the process, but it will be an application rather than a registration, and will either be free or cost no more than applications for similar documents (such as a passport or ID card).

It might well make sense to start getting paperwork in order so that the process will be as smooth as possible. That means collecting things like tax returns, employment certificates, tenancy or mortgage agreements, and other documents that can be used as proof of legal residence in Sweden. Brits can continue living in Sweden while their application is in process.

Brits resident in Sweden by the end of December 2020 will have six months from that date to submit their applications for permanent residency. In other words, the application deadline will be June 30th, 2021.

What about my driving licence?

Rules on driving licences will remain unchanged until December 2020, under the Withdrawal Agreement. That means people with valid UK licences can continue driving in Sweden and those with valid Swedish licences can drive in the UK.

The Swedish Transport Agency told The Local: “According to current rules the UK driving licence is valid in Sweden as long as it is valid in the UK, and both residents and non-residents of Sweden can use it for driving. There is no time limit when a Swedish resident must exchange it.”

It is not possible to register a non-UK address on a UK driving licence, but the DVLA has confirmed to The Local that licence holders are not required to update their address after moving overseas in order for it to retain validity.

How long does the transition period last?

The transition period is currently set to end on December 31st, 2020. That's just 11 months, even though it was originally intended as a two-year period for the UK and the EU to negotiate their future trading agreement, due to repeated Brexit delays.

This is also the time for people living in Sweden, or hoping to, to get their future plans sorted. It is likely to become harder for Brits to move to Sweden once the UK is out of the EU, but those who move during the transition period can move under current EU freedom of movement rules.

There is an option to extend the transition period up to a maximum of two years (so until December 31st, 2022, at the latest) but that would need to be agreed by June 2020. Trade experts say making a deal in just 11 months will be extremely difficult, but British PM Johnson is adamant that he will not ask for an extension.

REMINDER: What the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement means for Brits in Sweden

Photo: Marcus Ericsson/TT

What happens at the end of the transition period?

At the end of the transition period, whether that does turn out to be December 31st or some future date, the UK will begin trading with the EU on new terms – either under a deal agreed during the transition period or under WTO rules if no deal has been reached by then.

For UK nationals, this will also be when their freedom of movement ends.

This would also be the time when changes will be made to the requirements for British people hoping to move to Sweden. It's not currently clear whether these would be the same as the existing requirements for third country citizens, but if so, that would require Brits to go through the process of applying for a residence permit before being able to move.

The current advice from the Swedish Migration Agency is: “The Swedish government has not yet made a decision about what will happen after the transitional period. If the government does not decide to make specific arrangements for Britons, then as a British citizen the general rule will be that you must obtain a residence and/or work permit in order to be allowed to reside and/or work in Sweden.”

'You feel like you're in a no man's land': Brits in Sweden still have unanswered Brexit questions

For those Brits who are currently living in Sweden, or who move before the end of the transition period, there should not be many changes to their lives in Sweden once this period ends. Brits in Sweden will continue to enjoy reciprocal healthcare, pensions will be uprated, and cross-border workers will retain the right to live in one country and work in another, for example.

The big thing is that Brits will need a residence permit in order to stay in Sweden once the transition period ends.

Some key things to look out for are that Brits would lose their rights if they spend time away from Sweden in the future – even after gaining permanent residence. If you, as a British citizen, plan to leave Sweden for up to two years, you can do this and retain your permanent residence permit if you inform the Migration Agency of your plans before you leave. If you want to live abroad for longer than this – or if you fail to inform the Migration Agency of your move, even if it's two years or less – your right of residence may be withdrawn.

We hope you found this article useful. If you have further questions about life in Sweden after Brexit, let us know.

Member comments

Become a Member to leave a comment.

INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

SHOW COMMENTS

Url copied to clipboard!