The entry ban applies to foreign citizens attempting to enter Sweden from all countries except EU Member States, members of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, with some exemptions.
For a foreign citizen to be exempt from the entry ban will also require them to be able to present a certificate showing a negative result for ongoing COVID-19 infection from a test conducted within 48 hours prior to arrival. There are also certain exemptions from the test requirement. These exemptions are outlined below under “The requirement of a negative COVID-19 test”.
The entry ban does not apply to people who:
- are an EEA citizen or a citizen of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland or the Vatican City;
- have long-term resident status in Sweden or another EU Member State;
- have a residence permit in Sweden or another EEA state, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland or the Vatican City;
- have a national visa for Sweden or a national visa valid longer than three months in another EEA State, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland or the Vatican City;
- have close family ties as specified in Chapter 3a, Section 2, first paragraph, or Chapter 5, Section 3, first paragraph, points 1–4, or Section 3a of the Aliens Act (2005:716) to a person covered by any of the above points or to a Swedish citizen, for example a spouse, cohabiting partner, civil partner or child under the age of 21;
- are a citizen of the United Kingdom or a family member of such a citizen, provided that they are covered by Article 10 of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 29, 31.1.2020, p.7), i.e. UK citizens who are holding or have applied for residence status, or
- live in Australia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, or Thailand. (This list of countries is continually being revised at EU level and has been changed multiple times.)
In addition, the entry ban does not apply to people with an essential need or function in Sweden. For example, this may be the case for:
- healthcare workers, researchers in health and medical care and elderly staff;
- frontier workers;
- seasonal workers in the agricultural, forestry and horticulture sectors;
- personnel transporting goods and other staff in the transport sector;
- people covered by Chapter 2, Section 10 of the Aliens Act (2005:716) for example diplomats and consular staff stationed in Sweden, and their families and staff;
- people who work in international organisations or are invited by such organisations and whose presence is necessary for the organisations’ activities, military personnel and other personnel within the scope of international defence cooperation, aid workers and civil defence staff;
- passengers in transit;
- people with imperative family reasons;
- seafarers;
- people in need of international protection or for other humanitarian reasons;
- people who travel for the purpose of studying; and
- people travelling for the purpose of performing highly skilled work, if their contribution is necessary from an economic perspective and the work cannot be postponed or performed remotely, including people who will take part in or perform necessary tasks at elite sports competitions.
The above list of people who can be considered to have an essential need or function is for illustration only and there may therefore be other categories of people who may be exempted.
It is the responsibility of the enforcing authorities (primarily the Swedish Police Authority) to determine in each individual case how the exemptions are to be interpreted and which decisions are to be made. The Government refers to the Swedish Police Authority for information about the practical application of these rules.
The separate entry ban with a testing requirement for entry from EEA states and certain other states still applies. The Government has decided on amendments that apply to Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom as of 31 March 2021.
Press release: Extension of general entry ban and testing requirement for travel from all countries, and lifting of separate entry restrictions for travel from Denmark and Norway
Questions and answers about the entry ban from EEA states and certain other states
