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COVID-19

What are the new rules for travel between the US and Sweden?

It's now possible for fully vaccinated people to travel from the US to Sweden.

Published: 28 October 2021 17:23 CEST
Updated: 8 November 2021 16:34 CET
What are the new rules for travel between the US and Sweden?
File photo of Salt Lake City International Airport in March 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

People who can show a Covid vaccination certificate issued in the US are as of November 5th able to travel to Sweden freely, without any entry bans or test requirements.

And fully vaccinated travellers from the Schengen area, including Sweden, can travel to the US as of November 8th.

“Sweden enjoys close and good relations with the US, and cooperates on important matters in many areas. Travel between Sweden and the US is therefore of major importance in many different ways. For example, it plays an important role when it comes to companies’ competitiveness and opportunities to conduct their activities,” read a Swedish government statement when it announced its new rules.

EXPLAINED: What’s the difference between exempt and approved countries?

The Swedish government also added vaccine certificates issued in Guernsey, Isle of Man or Jersey to the list of countries exempted from entry restrictions, following a previous decision to accept vaccine certificates issued in the United Kingdom.

It also decided to extend the entry restrictions for travel from within the EU/EEA until November 30th. These restrictions do not ban entry entirely, but state that travellers have to present a valid Covid certificate which shows they have either been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered (for a more precise rundown of the rules, visit the police authority’s website).

The Swedish government also last week extended the entry ban from non-exempt countries outside the EU/EEA until January 31st. This means that foreigners travelling from those countries must be covered by an exemption to the ban (such as having a residence permit, or travelling for especially urgent reasons or to carry out essential work) and present a negative test unless they’re exempt from that too.

It is still possible to enter Sweden without any restrictions at all from Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway, regardless of your nationality, reasons for travel, testing or vaccination status, or your original point of departure.

The US is not the first country to have its vaccination certificates approved by Sweden. This list also includes the UK, Turkey, Israel, Ukraine and Switzerland, among others. A full and up-to-date list can be found on the Swedish police authority’s website.

The entry ban has been in place since March 2020, but has been extended and amended several times. In theory, the dates above could also be extended or lifted before the deadline.

Member comments

  1. Any thoughts on what will be considered acceptable proof of vaccination? I have a hard time believing the flimsy paper CDC vaccination card will be accepted at the border.

  2. Hi can you travel from the uk to Sweden directly ? A relative wants to visit and is full vacinated.

    It says you can on the Briish Embassy sight and the facebook page but the Swedish Police Web site is confusing. Does anybody know what is going on ?

    1. Hi Peter,

      That shouldn’t be an issue.

      Fully vaccinated Brits have been allowed to enter Sweden directly since the 11th October.

      From the Swedish government website “people travelling to Sweden who can present a vaccination certificate issued in the United Kingdom are exempt from the entry ban and test requirement”.

      Link here: https://www.government.se/press-releases/2021/10/vaccinated-travellers-to-sweden-from-the-uk-to-be-exempted-from-entry-ban-and-test-requirement/

      Obviously, this could change, so make sure you keep up-to-date with the rules. We will most likely report on any changes if they do happen though.

      Let me know if you have any more questions,

      Becky Waterton, The Local Sweden

  3. Could you please investigate and see if you need to be a resident of the approved countries or simply having a vaccination card from those countries is enough to enter Sweden?

    Police Border guard is not answering and is just referring me to their confusing website.

    1. Hi Alex,

      In short, it’s complicated.

      Exempt countries (i.e., countries who are no longer subject to the travel ban but whose vaccine certificates have not been approved), are residency based. So if you live in an exempt country, you can travel to Sweden if you have one of the following:
      – a negative covid-19 test
      – an EU Covid Certificate
      – a vaccine certificate from the EEA or an approved country.

      Approved countries are not residency based – their ‘approved’ status regards their vaccine certificate – Sweden deems their vaccine certificates to be equal to an EU-issued certificate. They are also exempt from the travel ban.

      From the police’s website: “fully vaccinated travellers holding a vaccination certificate issued in an approved country are allowed to enter Sweden, and can then enter without a test. Residence or citizenship in an approved country does not matter”.

      (link: https://polisen.se/en/the-swedish-police/the-coronavirus-and-the-swedish-police/faq/ See under “Exempted countries and approved countries”)

      Note that if you transit to Sweden via another country, you are processed as arriving from the last country you transit through before arrival in Sweden – not the country where you started your journey.

      Let me know if you have any questions – you can also email me at [email protected] if you’d prefer.

      Best,

      Becky Waterton

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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