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Sweden extends entry ban for travellers from outside the EU

The Local Sweden
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
Sweden extends entry ban for travellers from outside the EU
Stockholm's Arlanda airport is emptier than usual, with cancelled flights and travel restrictions. Photo: Anders Wiklund / TT

Sweden on Thursday further extended a temporary ban on entering the country from outside the EU.

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The entry ban has been in place since March 19th following EU recommendations, and has now been extended to July 7th. It was previously in place until at least June 30th.

The reason for the ban is to limit the spread of coronavirus, and it applies to all countries except those in the EU as well as the UK, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Apart from the extension, there were no other major changes made to the ban, which means that the same exceptions apply as before.

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For example, Swedish citizens and EU citizens are still able to enter Sweden even if travelling from outside the EU.

Further exceptions include those with a residence permit to live in Sweden, and those coming to Sweden to carry out key jobs such as in healthcare, transportation of essential goods, and agriculture. You can read more about the exceptions here.

It's still not clear exactly when Sweden will reopen its border to non-EU travellers, since the entry ban could be further extended. The government said it would share more information on this "soon", following an EU proposal for a gradual lifting of restrictions from July onwards.

For those interested in travelling in the other direction, Sweden's Foreign Ministry advises against all non-essential travel from Sweden to countries outside the EU/EEA until at least August 31st. This advice is not legally binding so it's still possible to leave Sweden, but travellers should look into entry restrictions at their destination. The Foreign Ministry advice also means that travel insurance will not usually be valid if you travel against this advice.

 

 

 

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