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COVID-19

What Sweden’s foreign residents think of the country’s plans to re-open

After the Swedish government announced plans to go ahead with the fourth step of its five-stage re-opening plan from the end of September, The Local asked our readers what they thought of the move to lift most remaining restrictions.

What Sweden's foreign residents think of the country's plans to re-open
Restrictions are being lifted for restaurants and events, but our readers said the return to the office would be the most significant change. Photo: Alena Darmel/Pexels

“My first reaction to this question is, what restrictions? From the moment I arrived in Sweden, in August from my home in California, I was shocked that no one in Malmö where I am staying wears masks or practises distancing,” said Robin, a reader from the US.

“We are extremely careful in northern California, even with 80 percent vaccination rate. We never go inside someone’s home, a store, or ride in a car without a mask. I have been back and forth to Denmark several times, including when I crossed into Sweden after arriving at CPH, and never encountered any Covid checkpoints. Covid protocols seem symbolic at best (a neglected bottle of alcohol here and there, a few plexi barriers). For a time I wore a mask inside stores but I was usually the only one. I soon concluded there was no point, as wearing a mask is to protect others. I now put trust in my Moderna vaccine and pray I don’t get Covid while I am in Sweden,” said Robin.

William, an Irish engineer, was another of our readers who felt the remaining restrictions were lax. “From a public health perspective it feels premature [to remove the rules on events and restaurants], but the restrictions here were so tame that I don’t think it will make much of a difference to people’s behaviour. During the pandemic I rarely saw masks or social distancing,” he commented.

“Having come from a country with much more restrictions [than Sweden] I feel lucky to be able to move around as much as I am already. Lifting restrictions further seems premature and unnecessary given the economy seems to be doing OK, all things considered,” a reader from the Philippines, who asked to remain anonymous, told the survey.

Mia, a reader from Spain, wrote: “In Sweden, specially the youth population, has lived a very unreal approach to this traumatic event. My Swedish neighbour told me ‘It’s horrible what’s happening in your country; we’re very lucky Sweden has chosen not to act so dramatically’. As if Covid wasn’t hitting Sweden alike.”

The rules being removed from September 29th include limits on numbers of attendees permitted at public events (currently set at 300 for indoor seated events and 3,000 for outdoor seated events) as well as all restrictions for restaurants (such as a limit of eight people per group, and one-metre minimum distance between groups). Sweden was one of few countries not to use mask-wearing as a significant component in its strategy, but did recommend their use on public transport during weekday rush hour between January and the start of July.

A reader who asked to remain anonymous said they felt exhilarated, saying: “I will have the possibility to return to the office, enjoy public gatherings, bars and shows. It feels like we are seeing the light at the end on a too long tunnel.”

And Jeremie, originally from France, wrote of the changes: “It’s about time! About 80 percent of the population [over the age of 16] vaccinated, hardly any deaths anymore, only cases… what are we trying to prevent? We will probably never know exactly, but I am curious to know how much long-term damage the restrictions for the past year and a half will have done… It might be bigger than the damage from Covid-19 itself. I am not talking about Sweden in particular, which had some of the lightest restrictions.”

When we asked our readers how the changes would affect their day-to-day life, the most commonly mentioned change was a return to the workplace full-time, with one reader saying the lifting of restrictions left her scared of “infection from colleagues”. Since spring 2020, a recommendation has been in place for workers who can do so to work from home as much as possible, though this has not been legally enforced. This recommendation will also be lifted from September 29th.

Of those who were feeling anxious about the change, several raised concerns about having large events without a requirement for a negative Covid-19 test or vaccine pass.

“If they implemented a vaccine pass to some of these events, it might work, but a crowded venue or stadium is hardly a good idea right now. Just because we all want the pandemic to be over, doesn’t mean it is,” noted Andrea, from Canada.

“I would feel better about it if there were some kind of safety measures in terms of rapid testing or showing a vaccination certificate to enter events or restaurants, like other countries, eg Germany are doing,” added a student in Uppsala who asked to be anonymous. She was concerned that without this precaution, cases could spread quickly, including due to unvaccinated groups and children.

