There have been other stories like this from various EU countries.
I’m nor sure how to calibrate my sympathyometer with this one. Surely people couldn’t have been blind to the need to do something about their status?
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I think Sweden did make zero effort, but the British Consulate did try to make sure nationals knew, as they did here. And maybe, as they did here, made more effort to try to contact the elderly who didn’t use internet much. So it is possible as younger, working people that they got no direct contact. But they must have lived in a news free bubble.
So little sympathy from me, especially as trying to play the Covid card. Brexit happened in 2016, and Covid took off in 2020. So there were over 3 uninterrupted years in which they could inform themselves. Anyway Sweden never had lockdowns so was perhaps marginally less obsessed than other countries.
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He knew Brexit was coming and should have made sure he was protected, we all had to with no help from the UK government and the french government bent over backwards to help us. Unfortunately I think more and more are going to come out of the woodwork over the next few years especially those who did not bother to obtain a CDS and are still living under the radar here. On the sympathy scale I would give him 3/10 for the treatment from the Swedish authorities but nothing for his ignorance.
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They did have quite a big programme - publicity, public meetings around the country, virtual meetings, and some involvement with the grant aided project teams helping with applications (like the one Toryroo worked on). There was a point close to the deadline that I felt a bit bombarded with publicity.
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Well we had nowt right out in west Brittany unless one went to Rennes, a good 2.5hrs away by car so were ignored but we knew something was going to be implimented, it stood to good reason we were no longer free to come and go and not worry about bureaucracy so delved into the internet to find out what was going to happen. I personally knew two other brit families who had no absolute idea about CDS applications at all and went and told them myself for which they were grateful.
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It seems there are children who cannot see their father…
so, for that reason alone… I hope this man’s situation gets sorted and he can go back to Sweden.
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I completely agree. Brexit is a b***h.
However, the whole situation was avoidable.
Step-children, and he is playing the violin a bit saying he can’t go and see them. He says he doesn’t want to risk a 2 year ban - but at the same time is not visiting at all. Which is insane.
He can go to Norway on standard Schengen 90 day visa exemption and cross into Sweden as no internal border controls.
I don’t understand - he is married to an EU national, surely that alone gets him the right to stay?
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Frankly, I think there’s more to this story than we are being told… 
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Not if she’s Swedish in Sweden. The EU spouse thing doesn’t work in the spouse’s home country.
Alright, I’ll rephrase - he’s the spouse of a Swedish national. Sorry.
My confusion remains - he doesn’t need a “Brexit visa” he has another route (surely ?) to be allowed to remain in Sweden, late application for the wrong type of visa notwithstanding.
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I guess we’d need to know Sweden’s immigration rules to know how practical it is. Taking the UK as an example, there’s quite a high bar to obtaining a family member visa.
Nod - but you’d think maybe that discussion would have been in the article.
Doesn’t really suit the agenda though. And that’s me speaking as a Brexit-hating, dyed in the wool, pinko lefty.
I’m slightly astounded that, since 2016, a Brit can sit in a European country and not once idly ponder “I wonder if this might affect me”
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It does stretch credulity doesn’t it?
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Seems to me to be a case of “can’t be arsed to sort it out” not “didn’t know”… given how much Brexit was the eternal talking point for five years (and ongoing)…
Unless he was really so clueless he just assumed that being married to a Swede was enough.
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This could be a point, not everyone is aware of the nuance about EU spouses in their home country.
There’s always the “It’ll be fine and will be in touch is there’s a problem.” way of thinking which will always bite the thinker in the arse eventually.
An excellent point.
I appreciate it would (presumably) be an upheaval but if they moved together to ANY other EU country, they could perfectly happily settle there, legally, under EU regs. They could at least be living together, unlike the current unhappy situation.
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