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Hundreds of journeys delayed by new Swedish and Danish Covid-19 testing rules

At least 600 people travelling from Denmark have been denied entry to Sweden since the latter country introduced a new requirement for entry Covid-19 tests on December 28th.

Published: 29 December 2021 19:17 CET
Swedish police check papers at the Öresund Bridge border with Denmark on December 28th. Hundreds of travellers are reported to have been turned away due to a new Covid-19 test requirement.
Swedish police check papers at the Öresund Bridge border with Denmark on December 28th. Hundreds of travellers are reported to have been turned away due to a new Covid-19 test requirement. Photo: Anders Bjurö/TT/Ritzau Scanpix

Sweden’s Polisregion Syd, which conducts police control at the Öresund Bridge, Helsingborg and Ystad border points, confirmed the figure to Danish news wire Ritzau on Wednesday, as reported by broadcaster DR.

The border refusals are related to a new rule introduced by Sweden on December 28th requiring most travellers from Denmark to present a negative Covid-19 test at the border. The test must be no more than 48 hours old.

READ ALSO: Sweden implements new Covid-19 test rules for travel from Denmark

The Swedish police did not give exact details on the number of Danish citizens who were among the refusals, but said they constituted the “considerable majority”.

The 600 persons were refused entry between midnight on December 28th and 7am on Wednesday.

As of December 28th, many foreign travellers need to show a negative Covid test to be allowed to enter Sweden, regardless of whether or not they are fully vaccinated and regardless of which country they’re travelling from – non-EU, EU or any of the Nordic countries.

Swedish citizens and foreign residents who can prove they live in Sweden are among the categories of travellers who are exempt from showing a negative test.

People travelling from the EU, including Nordic countries Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland, need to show a negative test, regardless of vaccination status.

Meanwhile, Denmark’s own rules for entry testing also presented problems for travellers heading to Sweden on Wednesday.

Under rules introduced on December 27th, all travellers are required to test for Covid-19 in connection with arrival in Denmark. The rule applies to Danish citizens and residents as well as foreign visitors and applies regardless of vaccination status.

Residents of Denmark are permitted to take a test up to 24 hours after arrival, while people without an address in Denmark must take a Covid-19 test before entry to the Scandinavian country.

READ ALSO: Travellers returning to Denmark after Christmas must take Covid-19 test

A number of exceptions apply to the testing requirement, including children under the age of 15 and persons with addresses in border regions Schlesvig-Holstein (Germany) and Blekinge, Skåne, Halland and Västra Götaland (Sweden).

Travellers who transit through Denmark and stay for less than one day before leaving are likewise not required to test. This allows, for example, Swedish residents who travel through Copenhagen Airport before continuing their journeys overland to avoid the testing requirement.

The Local Sweden reporter Becky Waterton was not permitted to board her SAS flight from Manchester to Copenhagen on December 29th. SAS cited Denmark’s testing requirement and would not permit Waterton to board until she and her partner paid around 80 pounds to take Covid-19 tests at Manchester Airport.

When presented with official information showing Denmark’s entry testing rules, an airline staff member claimed the information was “not updated”, she said.

Waterton should have been exempted from the testing requirement because she was transiting through Denmark and leaving the country within 24 hours; and additionally because she resides in one of the border regions.

The exemptions for border residents and transit travellers are outlined on the websites of both the Danish Ministry of Health and the country’s Coronasmitte official information page for travellers.

Have you run into problems travelling to Denmark or Sweden as a result of the new restrictions? We’d be interested to hear from you if so — you’re welcome to get in touch with either The Local Sweden or The Local Denmark.

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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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