“Even if they do not end up in hospital they can develop long Covid, which I think is not taken into account enough in this decision. Personally, even though I am fully vaccinated I still wear a mask in all shops and also when sitting in class at university (where I am the only one doing so),” she added.

She was one of several readers who mentioned concern over current and potential future variants of the virus. “I feel concerned regarding new variants like Delta, but I guess it is like [Swedish state epidemiologist, Anders] Tegnell said once: we need to learn how to live with this disease,” another reader, a Brazilian developer, said.

Meanwhile, several of our readers pointed out that while most restrictions will be lifted in autumn, one key area has remained strictly regulated throughout the pandemic: travel. While Swedish citizens and residents can travel to and from the country with no requirement for isolation, people from many non-EU countries are banned from entry.

“The government should look into allowing those who are fully vaccinated into Sweden. A lot of people’s family members especially from outside the EU cannot visit because even though they are vaccinated they are banned from entry, yet people from Sweden can go there,” said British reader Rachel. 

The Local’s survey was not scientific, but we received responses from people from a range of ages, nationalities, locations in Sweden and professions. We closed our survey when we reached 70 responses and the quotes included in this article were chosen as representative. Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. Even if we did not include your comment, your response helps guide our future reporting.

Member comments

  1. I am a little bit disappointed with this compilation of opinions as it contains many sceptical and critical opionions but but hardly any greatful and optimistic ones. I wrote a very positive statement which was not included and wonder if other positive statements were ignored on purpose too so that the article rather reflects the optionion of the author and editor and not the majority of people asked.
    And there is something like a proof for this: just look at how many people willingly wear masks in if they are not mandated: hardly anyone. Therefore I believe that the vast majority strongly appreciates re-opening steps that are clearly justified through low numbers in hospitalization and deaths.

    1. Hi Markus,

      We can’t include every comment we receive on our surveys due to volume, but we do make sure that the comments included in articles accurately represent the range of comments we received overall. We also made the survey paywall-free to aim to reach as wide a range of people as possible.

      Usually we include at least one compulsory multiple choice question in each survey so we can give a summary of the overall breakdown of views (see paragraphs 2-3 in this article: https://www.thelocal.se/20201204/readers-reveal-how-do-swedens-international-residents-feel-about-the-coronavirus-response/), but unfortunately that didn’t work this time (we used a new survey tool) so we couldn’t include this type of breakdown.

      As the article notes, it’s not a scientific survey. It’s possible that people who have stronger feelings might feel more motivated to fill out the survey, for example.

      I hope that addresses your concerns and helps explain how we work with reader surveys.

  2. All content of this article come from only the people who scare from this imaginary virus 🦠 and they can’t see what damages these unnecessary restrictions will have to our children and many generation to come. If we don’t stop all this nonsense we will end up in a very difficult situation. Please read the real statistics and facts and don’t follow and listen to media who is run by devil minded elites.

        1. Good advice.

          I am surprised it’s not yet censored on youtube. They mostly delete the videos with the critical voices.

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MONEY

Readers’ tips: How to find the best bank for foreigners in Sweden

The Local asked its readers to share their tips about which bank offers the best account for foreigners living in Sweden. Here's what they had to say.

Readers' tips: How to find the best bank for foreigners in Sweden

Which bank offers the best option for foreigners in Sweden?

More than 180 readers responded to The Local’s non-scientific survey, and we got a wide range of replies.

No bank received a majority of votes, but Handelsbanken generally seemed to be the most popular (it was the preferred option by just over a fifth of readers), followed by Nordea, SEB and Swedbank – in other words some of Sweden’s main banks.

However, these banks got a relatively equal number of votes, and they were also frequently mentioned when readers were asked which banks they would recommend against using, so all in all, the survey didn’t produce a conclusive result.

We got the strong impression from reading all the responses that it may matter more which branch you use than the bank itself, as people’s experiences varied greatly even with the same company.

