The requirement for identity checks when traveling by passenger ship will not end before June 2023, the Swedish government’s website has revealed.

According to a press release, the obligation to register information about passengers on board must be fulfilled after checking a valid identity document. The measure was previously introduced in the spring of 2022 and although plans to lift it were under discussion, the requirement will apply for a further seven months, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

“The tightening meant removing the restriction that this would only apply if, for the passenger ship’s journey, there was reason to assume that information provided without identification could be incorrectly”, the press release states.

Initially, the measure was supposed to apply until the end of the year, the decision was announced in August, but in the meantime, another restriction on travel in Sweden is being introduced in an attempt to keep public safety intact.

Recently, Sweden announced that it would continue to carry out border checks on travelers entering the country from the rest of the Schengen area, indicating an extension of internal borders at least until May 1.

The measure, which was due to expire in November, was announced by the Swedish Ministry of Justice and in a press release the authority stated that there was a serious threat to the country’s internal security due to the Russian invasion.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has, in addition to the human suffering that the war has brought, also created an extremely serious security situation in Europe. Since the Russian mobilization order, a large number of Russian citizens have left the country and applied to the EU. The risk of arms smuggling and human trafficking carried out by criminal networks exploiting the war is increasing”, the ministry pointed out in this regard.

Neighboring country SwedenDenmark, recently announced that it would also extend its internal border measures against Germany, making this year the eighth in a row, although it would expire on November 12. Similarly, other countries have applied similar measures in recent years.

In late September, the Czech Republic revealed that it would introduce internal border controls with Slovakia as well, in an attempt to prevent illegal migrants from using this route to transit to Germany. These borders were further extended to the internal borders with Slovakia until the end of October. Internal borders were also imposed on Slovakia by Austrian authorities.

Internal borders aim to offer better protection to these countries as well as to prevent illegal migration, which has hit the EU hard in recent months.

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