Citizens of Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, North Macedonia, San Marino, and the Vatican City State will soon be able to travel to Sweden under the same restrictions as citizens of EU Member States as Sweden has decided to recognise the vaccination passports issued in these countries.
Such a decision has been announced today by the Swedish Ministry of Justice and will start being effective from Monday, September 20, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“The Government has adopted amendments to the temporary ban on entry into Sweden. The amendments primarily mean that people who can present a vaccine certificate issued in certain specific countries and territories are exempted from the entry ban,” the Ministry’s statement reads.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry, as soon as the new amendment starts being fully functional, citizens arriving from the six countries mentioned above will no longer be required to undergo COVID-19 testing before entering Sweden provided that they hold a valid vaccination certificate.
In addition, starting from Monday, travellers from these countries will no longer have to follow the self-isolation rule after entering the territory of Sweden.
Based on the decision of the European Commission, vaccination certificates issued in these countries are considered equivalent to the EU Digital COVID Certificate.
As a result, certificates issued in Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, North Macedonia, San Marino, or the Vatican City State can now be checked and verified by using the same system as for the other certificates issued in the EU Member States.
Through the same press release, the Swedish authorities also revealed that additional countries, including the United Kingdom, are awaiting a decision from the EU Commission, indicating that more vaccination passports might be recognised in the near future.
Regarding the travellers from other third countries, the authorities highlighted that they will also be exempted from the testing requirement as long as they present an EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate. This means that the same travel rules will apply for travel from countries inside and outside the EU/EEA, making the entry process simpler for both travellers and border police.
In order for a vaccination certificate to be recognised in Sweden, the document should indicate that the holder has been immunised against the COVID-19 disease with one of the following vaccines that the country currently accepts as valid proof of immunity:
- Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty)
- AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria)
- Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)
- Modern (Spikevax)
- Covishield (Serum Institute of India)
- Sinopharm BIBP
- CoronaVac (Sinovac)
“Only vaccines approved according to the ordinance (EU) 726/2004, or are WHO approved for use in emergencies, will be accepted,” the Swedish authorities emphasised.
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