What makes a bank good for foreigners in Sweden?

It depends on what stage of the “moving to Sweden” process you’re at. If you’ve just arrived, you may be looking for a bank that’s happy to set up an account for you without a personnummer, the Swedish personal identity number which gives you access to a range of services.

If you’re buying an apartment, a bank that’s willing to give a mortgage to people without permanent residency or who don’t require a long Swedish credit history may be the best option for you.

If you’ve lived in Sweden for many years, those things may not matter as much any more and things like customer service, ease of online banking and interest rates may be more important.

Features that generally made readers like their bank included good customer service, convenient international money transfers, online services fully available in English and staff being willing to speak English to customers, cheap rates and, more than anything, being able to set up a bank account without having a Swedish personal identity number.

Conversely, many readers were put off by things such as invasive questions, perceived rudeness or discrimination due to not speaking Swedish, difficulties getting an account despite being eligible, long waiting times for an appointment, and a lack of any of the above services.

What are the need-to-know tips about banking in Sweden?

Although in theory you have the right to set up at least a debit account without a personnummer, it still tends to be the main stumbling block for newcomers. To spare yourself the hassle of negotiating with bank staff who may not be used to dealing with foreigners, several readers suggested waiting until you have one, if you can.

“Be prepared for a world of complications if you don’t have a personnummer yet. If you moved for work, ask your work HR person to help get you a coordination number, which can be used to open a bank account (even though sometimes the banks themselves are unfamiliar with this concept if they don’t work with many foreigners),” said Abigail, an American PhD student in Stockholm.

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Lowering your expectations and starting with a basic account without requesting a credit card or a mortgage right away, may help you get a foot through the door.

“All banks in Sweden are in for business. Contact the bank’s helpline and fix an appointment and walk in. There’s a misconception about banks in Sweden that you cannot get a bank account if you don’t have a job. Banks are very cooperative with opening accounts. There could be arguments when getting credit cards or loans, but for daily transactions they’re very cooperative,” said an Indian reader, now a permanent resident, who set up his SEB account without a personnummer.

Many readers also said knowing your rights and being prepared before walking in helps – and if possible, try to get an appointment to meet someone face to face rather than calling or emailing.

“Have every possible piece of documentation before you enter the service branch and maybe a printout of your rights entitling you to a bank account. I’m a non-EU citizen, I think this record abundance was crucial to my quick success,” said a US citizen in Malmö who was able to get his account and BankID on the same day as walking into one of Nordea’s service branches.

“Always be extremely clear and direct about your intentions with the bank. If you’re failing to make progress over the phones or via email, drop in to a physical location. I’ve discovered employees at many smaller or more rural branches are much more willing to help if I’ve been ignored at their central downtown branches or can’t resolve issues over the phone,” said Theodore Squires, a PhD student who said Nordea was unwilling to set up an account before he had his personnummer, but on the other hand gave him a mortgage despite limited tax history and a complex salary set-up.

Don’t be afraid to shop around, and there’s always the option of changing banks further down the road – perhaps start with one that is liberal with offering accounts to foreigners without a personnummer and, once you’re in the system, change to one that better suits your long-term needs.

“Nordea was a disorganised mess while I awaited my personal number and ID. It introduced me to the low quality bar for customer service in general in Sverige. I switched to SEB after I got my ID and staff were much more willing to help me get started in the country,” said Jeremiah from the US.

Some readers recommended online-only neobanks such as Revolut, as good options for a first account, as it’s often easy to set up an account with them and transfer money internationally.

But bureaucratic nightmares and long waits for an appointment notwithstanding, many readers urged fellow newcomers to Sweden to play the long game if your plans are to stay in the country.

“I could never get a credit card until my first year’s tax return was complete. Advice, if possible try wait for a year before trying to get credit. If rejected it just brings your credit score down and no one tells you it’s because they cannot see your income until after your first tax return is complete,” said Clifford, an IT consultant from South Africa.

“Be patient and endure. Like with many other aspects of life in Sweden,” said Dusan, a university lecturer.

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