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COVID-19

Sweden updates Covid-19 testing and isolating rules for travellers

Everyone who enters Sweden from a country outside the Nordic region should continue to get tested for Covid-19 after arriving, after the Public Health Agency updated its recommendation.

Published: 31 August 2021 11:37 CEST
Sweden updates Covid-19 testing and isolating rules for travellers
Testing is available at some airports in Sweden, like the booth at Arlanda pictured here. Photo: Claudio Bresciani / TT

Travellers who are not fully vaccinated and arrive from outside the Nordics (Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finland) should avoid contact with others for one week after arriving (including, for example, not visiting shops, using public transport or having visitors to their home) and should take a test soon as possible after arriving.

This applies to both Swedish and foreign citizens, regardless of the reason for travel, although children under six and people who have received their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine at least two weeks before arrival in Sweden are exempt. However, even people who are fully vaccinated should get tested if they experience any symptoms of the virus – this applies regardless of whether they have recently been abroad.

A separate guideline for travellers from certain countries outside the EU to take a second test and isolate for one week on arrival was previously in place until August 31st, but has now been scrapped. This means that the same recommendations, to take one test on arrival and be “careful” about social contacts, now apply to all people who arrive in Sweden from outside the Nordic countries.

From September 1st, people who have tested positive for Covid-19 and recovered within the last six months are also exempt. The current guidelines are in place until at least October 31st.

“Several countries have a greater spread of infection than Sweden, and in contract tracing work we see that a relatively high proportion of Covid-19 cases are still linked to travel abroad,” the Public Health Agency’s deputy state epidemiologist Karin Tegmark Wisell said in a statement explaining why the testing recommendation had been extended.

Tests are free for people arriving in Sweden from overseas, and can be arranged by ordering one from 1177.se or using a drop-in centre. The 1177 website for your region (you can pick your region using the drop-down “välj region” menu at the top) should have more information, and Sweden’s larger airports also offer tests for some arriving passengers. The 1177 website for your region should also tell you how to book a test if you don’t normally live in Sweden and don’t have a Swedish personal ID number.

Unlike many countries but in line with Sweden’s strategy of using fewer legal restrictions, the recommendations to test and isolate are not legally enforced, but it is still not considered optional.

Even people who are exempt from taking the tests on arrival are still expected to be “careful” after travelling from overseas, according to the Public Health Agency. This includes paying close attention even to mild symptoms, keeping a distance from other people, and avoiding meeting people who belong to Covid-19 risk groups.

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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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