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COVID-19

Sweden puts three non-EU countries back on coronavirus travel ban list

Residents of Canada, Georgia and Tunisia, who were earlier exempted from a ban to enter the EU through Sweden, are no longer automatically allowed into the country.

Published: 29 October 2020 17:09 CET
Sweden puts three non-EU countries back on coronavirus travel ban list
People line up and check in for an international flight at Pearson International airport in Toronto, Canada. Photo: Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP

The amendments to the temporary ban on entry into Sweden were decided on by the Swedish government on Thursday, and are in line with Council of the European Union’s latest recommendations to EU member states.

The change will come into effect on November 2nd.

The temporary entry ban came into force on March 19th and initially applied for 30 days. The ban has subsequently been extended several times, following EU recommendations. Sweden last week extended the ban until December 22nd, 2020, but it could in theory still be extended further or scrapped before that date.

Other exemptions to the ban all remain in place. Those include people from the following countries, regardless of their purpose of travel (which means anyone, including tourists, from those countries can travel to Sweden):

  • EU/EEA, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland, Vatican City
  • Australia
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
  • Rwanda
  • Singapore
  • South Korea
  • Thailand
  • Uruguay


Photo: Virginia Mayo/TT

Exemptions to the ban also apply to people who are for example moving to live in Sweden, working in certain key jobs, or travelling for urgent family reasons, regardless of which country they are resident of or travelling from.

You can read more about the exemptions (in English) from the Swedish police here, and more detail on the entry ban from the Swedish government (in Swedish) here.

Sweden does not have any quarantine rules in place for foreign visitors and no proof of a negative coronavirus test is required. However, everyone is expected to follow coronavirus health and safety guidelines, such as social distancing and avoiding public transport, especially at busy times, and be aware that some regions may have local guidelines. You can read more about the latest coronavirus-related news in Sweden here.

Border control remains a national competence and is not decided at EU level, so its decisions are not legally binding for member states, but Sweden generally follows the European Council’s recommendations. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

Which Swedish roads are set to be busiest around Midsummer?

What are the peak traffic hours around Midsummer and is there anyway you can beat the queues? Here's The Local's guide to one of Sweden's busiest weekends of the year.

Published: 20 June 2024 11:09 CEST
Which Swedish roads are set to be busiest around Midsummer?

What are the peak traffic hours?

Between noon and 6pm on Thursday, 9am-2pm on Friday and 2-6pm on Sunday.

Which roads are expected to be the worst?

The big motorways are expected to be busy. That’s for example the E4 motorway, which runs from Helsingborg to Stockholm and then all the way up the northeast coast.

Other typical bottlenecks are the E6 between Malmö and Strömstad via Gothenburg and the E22 between Norrköping and Kalmar, as well as the E14 between Sundsvall and Åre.

Roads leading to popular Midsummer destinations, such as Lake Siljan (or Dalarna in general), the roads around Lake Mälaren, and roads leading towards the archipelagos in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Bohuslän are also likely to be packed with holidayers.

See the map at the bottom of the article.

What can I do to avoid the queues?

The best tip is to avoid travelling during peak hours, but other than that, there’s not much, to be honest.

You could stay home or take public transport (which will probably also be busy), but neither is likely to be a realistic option for you this late in the game. If everyone on the road drives responsibly and respectfully, that’s the best way to avoid total gridlock.

If you’re considering alternative routes to avoid the motorway queues, think twice. Of course accidents could happen anywhere, but the major dual carriageways are generally safer than minor roads where you risk head-on collisions with overtaking drivers.

If there is an accident and you get stuck in a queue as a result, the motorways – at least one lane – are also likely to reopen to traffic faster than some of the smaller roads.

So the best thing is to allow extra time for travel, stick to the speed limit and put up with the queues. If that means driving slower than the speed limit, so be it. Don’t overtake for the sake of it. Bring good music and snacks in the car to make the journey part of the holiday.

It goes without saying that you shouldn’t drive while under the influence of alcohol (the drink-drive limit in Sweden is blood alcohol content of 0.02 percent or 0.10 milligrams per litre) and remember that you may still be over the limit the morning after drinking.

Tiredness is also a cause of dangerous driving, so make sure you get enough sleep and take plenty of breaks along the way. This is always important, but even more so on the way home on Sunday after a weekend of late nights and Midsummer revelry.

The map below, issued by the Swedish Traffic Administration, shows the roads that are expected to get the most traffic during Midsummer.

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