-
I may be sounding unsympathetic here, but I live in the EU and although I have an EU passport as well as a UK one, I know lots of British migrants who had to "normalise" their status.
Yeah, you are pretty unsympathetic. You live in the EU but the 27 countries all have different immigration admin and procedures. You don't know how well Sweden publicised the procedure, it's perfectly understandable that someone living in country for over a decade might expect to receive a letter.
Should he have been a bit more proactive, yes, but you know life moves and sometimes you miss things. Wouldn't you go to the paper if you have been kicked out of your home of over a decade and split from your family?
There are some cases, like the lady with dementia who was in the papers that I absolutely sympathise with and can understand, but the entitled, head in the sand, unaware, "it doesn't mean me" people can get back in the sea.
Man made a mistake, probably meets all the requirements for citizenship anyway but it's OK he deserves it?
Gewürzt-
Agreed. When you (have to) introduce new layers of bureaucracy, some people will just be caught out. You can always blame the victims, of course, but it's not a recommended option.
-
Man made a mistake, probably meets all the requirements for citizenship anyway but it's OK he deserves it?
I don't disagree the Swedish approach seems a little nuclear but if, as he said, he's been there for a couple of decades, he should have thought about the impact of Brexit and looked to citizenship after the vote or paperwork when the rules were created. I checked my EU passport was on my residency documentation not long after the vote and am working towards citizenship where I live "just in case". Ultimately, unless you're a citizen of a country, you're a guest of that country and of whatever winds of change are blowing.
Ultimately, though, you have to take responsibility for your own action or inaction in life.
Oliver Schick
atz
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/nov/25/singer-sweden-british-husband-refused-leave-to-remain-brexit
I may be sounding unsympathetic here, but I live in the EU and although I have an EU passport as well as a UK one, I know lots of British migrants who had to "normalise" their status. Not a single one that I know "forgot" to fill in papers or was "unaware" that they had no right to remain by default (even though it was a formality if you filled in the papers). People I know even had time to learn the language and get citizenship when the hard Brexit was becoming inevitable.
Perhaps where I live is different as the country is MUCH smaller, but I'm getting the shits with people who go to the newspapers explaining how it's not their fault. My assumption is that as a guest in a foreign country, the onus is on you to make sure you understand how you're able to remain where you live. Particularly given how the UK treated people from the EU and continues to do so...
There are some cases, like the lady with dementia who was in the papers that I absolutely sympathise with and can understand, but the entitled, head in the sand, unaware, "it doesn't mean me" people can get back in the sea.