So: why #Sweden?

Last year Caitrín finished school, Ntando finished her Pacific ship contract, and I was living in a basic rental place in Pretoria. It was time to move on.

Aidan and Caitrín are now both in #Ireland, doing their different things successfully. I wanted to be nearby enough to see them regularly, but also treat them as independent adults who don't need their Dad hanging about. Also, Ntando and I want a next life together, concentrating on our own goals and adventures. We have no other dependents, so let's make the most of it.

On top of that, we had had enough of Ntando's twilight existence as an immigrant in #SouthAfrica. The #Zimbabawe passport doesn't travel well. Though we'd decided we wanted to live in #Europe for a while, we needed to figure out how she could get in, stay in, and work and study.

We're using #EuropeanUnion freedom of movement rules to help us. Because I'm #Irish, I have nearly unrestricted freedom of movement in Europe. When I arrived in October, I registered as a Irish citizen living in Sweden, pretty simple. Then we got Ntando a Schengen visa. Now she is applying at #Migrationsverket as a non-EU citizen joining her EU spouse in Sweden. If and when she is granted a right to stay in this way, she'll be given a residence card that entitles her to live, work and study in Sweden, so long as our marriage continues as it is. This is a decision by the Swedish state, so it doesn't provide her with the right to travel in Europe. But we'll solve that afterwards.