SHARE
COPY LINK

COVID-19

Explained: What do Sweden’s new coronavirus travel guidelines mean for you?

Sweden has extended recommendations against non-essential foreign travel, but slightly eased its guidelines when it comes to travel within the country.

Explained: What do Sweden's new coronavirus travel guidelines mean for you?
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and Foreign Minister Ann Linde. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT

Sweden has previously strongly urged people to think twice before travelling within the country, in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus and to avoid putting too much pressure on healthcare in rural regions. 

But on Wednesday, the Swedish government and Public Health Agency presented new guidelines for domestic travel, which allow for short journeys as long as certain conditions are met, for example:

  • the journey should not be longer than one to two hours by car from your home
  • recommendations such as avoiding direct social contact with elderly people and other groups at risk still apply, so the new guidelines do not mean short journeys to visit elderly relatives are now ok
  • recommendations not to take part in large social gatherings also still apply
  • your means of travel and accommodation should involve as little direct social contact as possible

In practice, the new recommendations mean that someone who commutes for work or who for example owns a summer house less than two hours away from home (which is not uncommon in Sweden) would be able to spend a weekend there without flouting official health advice as long as they are able to travel in a safe way.

However, Swedish ministers stressed that the new recommendations should not be taken as a sign that the coronavirus epidemic is over, and strongly urged people to keep following guidelines about social distancing. 

“Our country chose measures that we would be able to live with for a longer period. We have not closed down everything, but we will not yet be able to return to a normal situation,” said Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

The new guidelines can be seen less as a radical change and more as a clarification of previous rules, which never outright banned non-essential domestic travel but did urge people to, in the words of the Public Health Agency, “consider whether trips to cities, skiing resorts, and other popular holiday spots are necessary at this time”.

A full lockdown including significant restrictions on freedom of movement such as a curfew, or a legal ban on travel within the country, would not be possible without making major changes to Swedish legislation.

Many countries in Europe, which imposed tougher restrictions on their people than Sweden did, have slowly started coming out of lockdown. But there was no other mention made on Wednesday of easing restrictions in Sweden, with current bans on large public events and social distancing rules for restaurants still in place.

“It's a long way to go to an 'exit',” said Public Health Agency director-general Johan Carlson. He added that most of the advice issued by health authorities would likely be in place over the summer, but that his agency would aim to present clear recommendations for the summer holidays by early June.

Sweden's Foreign Ministry also announced at Wednesday's press conference that it would extend its recommendation to avoid non-essential overseas trips until July 15th. Read more about that here.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

VISAS

Cost for getting a short-stay Schengen visa to rise on June 11th

The fee for getting a Schengen visa will rise by 12 percent in June, the European Commission has confirmed.

Cost for getting a short-stay Schengen visa to rise on June 11th

The hike means the basic fee for a Schengen visa will rise from €80 to €90 for adults and from €40 to €45 for children. The reason for the price hike has been blamed on inflation in member states.

Schengen visas can be obtained by non-EU citizens from countries that do not benefit from the EU / Schengen area’s 90-day rule such as such as nationals of South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China.

Schengen visas are not required for citizens of countries including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia who are paying short visits to the EU, since they are entitled to 90 days of visa-free travel in every 180.

Anyone who wants to spend longer in an EU country will need to apply for a long-stay visa – but these are issued by individual countries, not the EU. The cost of these visas vary depending on the country and the type of visa (eg study visa, work visa).

In addition to raising the basic fee to €90, the EU has also proposed hiking the fee even higher for those countries who are deemed not be cooperative with receiving expelled citizens back from member states.

In this case the Schengen visa fee for citizens from that country will rise from €120/€160 to €135 /€180.

In addition, the revision of visa fees impacts the maximum amount that external service providers collecting visa applications on behalf of member states can charge, which is usually set at up to half the standard fee.

This charge would increase from €40 to €45.

The fee for a Schengen visa extension will remain at €30.

Revised every three years

Every three years the EU Commission is tasked to assess whether new fees are needed, considering “objective criteria”, such as the EU inflation rate and the average of civil servants’ salaries in EU member states.

The Commission published its proposal on February 2nd, following a meeting with experts from EU member states in December, when an “overwhelming majority” supported the revision.

The Commission says that even with the increase, the visa fees for the Schengen area are “still relatively low” compared to other countries. For instance, a visa for the USA costs €185, or €172; for the UK it starts from £115 (€134); for Canada it is $100 plus $85 for biometrics, or €130; for Australia $190, the equivalent of €117.

Digital-only visa

The EU is also planning to introduce a digital-only Schengen visa. This will allow to apply online, regardless of the Schengen country applicants intend to visit, and will replace the current sticker in passports with a digital visa.

According to the European Commission website, the digital platform will start operating in 2028.

Who needs a Schengen visa

The Schengen visa allows a stay for tourism or family visits (but not for work) in 28 European countries for up to 90 days in any 6-month period. People travelling for business trips, conferences or meetings apply for a Schengen business visa.

Anyone who wants to stay longer, or to work, needs a visa from the country they intend to visit.

The Schengen visa is required for citizens of countries who do not benefit from the ‘90-day rule’, such as nationals of South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China.

It is not needed for other non-EU nationals such as Brits, Americans, Canadians or Australians who can spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the Schengen area without needing a visa. You can see the full list of countries who need a visa here.

Schengen countries include EU member states, excluding Ireland (which opted out), Cyprus, and Bulgaria and Romania for land borders. Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland are not EU members but have also joined the Schengen Convention.

SHOW COMMENTS