Sweden looking into offering Covid pass to residents who got vaccinated abroad
Swedish authorities have confirmed to The Local that they are looking into the issue of possibly giving people who were vaccinated abroad access to the Covid vaccine pass.
It is not currently possible for people who got both of their Covid-19 vaccine doses abroad to get access to Sweden's version of the digital Covid certificate, which has been in place since July 1st and is meant to facilitate EU travel.
This includes, among others, people who normally live in Sweden, but went back to their home country to get vaccinated, and people who moved to Sweden after their vaccination.
The Local asked the government about this at a press conference in June, but was told at the time that no decision had been made.
But the Swedish eHealth Agency, which is in charge of issuing the Covid passes, confirmed on Wednesday that it is working on finding a solution for people who got their vaccine outside the EU/EEA.
“We currently have no forecast for when we’ll be able to give you more information, but we will gladly get back to you on this further down the road,” a spokesperson told The Local.
The EU framework for the Covid certificates allows for member states to issue the passes to people who got an approved vaccine in a non-EU country, but the final decision is up to each member state and its healthcare system. And in practice, it varies a lot between countries.
In France, there is a protocol in place for everyone but the exact rules vary depending on where you got your vaccine, and in Germany it has generally been possible for residents who were vaccinated abroad to get the pass from a pharmacy. Norway, not a member but a close EU partner, also lets people who have had vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency register them with their health provider.
But The Local’s sister sites in Austria, Italy and Spain report it is not yet possible there.
The eHealth Agency in the meantime advised that another option for people who live in Sweden is to get tested for Covid-19 before travel. If you get a negative test via one of their approved test providers, you can get a Covid test pass that shows you have had a negative test, which will facilitate travel. This is however likely to cost around 800-1,750 kronor depending on the type of test and the test provider.
People who got their first vaccine dose in another country, but their second dose in Sweden, can ask their Swedish vaccine administrator to register the second dose as their second dose. Many of The Local’s readers have successfully received the Covid vaccine pass that way.
If you got vaccinated in an EU country other than Sweden, the eHealth Agency advised that you should approach the authorities in that country to get their Covid vaccine pass. This is however not yet possible for everyone the other way around. Sweden currently only offers the Covid vaccine pass to people with a Swedish personnummer. The Local has been told that solutions are being worked on for this too.
The information used for the Covid vaccine pass is currently collected from Sweden's National Vaccination Register, which contains details about every vaccine administered in Sweden. To date around 2.7 million such certificates have been ordered by people in Sweden.
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It is not currently possible for people who got both of their Covid-19 vaccine doses abroad to get access to Sweden's version of the digital Covid certificate, which has been in place since July 1st and is meant to facilitate EU travel.
This includes, among others, people who normally live in Sweden, but went back to their home country to get vaccinated, and people who moved to Sweden after their vaccination.
The Local asked the government about this at a press conference in June, but was told at the time that no decision had been made.
But the Swedish eHealth Agency, which is in charge of issuing the Covid passes, confirmed on Wednesday that it is working on finding a solution for people who got their vaccine outside the EU/EEA.
“We currently have no forecast for when we’ll be able to give you more information, but we will gladly get back to you on this further down the road,” a spokesperson told The Local.
The EU framework for the Covid certificates allows for member states to issue the passes to people who got an approved vaccine in a non-EU country, but the final decision is up to each member state and its healthcare system. And in practice, it varies a lot between countries.
In France, there is a protocol in place for everyone but the exact rules vary depending on where you got your vaccine, and in Germany it has generally been possible for residents who were vaccinated abroad to get the pass from a pharmacy. Norway, not a member but a close EU partner, also lets people who have had vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency register them with their health provider.
But The Local’s sister sites in Austria, Italy and Spain report it is not yet possible there.
The eHealth Agency in the meantime advised that another option for people who live in Sweden is to get tested for Covid-19 before travel. If you get a negative test via one of their approved test providers, you can get a Covid test pass that shows you have had a negative test, which will facilitate travel. This is however likely to cost around 800-1,750 kronor depending on the type of test and the test provider.
People who got their first vaccine dose in another country, but their second dose in Sweden, can ask their Swedish vaccine administrator to register the second dose as their second dose. Many of The Local’s readers have successfully received the Covid vaccine pass that way.
If you got vaccinated in an EU country other than Sweden, the eHealth Agency advised that you should approach the authorities in that country to get their Covid vaccine pass. This is however not yet possible for everyone the other way around. Sweden currently only offers the Covid vaccine pass to people with a Swedish personnummer. The Local has been told that solutions are being worked on for this too.
The information used for the Covid vaccine pass is currently collected from Sweden's National Vaccination Register, which contains details about every vaccine administered in Sweden. To date around 2.7 million such certificates have been ordered by people in Sweden.
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