2

According to this article from CTV News (a large news organization in Canada):

Sweden, which has had less COVID-19 restrictions than many countries, still uses a COVID-19 vaccine pass for travelling, attending indoor events and public gatherings.

According to the Swedish government website, Sweden is licensed by the EU to provide covid vaccine certificates that will be recognized within the EU for travel and other purposes, but I was unable to find a source that Sweden itself required such a certificate for travel. Is a vaccine passport required for travelling in Sweden?

In context, I'm defining "for travel" as "permission to enter or leave the country, or to use public (defined as "publicly accessible") transit to travel intra-nationally". Travel-adjacent operations, such as booking/staying at a hotel, attending certain tourist attractions, etc, are out of scope.

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    Did you mean to post this on Travel.SE?
    – Ian Campbell
    Feb 2, 2022 at 19:24
  • 1
    I'm not sure if this belongs here or on Travel. It's looking for confirmation or refutation of a notable claim related to travel. I'm not looking to travel to Sweden myself, but I am curious on whether or not the stated statement is true.
    – Ertai87
    Feb 2, 2022 at 19:37
  • 8
    IMHO this Q is better suited to Travel.SE. Users on Skeptics either confirm or debunk semi-outlandish claims
    – Mari-Lou A
    Feb 2, 2022 at 20:32
  • Considering how much misinformation there is with coronavirus-related claims, and considering that this is more a curiosity question than actual travel plans, I think Skeptics.SE is a reasonable fit. Then again, I have a tendency to categorise anything with the slightest hint of suspected nonsense as more suitable to this site.
    – Andrew Grimm
    Feb 14, 2022 at 10:32

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

Sweden, which has had less COVID-19 restrictions than many countries, still uses a COVID-19 vaccine pass for travelling, attending indoor events and public gatherings.

--- see below for update per February 9 --

Currently, February 2, a set of rules are in effect. They have changed several times over the last two years and are expected to change in the near future.

For travel inside Sweden

Inside Sweden there are and has been no requirements for covid pass.

For travel to Sweden

For travel to Sweden (passing the border) there is a general prohibition but it differs between Swedish citizens (and certain others) which currently does not need covid pass but may need to show negative test, and citizens of countries outside EEA depending on from which country they arrive from.

Third country nationals (non-EU/EEA*) needs to be covered by an exemption in order to enter. More information about exemptions can be found on the entry page for third country nationals.

Entry from a non-EEA* country : Must be covered by at least one exemption to the general entry ban (e.g. reside in an exempted country) or be fully vaccinated and hold a vaccine certificate from a so called approved country. If covered by an exemption, need to present a valid covid certificate.

Swedish Police (notice, this is expected to change)

And I must confess, I cannot really understand what the rules are. But in some cases you need a covid pass to enter Sweden, in some cases not.

For travel from Sweden

There are no restrictions on leaving Sweden. (Sidenote: all air lines enforce the rules of the country you are going to, but there are no other restrictions imposed by Swedish authorities. )

Attending indoor events and public gatherings Yes, you quite often need a covid pass.

At public gatherings and public events with more than 50 participants indoors, vaccination certificates must be used, together with assigned seats, and a distance of one meter must be kept between parties.

Crisis information (expected to change)

--- Update per February 9 --- All restrictions inside Sweden has now been lifted and only recommendations remain.

The general travel restrictions are no longer in effect except for travel to Sweden from "third countries" which will then require covid passport, currently planned to be lifted March 31. If you plan to travel, do check actual and current situation as it might change at short notice.

Improve this answer
9
  • Thanks! This is informative! One thing that I would be curious of: As my current country of residence (Canada) has enacted an exit travel ban on Canadian nationals who wish to exit Canada without a vaccine certificate, a word on whether or not Sweden has done something similar would make this answer more complete (I'm guessing they haven't; I believe Canada and Australia are the only countries which have done this, but the answer would be more complete with a reference to that effect. Great answer anyway, thanks!).
    – Ertai87
    Feb 2, 2022 at 22:01
  • Added info on leaving Sweden and trying to clarify further. And, I find it very difficult to summarize the info. The text is on the web site but is expected to change, according to rumors from February 9.
    – ghellquist
    Feb 2, 2022 at 22:11
  • Don't worry about the text being subject to change; I'm concerned with what the rules are as of today (Feb 2, 2022) as this was the date the claim was made by the original source. I don't usually accept the first answer immediately, but (if I remember to come back to it) I'll accept your answer tomorrow if no better one is posted :)
    – Ertai87
    Feb 2, 2022 at 22:14
  • Latest new: today Feb 3 it is announced that all restrictions within Sweden will be lifted from Feb 9. Requirements for covid pass for travel to Sweden will be "modified" at a somewhat later date (I am not clear about all implications here).
    – ghellquist
    Feb 3, 2022 at 14:32
  • 1
    It's all over the news. One standing point is Sveriges Television (state television, similar to BBC in England) svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/senaste-nytt-om-coronaviruset. In English, the government crisis information site: krisinformation.se/en/news/2022/februari/…
    – ghellquist
    Feb 3, 2022 at 17:13

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .