Sweden has confirmed that 458 British citizens have been deported or forcibly removed by police since Brexit. This is the first time the scale of such deportations has been made public and comes amid criticism of how Sweden is handling Britons who had previously made the country their home. Some of those affected have been told to leave after living in Sweden for over 25 years, including elderly individuals with dementia. One man, who had lived in Sweden since he was 10 years old, was deported despite having spent most of his life there. According to the Swedish Migration Agency, a rejected application for residency does not automatically lead to deportation. However, the agency’s statistics show that in around 458 cases, rejected applications were followed by deportation decisions. The Migrationsverket, Sweden’s government agency responsible for migration, confirmed to The Guardian that 458 British citizens had been deported since Brexit. David Milstead, head of the activist group Brits in Sweden, has called for full transparency about the number of removals and deportations, including the circumstances surrounding each case. He noted that the 458 figure may not include people who left voluntarily after realizing their applications would likely be rejected, or those who had already obtained permits under national law before being ordered to leave. It also excludes individuals who are currently in Sweden on temporary permits with uncertain long-term futures. The last available data shows that 14,233 British citizens applied for post-Brexit residency, including family members who joined them after the deadline passed in 2024. Of these, nearly 4,000 applications were rejected. That refusal rate is three times higher than any other EU member state and far above the EU average of between 3% and 4%, according to analysis by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Deportations continue, with reports of a Swedish wife of a former Cambridge business director saying her husband was detained in Stockholm ahead of a forced removal. They have been fighting the decision for five years and feel they have been "hunted." The Guardian reported the case of John Sellers, a 34-year-old British man who had lived in Sweden since he was 10. He was deported, separating him from his wife, Caroline, in Gothenburg. Caroline said people needed to know how Brexit had "crushed families." Another case involves 78-year-old British widow Joyce Thomas, who has been told to leave the country before next Wednesday. Friends are trying to obtain an injunction and have appealed to the European Commission for help. If she fails to comply, she could face a forced deportation and a "re-entry ban" that would prevent her from entering a Schengen country, including Sweden, for as long as the ban remains in effect. The Swedish Migration Agency stated it had "no indication" that Sweden has interpreted the Brexit withdrawal agreement in an extreme way or differently from other EU member states. It emphasized that it has applied the applicable law and that individuals have had the opportunity to appeal rejected decisions. Late applications for post-Brexit residency are allowed under the Brexit withdrawal agreement, both in the EU and the UK, but applicants must provide "reasonable grounds" for missing the deadline. The FCDO has said that "in practice" late applicants in Sweden "are not likely to have their reasonable grounds accepted." Sweden’s migration minister, Johan Forssell, stated that his government has followed the rules but is willing to look into the matter further. He emphasized the importance of the UK relationship and said the government would continue to safeguard the correct implementation of the withdrawal agreement, investigating whether further measures could be taken to facilitate the process in the future. A spokesperson for the FCDO said they continue to raise the issue with the Swedish authorities and welcome their statement that they will look into the matter, adding that they are ready to support them in doing so. Niels Paarup-Petersen, the migration spokesperson for Sweden’s opposition Centre party, said the government needs to go much further. He pledged to introduce new laws if his party wins power at the next general election, allowing British citizens to reapply for post-Brexit residence. He called for "a touch of humanity" in the approach to the issue.