Swedish minister Morgan Johansson has proposed new rules that will allow Britons in Sweden to gain permanent residency permits in the wake of a no-deal Brexit.
Around 25,000 UK nationals currently reside in Sweden and a clean-break Brexit will no longer put their residency status into question should the new proposal go through. Justice and Migration Minister Johansson noted the urgency to pass the measures so that Britons in Sweden could remain in the country post-Brexit, SVT reports.
“Failure to do so will mean that the British who have a residence permit will lose it overnight if Britain crashes out of the EU,” Johansson said.
“The starting point is that the exemption should apply for at least one year from the date of departure,” he added.
The new rules will see British citizens who have lived in Sweden for five years be eligible for permanent residency status. Those who have been in the country for less than five years will be able to receive a five-year residency permit.
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“But then it is also important that they have jobs and settled living arrangements,” Johansson said. If passed, the new regulations will come into force on January 1st of next year.
The UK is due to leave the EU on October 31st. The likelihood of a clean-break Brexit has increased as the European Union rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s final deal earlier this week.
The deal would allow Northern Ireland to have a “special relationship” with the EU until 2025 when it would then leave the Customs Union, along with the UK.
“It is take it or leave it. Officials have made clear that if Brussels does not engage with this offer, then this Government will not negotiate further until we have left the EU. Officials also made clear the prime minister will in no circumstances negotiate a delay at the EU Council on October 17,” a government source said.
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