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COVID-19

Sweden tightens restrictions for tourists from six countries including the US

Sweden's entry restrictions today come back into force for travellers from the US and five other countries.

a man in front of a plane at a US airport
Sweden has reintroduced the entry ban for US travellers. Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

The Swedish government last week formally extended Sweden’s non-EU/EEA entry ban until October 31st, as The Local reported last week.

There are several exceptions to the ban including those travelling for specific reasons, as well as from certain countries, but six countries were on Thursday removed from the exempt list of “safe countries”: the United States, Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and Northern Macedonia, based on a rise in Covid-19 infections in those countries. From September 6th, the entry ban applies to these countries, too.

EXPLAINED: Can non-EU travellers get to Sweden via Denmark?

That doesn’t necessarily mean all travel from those countries will be banned, as travellers may fall into another exempted category, such as travelling for urgent family reasons or if they have EU citizenship or a Swedish residence permit.

The decision to reimpose restrictions on these six countries came from an EU recommendation.

Q&A: Answers to your questions about Sweden’s latest travel rules

Sweden currently makes no distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers when it comes to travel from outside the European Union, but the government hinted that further exemptions for vaccinated travellers “resident in certain third countries” may be on the way.

“There are a number of countries with which Sweden has close relations. There, the government will now investigate the possibility of exempting fully vaccinated residents in certain third countries,” Interior Minister Mikael Damberg told the TT news agency on Thursday.

“I am thinking primarily of the United Kingdom, but also the United States, even though the United States is more complex and many states have very different rules.”

Neither he nor the government’s statement on Thursday gave any indication as to when such exemptions may be introduced.

Member comments

  1. I am confused because on Krisinfo, US is still in the exemption list and the website was updated on the 2nd. https://www.krisinformation.se/en/hazards-and-risks/disasters-and-incidents/2020/official-information-on-the-new-coronavirus/travel-restrictions

    This is what it says:

    “If you are a foreign national from a country outside the EU/EEA
    There is a ban on non-essential travel to Sweden from countries outside the EU/EEA. The ban applies to foreign nationals from countries outside the EU/EEA and will remain in effect until 31 October 2021. Certain individuals who have particularly urgent needs or who are going to carry out essential services in Sweden may be exempt.
    Foreign nationals who fulfil the requirements for an exemption are advised to get tested for Covid-19 when they arrive in Sweden.

    A number of countries are exempt from the entry ban. The decisive factor is whether you live in one of the countries, not if you are a citizen. Travellers to Sweden should therefore be prepared to provide documentation showing that they live in one of the aforementioned countries in order to be granted entry.
    Exempted travellers need to show results from a negative Covid-19 test no more than 48 hours old before entry.
    Currently exempt countries and terrirories: Australia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macao, North Macedonia, Serbia, Taiwan, and the USA.”

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TRAVEL NEWS

Öresund Bridge raises toll for single journeys between Sweden and Denmark

The Öresund Bridge on Thursday increased its toll for single journeys but said that new discount rates will be introduced.

Öresund Bridge raises toll for single journeys between Sweden and Denmark

The bridge’s operator Öresundsbron set out the changes to toll prices in a press statement on Tuesday.

“We are making it cheaper for those who travel with us the most and the price will go up for those who travel less,” Öresundsbron director of sales and marketing Berit Vestergaard said at a briefing on the price changes.

The toll price for a one-way crossing on the Öresund Bridge was raised to 645 Swedish kronor (440 Danish kroner) from the previous 610 kronor (415 kroner) on Tuesday, a 6 percent increase.

Discount offers for both private and business customers will provide bigger savings for frequent bridge users under the new price structure.

While the annual fee to register for one of the Öresund Bridge’s range of discount offers goes up from 495 Swedish kronor (335 Danish kroner) to 499 kronor(349 kroner), the price per journey falls by 6-7 percent or 8-12 kroner per journey.

A breakdown of the Öresund Bridge price changes in full. Photo: Öresundsbron

Increased prices on single trips allow the cost of a crossing for a discount customer to be reduced, Vestergaard said.

“We want to offer our customers a cheaper price and we are doing it at a time when many other things are becoming more expensive,” she said in the statement.

“It will simply be cheaper and easier to cross the Öresund with a discount offer. The price per journey will fall by around 7 percent,” she said.

Tuesday’s changes mean that motorists registered for discount offers will no longer need to carry an electronic tag to register at the toll. Instead, tolls will use number plate recognition. Cars must be registered on the Öresundsbron website.

Discount schemes for the bridge have been renamed under three categories: ÖresundGO, ÖresundPENDLER and ÖresundBUSINESS.

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