This is an ongoing topic and this article will be updated as we get more information.
The UK has been debating about their membership in the the EU, and on Thursday 23 June 2016, the UK will vote on whether to stay or leave the EU for good. You can read more details about the politics and issues surrounding this here:
- EU Referendum poll tracker and odds
- The UK’s EU referendum: All you need to know
- United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- EU referendum 2016: What are the key dates?
- Brexit for Expats living in Spain
What this means for Brits in Sweden
Right now, it looks very tight between the for and against parties, but with only 2 percentage points between them. The good news is that if the Brexit parties do win and the UK votes to leave the EU, there will be at least 2 years before the UK officially leaves. This is because the UK needs to inform the EU Council with a 2 years notice period. This gives the affected expats in Sweden and other EU countries time to apply for residency/citizenship/etc.
If the UK does vote to leave, a few things could happen which would affect the impact this has on Brits living in Sweden.
After the referendum, it’s likely that the UK will vote on what to do next in the EU. Will they leave the EU but stay in the EEC (like Norway and Switzerland), in which case, they are more than likely to keep the freedom of work and movement that we currently have. In that case, you may not need to do anything.
If the UK votes to leave completely and totally exit the EU, then things can get complicated. I’ve spoken to two different people at Migrationsverket and received two different answers.
If you have been living here for 5 years or more, you can apply for citizenship and stay in Sweden. The same goes if you have a Swedish partner with children in Sweden. In both cases, you can get a priority to citizenship as well as an option to stay in Sweden whilst waiting for your paperwork to go through.
If you have been here less than Sweden and are working, you will have to apply for a work visa, but outside of the country. You will need to leave, and together with your employer apply for a work visa which can take anywhere from 1 to 5 months to arrive, and then you can move back to Sweden (more details here - in Swedish).
The other thing is one of the people I spoke with from Migrationsverket told me that if the UK leaves completely and you’ve been here for a while, Sweden is not 100% sure what to do with your status right now. There is a chance that Sweden could make special arrangements for Brits that have been living here for 2+ years, but this has still to be discussed.
Stay informed and read the news in the UK to see how this story develops. I think it’s a nervous time right now but also too early to make a clear decision.
As soon as a we know what to do next, we will update this article.
For more details and to check how this will effect you, call Migrationsverket from here.