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Everything that changes about life in Sweden in April 2022
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
Published: 29 Mar, 2022 CET.
Updated: Fri 1 Apr 2022 11:12 CET
The end of Sweden's Covid-19 travel restrictions, a new work permit law, and switching to summer tyres. Here are some of the things you need to be aware of in April.
Covid-19 no longer 'a serious threat to society', and pandemic law expires
Sweden's parliament decided last week to let two temporary laws put in place to battle the Covid-19 pandemic expire.
Both the so-called 'pandemic law', and a law empowering the government to impose temporary infection prevention restrictions on bars and restaurants, will now cease to apply from the end of April.
This will have little practical impact on life in Sweden, as the restrictions imposed on the back of these two laws were lifted months ago. But it does means that if the government needs to bring back these infection measures, it will have to pass a new version of the law.
At the same time, the government's decision to stop classifying Covid-19 as a "critical threat to society", and "a disease that's dangerous to the public", comes into force on April 1st.
This classification, among other measures, empowers the government to impose health checks on inbound passengers, place people in quarantine, and ban people from entering certain areas.
The end of Sweden's last remaining Covid-19 travel restrictions
Sweden's last remaining travel restriction, the entry ban for non-EU arrivals, is set to expire on March 31st, Sweden's government confirmed in a press release. This means that from April 1st, Sweden's travel rules will return to how they were before the Covid-19 pandemic began, with no one required to show a vaccination or test certificate to enter the country.
The ban has meant that people travelling to Sweden from non-EU/EEA countries cannot enter the country unless they are covered by one of a series of exemptions from the entry ban.
Such an exemption could be for example living in one of the 16 so-called “exempt countries”, having a valid Covid vaccine pass issued by one of 26 “approved countries”, or being a resident of Sweden.
In practice, this has meant travellers from most of the world’s countries outside Europe still cannot come to Sweden, even if they are fully vaccinated, unless they meet a very narrow list of exemptions.
New work permit law expected to go through parliament
Sweden's new law on "stricter and better rules on labour migration", is scheduled to go before parliament on April 20th, and to then come into force on June 1st.
The law attempts to deal with the problem of kompetensutvisningar or "talent deportations". The proposed new law reads: "A temporary residency permit granted for work reasons does not need to be revoked in the case of minor discrepancies or if in the circumstances revoking it would not appear to be proportional".
The new law also provides for a new type of residency permit for certain highly skilled people who want to look for work in Sweden or seek to start a new business in Sweden.
April tax deadlines
March 30th is the deadline to submit your tax declaration online if you want to receive a tax refund before Easter. If no changes need to be made, people submitting by this date will receive any refund between April 5th and 8th.
Those receiving paper declarations, will receive them by post between mid-March and April 15th.
If you receive a paper declaration, you can still fill it in digitally to get the earlier rebate, and you can submit your paper declaration from April 17th.
Remember to switch to summer tyres
From March 31st, it is no longer legally necessary to have studded winter tyres fitted to your car if weather conditions require it. According to the Swedish Transport Agency, studded winter tyres are only allowed between October 1st and April 15th, or in wintry driving conditions.
This means you now have just two weeks (until April 15th) to switch out your studded tyres.
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Covid-19 no longer 'a serious threat to society', and pandemic law expires
Sweden's parliament decided last week to let two temporary laws put in place to battle the Covid-19 pandemic expire.
Both the so-called 'pandemic law', and a law empowering the government to impose temporary infection prevention restrictions on bars and restaurants, will now cease to apply from the end of April.
This will have little practical impact on life in Sweden, as the restrictions imposed on the back of these two laws were lifted months ago. But it does means that if the government needs to bring back these infection measures, it will have to pass a new version of the law.
At the same time, the government's decision to stop classifying Covid-19 as a "critical threat to society", and "a disease that's dangerous to the public", comes into force on April 1st.
This classification, among other measures, empowers the government to impose health checks on inbound passengers, place people in quarantine, and ban people from entering certain areas.
The end of Sweden's last remaining Covid-19 travel restrictions
Sweden's last remaining travel restriction, the entry ban for non-EU arrivals, is set to expire on March 31st, Sweden's government confirmed in a press release. This means that from April 1st, Sweden's travel rules will return to how they were before the Covid-19 pandemic began, with no one required to show a vaccination or test certificate to enter the country.
The ban has meant that people travelling to Sweden from non-EU/EEA countries cannot enter the country unless they are covered by one of a series of exemptions from the entry ban.
Such an exemption could be for example living in one of the 16 so-called “exempt countries”, having a valid Covid vaccine pass issued by one of 26 “approved countries”, or being a resident of Sweden.
In practice, this has meant travellers from most of the world’s countries outside Europe still cannot come to Sweden, even if they are fully vaccinated, unless they meet a very narrow list of exemptions.
New work permit law expected to go through parliament
Sweden's new law on "stricter and better rules on labour migration", is scheduled to go before parliament on April 20th, and to then come into force on June 1st.
The law attempts to deal with the problem of kompetensutvisningar or "talent deportations". The proposed new law reads: "A temporary residency permit granted for work reasons does not need to be revoked in the case of minor discrepancies or if in the circumstances revoking it would not appear to be proportional".
The new law also provides for a new type of residency permit for certain highly skilled people who want to look for work in Sweden or seek to start a new business in Sweden.
April tax deadlines
March 30th is the deadline to submit your tax declaration online if you want to receive a tax refund before Easter. If no changes need to be made, people submitting by this date will receive any refund between April 5th and 8th.
Those receiving paper declarations, will receive them by post between mid-March and April 15th.
If you receive a paper declaration, you can still fill it in digitally to get the earlier rebate, and you can submit your paper declaration from April 17th.
Remember to switch to summer tyres
From March 31st, it is no longer legally necessary to have studded winter tyres fitted to your car if weather conditions require it. According to the Swedish Transport Agency, studded winter tyres are only allowed between October 1st and April 15th, or in wintry driving conditions.
This means you now have just two weeks (until April 15th) to switch out your studded tyres.
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