(edit title) Divorced in Sweden Need advise Options

[Ali]

Hi All

I hope you lot are enjoying a good semester break

I wonder if anyone would be kind enough to answer some of the questions I have with regards to my current situation.

In 2016, I fell in love with a 'Danish' girl and got married to her in my home country (I am a non EU Citizen, from an Asian country).

My ex wife has lived in Sweden for over 12 years now, and so I moved in with her to Sweden in 2017.

I registered myself at the Skatteverket and received a personummer.

In 2017 I also received my residence card under the 'EU rules' because of my wife being a Danish Citizen and it is valid until August 2022.

Few months later (in 2017) I received my residence card under the 'Swedish rules' because of my wife being a permanent resident in Sweden and it is valid until November this year (2019).

In July 2017, I had to travel back to my country due to family reasons and I returned to Sweden in January 2019 together with my wife after we had a fantastic holiday over the Christmas/new year period.

Everything was going rosey for me, I had progressed into SFI Level C, finally found a contractual job, however in April this year (2019) out of no where, my wife suddenly decided that we can no longer be together, her family had a huge part to play I believe in her decision as her father and brothers never liked me.

Anyways, my wife asked me to leave Sweden and go back home to my parents, I left thinking that giving her some space might change things, however in July this year (2019) I have received an email from the very lawyer who helped us gain my residence permits, saying that my wife has started divorce proceedings against me.

And so my whole world has come crashing down, I never thought this would happen to me of all people since I never ever even raised my voice at her and infact always kept quite even when she was screaming at me at times in rage and anger.

I Dearly loved my wife with all my heart and as you can imagine, I am still in shock.

However I understand I need to pull myself together and think about myself now and what the future might hold for me.

So, I have few questions in relation to my future in Sweden.

1, Am I allowed to return to Sweden and reside there legally (work and study) since my residence permits are still valid? The furthest expiry date is August 2022 for my residence permit under the EU rule.

2, According to her lawyer, my now ex wife is already informed the 'Migration Board' and the tax office in Sweden that we are no longer together and that I have left the country, will the 'Swedish Migration Board' cancel my residence permits?

3, I have read on 'Migrationsverket's website' that if a relationship has ended, a person can apply to have their residence permits extended, providing that they can prove they have sufficient ties to Sweden, and one of those could be through employment. We do not have any children together and so I am thinking that If the 'Migration Board' can allow me to stay in Sweden until such time as my residence permit under the EU rules expires in 2022, I would have more than sufficient time to complete my Swedish language studies and find a permanent job to prove my strengthened ties to Sweden. Even if I let my residence permit under the Swedish rules expire at the end of this year?

I have conducted myself really well whilst in Sweden.

I don't know if anyone is able to answer my questions?

By the way apologies for a long post.

Best regards.

[Case officer]

[Ali]

[Ali]

Update 2019/07/22:

Hi All,

Further to my post earlier,

I have received an email from my wife's lawyer stating that the court has now allowed a reconsideration period of 6 months, starting from July 2019, before a divorce is granted.

Now my wife and I got married in October 2016 and so by the time the 6 month reconsideration period is over in December 2019, we would still legally be married for just over 3 years. Does this technically count being in a relationship in the eyes of the Migration Law?

With the understanding that my wife has already informed the 'Migration Board' that I left Sweden in April 2019 and that our relationship ended back then, however legally we are still married and will remain so until the end of the reconsideration period.

Even if I minus the time I was away, I have lived in Sweden for 1 year and 7 months.

Does this mean that I meet the criteria to legally return to Sweden and reside there?

Best regards.

[hjoian]

Technically, you are still the family member of an EU citizen and could most likely travel back to Sweden. Migrationsverket can not cancel any of your permits until your divorce has been recognized by the courts, or that your wife can prove that you have not been in a relationship with her for more than 2 years.
Your right to be in Sweden will end when the divorce is approved. If you had been in Sweden longer than 5 years, it would not be an issue, but as your time is less, you do not have an automatic right to stay.