Sweden exempts vaccinated British citizens from entry bans and test requirements
From next Monday, October 11, Sweden will allow entry for travelers from the United Kingdom who reach their territory for non-essential purposes, given that the same has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The decision was announced on Thursday, October 11 and will also remove the requirement to test for COVID-19 for vaccinated travelers in the UK.
”The government today adopted amendments to the temporary travel ban to Sweden. The changes mean that travelers who can present a vaccine certificate issued in the UK will be exempted from the ban on entry into Sweden and the requirement for a COVID-19 test, States the Swedish Ministry of Justice in a press release published yesterday.
The same also explains that since 19 March 2020, travelers from third countries have been banned from entering the country, including here citizens of the United Kingdom, since 31 December 2020, when the country officially left the EU, and the British became third-country nationals to the Member States.
The entry ban prevented travelers from entering Swedish territory, except in cases where their purpose of travel falls under one of the categories that are exempt from the entry ban.
While most third countries are still subject to this ban, vaccinated British travelers will no longer be from next Monday.
”The Government’s decision today means that people traveling to Sweden who can present a vaccination certificate issued in the UK are exempt from entry bans and test requirements“, Writes the press release.
To date, vaccinated British travelers have been entitled to enter into restrictions only for essential purposes. The non-vaccinated who also travel for essential purposes have been tested for COVID-19 on arrival.
>> Which COVID-19 vaccines are recognized for travel to Sweden
On 24 September, SchengenVisaInfo.com had reported that vaccinated travelers from seven third countries would be able to travel to Sweden from 27 September on the same terms as EU citizens. These countries are Albania, Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Israel, Morocco, Monaco and Panama.
The decision followed a recommendation from the European Commission to the Member States to recognize vaccination passports from these countries. As a result, holders of vaccination passports issued from any of these seven third countries are no longer required to quarantine and test on arrival.
Although Sweden had a more relaxed approach to the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic at the beginning of the outbreak in the spring of 2020, it is so far one of the EU countries with stricter entry restrictions. While countries such as Germany and France already allow entry for vaccinated travelers from the majority of third countries, Sweden had not yet taken such a step.
>> Travel to Sweden: Current rules and restrictions introduced due to COVID-19