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COVID-19

EXPLAINED: Will it be possible to travel to Sweden this summer?

The pandemic and changing restrictions mean it's a good idea to think carefully before booking any non-necessary travel, but many people do need to cross borders. The rules in place at the moment vary based on where you're travelling from and the reason for your journey.

Published: 25 May 2021 17:32 CEST
Updated: 7 June 2021 07:43 CEST
EXPLAINED: Will it be possible to travel to Sweden this summer?
Travel restrictions have changed several times over the past year. The Local's team reviewed the current rules for travel to Sweden. Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/TT

If you’re travelling from an EU/EEA country:

At the time of publication, there were no restrictions on travel from any EU or EEA countries, but for most countries, there is a negative test requirement – with the exception of travel from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland. For travel from other EU/EEA countries, the test requirement remains in place until at least June 30th. You can find further information from the Public Health Agency.

Be aware that new restrictions could be introduced over the summer if authorities judge them necessary; this has previously been the case for Denmark and Norway, based on factors such as the spread of new variants and the alleged risk of people travelling from locked-down Denmark and contributing to crowding in Swedish shops or restaurants.

In order to enter Sweden from an EU/EEA country (again, except from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland), you need to show a negative Covid-19 test no older than 48 hours (measured from the time you cross the border). Proof of vaccination is not accepted as an alternative, although that may change with the introduction of an EU-wide “green card” set to be introduced in late June.

Some people are exempted from the test requirement, including Swedish citizens and people who live in Sweden.

If you’re travelling from a non-EU country:

There is currently a ban in place on travel to Sweden from most non-EU countries (this includes the UK, which was treated as an EU/EEA country until the end of 2020). There are several exceptions to the rule, including Swedish or EU/EEA citizens, people who live in Sweden, or people travelling for certain purposes like urgent family reasons. People travelling from certain countries, decided at the EU level, are also exempt. Currently that includes Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, or Thailand.

The entry ban is currently in place until at least August 31st, but this could be extended further.

In addition to belonging to one of the exempted categories, you also need to show a negative Covid-19 test no older than 48 hours (measured from the time you cross the border). Proof of vaccination is not accepted as an alternative. You can find further information about the test requirement from the Public Health Agency.

Some people are exempted from the test requirement, including Swedish citizens and people who live in Sweden, but further recommendations about testing and isolating on arrival may apply to you regardless of your citizenship and residence status (see below).


People take Covid-19 tests at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT

Testing and isolation on arrival?

To make matters more confusing, there are also guidelines in place that outline what happen after you travel to Sweden. Travellers arriving in Sweden should take two tests for coronavirus, including those exempt from travel bans and those exempt from the requirement to show a negative test on arrival – BUT note that a series of exceptions were brought in on June 1st (more on this in the next section).

People who do not need to show a negative test to enter Sweden should take a test for coronavirus as soon as possible after arrival, and a second test five days later. Some airports offer testing, and you can also arrange this at home by calling 1177 or your local doctor’s surgery.

People who took a test less than 48 hours before arriving in Sweden also need to take a second test five days after arriving. 

Returning travellers, unless they fall into the exempted categories below, should also self-isolate for seven days on arrival. This means avoiding all non-essential close contact (for example, having groceries delivered rather than going to the shops). You should not go to work, school, shops, use public transport, or have visitors inside your home. Anyone who lives in the same household should isolate too, even if they did not travel. You can find the full guidelines from the Public Health Agency.

Who do not have to self-isolate?

Starting from June 1st, people travelling from the EU, EEA or Schengen countries, or from the UK, Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, are no longer be asked to self-isolate or get a second test on the fifth day, as long as they don’t show symptoms of Covid infection. Fully vaccinated and asymptomatic people will also be exempt from the recommendation, regardless of where they travelled from. Note that this recommendation only applies to people who are allowed to travel to Sweden under the current rules.

Where to find out more:

All information was correct at the time of publication, but the situation can change at short notice. You can check the “Updated” time in the top left corner of the article to see when we updated this webpage. The Local recommends that before any travel, you check Sweden’s national authorities for information on the latest restrictions and exemptions – that’s the police and the government.

Be aware that information provided elsewhere, for example on the ReOpen EU website, may not be up to date.

Member comments

  1. Dear the Local,
    We are an Indonesian citizens and we have son & daughter in law who live in Sweden and they are expecting their first child to be born around end of June. Is it possible for us to visit them during the birth process as they need our presence? We have been also fully vaccinated.
    Thank you

    1. Hi s_hario, according to the Swedish police authority’s FAQs, a non-EU foreigner may be exempt from the entry ban if they’re travelling to be present during the birth of a child (however, NOT for post-birth visits). Other than that, parents of adult children are not automatically exempted. Please be aware that you may be asked to provide evidence of the purpose of your visit on the border. The guidelines are not entirely clear, so I recommend reading the police FAQs here, as it is hard to advise since I don’t know the exact circumstances of your situation: https://polisen.se/en/the-swedish-police/the-coronavirus-and-the-swedish-police/faq/

  2. Hi TheLocal,

    Thank you for great updates on the situation but does anyone know what “certain purposes like urgent family reasons” officially means? I have booked flights/hotel and will attempt to travel to Sweden in mid-June as i am fully vaccinated and will have had a PCR test, my reason for travel from the UK for personal reasons that i think are valid. I do hope that border control have common sense and see that i am not “a threat” to the country and that not seeing a loved one in a long time is important. Sadly i do not have any “officically documented” proof of a partnership (eg joint bank account).

