Sweden reintroduces travel ban for American tourists

 

American tourists hoping to visit Sweden this fall will have to make other arrangements ...   following a decision by the Swedish government.

U.S. tourists hoping to visit Sweden this fall will face disappointment following the Swedish government’s decision to remove the U.S. exemption from its ban on traveling by Covid-19.

As of Sept. 6, the U.S. will be removed from Sweden's list of "safe countries." This means that permanent US residents will not be able to enter Sweden for non-urgent reasons, regardless of the state of vaccination.

The news comes when the Swedish government extended the country's entry ban for non-EU / EEA residents until 31 October. For several months, the U.S. had been one of the groups of countries exempt from the entry ban. But now the US has been removed from the list of exemptions along with Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and Northern Macedonia.

 Other exemptions from the entry ban are still valid, so U.S. residents will still be able to travel to Sweden to begin a course of study, for certain urgent business or family reasons, or if they have the citizenship of a country. of the EU or a Swedish residence permit.

Driven by an EU recommendation

Sweden made the decision after the EU’s decision to remove the United States from its safe travel list of Covid-19. The United States has experienced a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases driven by the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.

In addition to the epidemiological situation, EU officials said the decision was based on "the reliability of the information and data sources available." He also took into account the fact that the US still prevents non-essential travel from Europe.

While the EU decision was a recommendation and was not binding on its members, it is not surprising that Sweden has chosen to implement it given the situation across the Atlantic.

Can I travel to Sweden if I am vaccinated?

At present, Sweden does not implement any exemption based on vaccination status for travelers outside the EU / EEA. However, the government confirmed that it is evaluating the possibility of exempting more travelers based on the state of vaccination in the future.

Swedish Interior Minister Mikael Damberg said they want to implement this agreement for countries with which Sweden has close relations such as the United Kingdom and the United States, "although the United States is more complex and many states have very different rules ".

Despite this promising news, the government did not give any estimated date on when vaccinated U.S. travelers could visit Sweden.

Read more about the Swedish travel ban