British resident to be deported due to Brexit, but can a new government intervene before December 6 deadline?

Philip Russell, a British national, was four days late with his residency application early this year. It would appear he has paid the ultimate price for his country’s decision to leave the EU

Philip Russell, a British national who has been a resident of Denmark for two years, has been ordered to leave the country no later than December 6.

The 47-year-old financial services administrator is one of 290 Brits in Denmark who missed the 31 December 2021 deadline to apply for continued residency, according to Politiken – a consequence of the Brexit vote in June 2016 that led to the UK leaving the European Union several years later.

In Russell’s case, he was four days too late submitting his application. When Russell learned about the decision in May, he was surprised as he did not realise there was a strict deadline.

He appealed against the decision, but with no success.

Completely devastated
Russell is disappointed with the decision, as he has much to lose.

“If this goes ahead, I will lose my house, my job and my fiancée,” he told Politiken. “It will be the complete dissolution of my life because of a small, banal bureaucratic matter.”

He subsequently told the Guardian: “I feel completely devastated. I’ve been through 11 months of hell already, with no end in sight apart from being deported, so that means I’m going to lose my job, my home and my fiancee, and be dumped back into London.” 

SIRI steadfast in its defence
In its defence, Styrelsen for Rekruttering og Integration (SIRI), the agency for recruitment and integration, argues that it did all that it could to inform Brits in Denmark about the deadline.

Steadily over the course of 2021, depending on their age, Brits were required, month by month, to submit an application including geometrics confirmed by SIRI.

Furthemore, the agency claims it sent three letters to Russell, which he maintains he did not receive. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of residents in Denmark to be informed, not for the agency to inform, reasons SIRI. 

There was also widespread media coverage.

Support from Venstre MP
There is support from Danish MPs for such cases to be reopened, including from Venstre’s EU rapporteur Mads Fuglede, who actually helped to formulate the strict immigration rules, but considers the deportation to be a “breach of the spirit of the withdrawal agreement to protect EU citizens’ rights”.

“I know he missed the deadline, but we need to look at this politically and make sure there is leeway for Philip and others like him. This was not the understanding when we passed the law,” Fuglede told The Guardian.

“The spirit of the withdrawal agreement was to ensure that every UK citizen in Denmark had an easy pathway to stay. There are probably others who are going through similar agony, which is not what we intended.”

Fuglede wrote to Kaare Dybvad, the immigration minister up until the general election on November 1, but got no answer.

With December 6 approaching, and no government in place to take action, the clock would appear to be ticking on Russell’s time in Denmark.




  • Danish Intelligence Service: Threat from Russia has intensified

    Danish Intelligence Service: Threat from Russia has intensified

    In the internal Danish waters, Russia will be able to attack underwater infrastructure from all types of vessels. The target could be cables with data, electricity and gas, assesses the Danish Defense Intelligence Service

  • Denmark to explore screening citizenship applicants for anti-democratic sentiments

    Denmark to explore screening citizenship applicants for anti-democratic sentiments

    A few weeks after Alex Vanopslagh’s comments about “right values,” the government announced that an expert committee would be established to examine the feasibility of screening citizenship applicants for anti-democratic attitudes.

  • The Future Copenhagen

    The Future Copenhagen

    The municipality plan encompasses building 40,000 houses by 2036 in order to help drive real estate prices down. But this is not the only huge project that will change the shape of the city: Lynetteholmen, M5 metro line, the Eastern Ring Road, and Jernbanebyen will transform Copenhagen into something different from what we know today

  • It’s not you: winter depression is affecting many people

    It’s not you: winter depression is affecting many people

    Many people in Denmark are facing hard times marked by sadness, anxiety, and apathy. It’s called winter depression, and it’s a widespread phenomenon during the cold months in Nordic countries.

  • Crime rates are rising, but people are safer

    Crime rates are rising, but people are safer

    Crime in Denmark is increasing for the second consecutive year, but it is more focused on property, while people appear to be safer than before. Over the past year, there were fewer incidents of violence

  • Novo Nordisk invests 8.5 billion DKK in new Odense facility

    Novo Nordisk invests 8.5 billion DKK in new Odense facility

    Despite Novo’s announcement that its growth abroad will be larger than in Denmark, the company announced this morning an 8.5 billion DKK investment for a new facility in Odense. This is the first time the company has established a new production site in Denmark this century.