    Thanks

      1. Hi Emma,
        Many thanks for replying. My girlfriend mother has to have a heart operation and as i am sure you can understand it is an extremely stressful experience and i would like travel. Support over a video call is one thing but to actually be there is totally. I do hope the Police will understand, i guess if i am able to board the plane in the UK there may be less of a chance of them turning me away at the border especially as i am fully vaccincated and will have PCR results.

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For members

EES PASSPORT CHECKS

How will the new app for Europe’s EES border system work?

With Europe set to introduce its new Entry/Exit biometric border system (EES) in the autumn there has been much talk about the importance of a new app designed to help avoid delays. But how will it work and when will it be ready?

Published: 7 May 2024 10:29 CEST
How will the new app for Europe's EES border system work?

When it comes into force the EU’s new digital border system known as EES will register the millions of annual entries and exits of non-EU citizens travelling to the EU/Schengen area, which will cover 29 European countries.

Under the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), non-EU residents who do not require a visa will have to register their biometric data in a database that will also capture each time they cross an external Schengen border.

Passports will no longer be manually stamped, but will be scanned. However, biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard when the non-EU traveller first crosses in to the EU/Schengen area.

Naturally there are concerns the extra time needed for this initial registration will cause long queues and tailbacks at the border.

To help alleviate those likely queues and prevent the subsequent frustration felt by travellers the EU is developing a new smartphone app.

READ ALSO: What will the EES passport system mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The importance of having a working app was summed up by Uku Särekanno, Deputy Executive Director of the EU border agency Frontex in a recent interview.

“Initially, the challenge with the EES will come down to the fact that travellers arriving in Europe will have to have their biographic and biometric data registered in the system – border guards will have to register four of their fingerprints and their facial image. This process will take time, and every second really matters at border crossing points – nobody wants to be stuck in a lengthy queue after a long trip.”

But there is confusion around what the app will actually be able to do, if it will help avoid delays and importantly when will it be available?

So here’s what we know so far.

Who is developing the app?

The EU border agency Frontex is currently developing the app. More precisely, Frontex is developing the back-end part of the app, which will be made available to Schengen countries.

“Frontex is currently developing a prototype of an app that will help speed up this process and allow travellers to share some of the information in advance. This is something we are working on to support the member states, although there is no legal requirement for us to do so,” Uku Särekanno said in the interview.

Will the 29 EES countries be forced to use the app?

No, it is understood that Frontex will make the app available on a voluntary basis. Each government will then decide if, when and where to use it, and develop the front-end part based on its own needs.

This point emerged at a meeting of the House of Commons European scrutiny committee, which is carrying out an inquiry on how EES will impact the UK.

What data will be registered via the app?

The Local asked the European Commission about this. A spokesperson however, said the Commission was not “in a position to disclose further information at this stage” but that travellers’ personal data “will be processed in compliance with the high data security and data protection standards set by EU legislation.”

According to the blog by Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP the Frontex app will collect passengers’ name, date of birth, passport number, planned destination and length of stay, reason for travelling, the amount of cash they carry, the availability of a credit card and of a travel health insurance. The app could also allow to take facial images. It will then generate a QR code that travellers can present at border control.

This, however, does not change the fact that fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing into the Schengen area.

So given the need to register finger prints and facial images with a border guard, the question is how and if the app will help avoid those border queues?

When is the app going to be available?

The answer to perhaps the most important question is still unclear.

The Commissions spokesperson told The Local that the app “will be made available for Schengen countries as from the Entry/Exit System start of operations.” The planned launch date is currently October 6th, but there have been several delays in the past and may be another one.

The UK parliamentary committee heard that the prototype of the app should have been ready for EU member states in spring. Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the UK Department for Transport, said the app will not be available for testing until August “at best” and that the app will not be ready in time for October. The committee previously stated that the app might even be delayed until summer 2025.

Frontex’s Särekanno said in his interview: “Our aim is to have it ready by the end of the summer, so it can then be gradually integrated into national systems starting from early autumn”.

READ ALSO: How do the EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Can the system be launched if the app is not ready?

Yes. The European Commission told The Local that “the availability of the mobile application is not a condition for the Entry/Exit System entry into operation or functioning of the system. The app is only a tool for pre-registration of certain types of data and the system can operate without this pre-registration.”

In addition, “the integration of this app at national level is to be decided by each Schengen country on a voluntary basis – as there is no legal obligation to make use of the app.”

And the UK’s transport under secretary Guy Opperman sounded a note of caution saying the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

When the app will be in use, will it be mandatory for travellers?

There is no indication that the app will become mandatory for those non-EU travellers who need to register for EES. But there will probably be advantages in using it, such as getting access to faster lanes.

As a reminder, non-EU citizens who are resident in the EU are excluded from the EES, as are those with dual nationality for a country using EES. Irish nationals are also exempt even though Ireland will not be using EES because it is not in the Schengen area.

Has the app been tested anywhere yet?

Frontex says the prototype of the app will be tested at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, in Sweden. Matthias Monroy’s website said it was tested last year at Munich Airport in Germany, as well as in Bulgaria and Gibraltar.

According to the German Federal Police, the blog reports, passengers were satisfied and felt “prepared for border control”.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

 
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