In practice, this mainly affects foreign visitors to Sweden. Residents are exempt from the requirement and can travel to Sweden under the same rules as before. This article will focus on the test itself, but you can read more about the current travel restrictions and exceptions here.

The test must have been carried out 48 hours before your documents are checked when you enter Sweden – not 48 hours after you get the result, and not 48 hours after departure, so make sure you plan your trip carefully, especially if it’s a long-distance connecting flight.

The Public Health Agency and the Police Authority advise that the test certificate must include the following information, and the original document must be written in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English or French (translations are not accepted):

• Name and date of birth

• The date and time of the sampling (i.e. not the date and time the certificate was issued, but the date and time the test was carried out)

• Disease or infectious agent, covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2 or one of its subtypes)

• What kind of test was used (i.e. antigen, PCR, TMA or LAMP)

• Information that the test was negative

• The name and address of the laboratory that conducted the test or the issuer of the certificate

The test must be either antigen, PCR, TMA or LAMP (a Public Health Agency expert confirmed to The Local that other NAATs – Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests – than the latter three are not accepted).

The test certificate can be either paper or digital.

If border police believe your test result does not meet the requirements, or if you are unable to prove that you are covered by an exemption, you may be refused entry.

You can read more about Sweden’s travel restrictions in The Local’s article.

The above information was correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. Please be aware that we are not a government authority and cannot issue any guarantees about whether or not you will be able to travel to Sweden. We always advise readers to also consult the official information on the Swedish border police’s website for details that apply to your specific situation.