COVID-19 Entry Restrictions Still Available in Sweden for China

As the prevalence of COVID infections in China are still high, Sweden decided to extend entry restrictions for the country’s residents

After a review that showed the prevalence of Coronavirus infections in this country was still high, the Swedish government decided to increase Coronavirus entry restrictions for travellers from People's Republic of China by 20 days. This extension will be effective until February 18.

The Swedish Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Social Affairs jointly announced the move in a joint statement. This stated that the decision was made during a meeting of the government on January 27, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported.

This statement states that travellers from China must still present negative COVID-19 results on arrival to Sweden.

"The test requirement applies to adults and children over the age of 12 who are third-country nationals. There are certain exceptions to the test requirement that, for example, do not apply to people who have a residence permit in Sweden, who are permanently resident in the EU and EEA or who have urgent family reasons," the statement explains, while adding that Swedish citizens returning from China are not subject to these restrictions.

After first calling for a meeting with the EU Council's crisis management mechanism Integrated Political Crisis Response, (IPCR) to discuss possible measures, Sweden implemented Coronavirus restrictions on Chinese arrivals on January 7. The move was made after the Presidency of EU Council was taken over on January 1.

The meeting was held on January 4. It was attended by all EU Member States.

Sweden implemented COVID-19 restrictions on January 7. However, several other countries had done so before the EU's recommendation. This was after the rise in infected persons in China. After three years of closure, China reopened its borders in December 2022.

The Public Health Agency of Sweden requires that proof of negative results from travellers from China be presented to the border officers. Otherwise, travellers will be refused entry and turned back.

The document must be in English or Swedish and contain information about the type of test, results, sampling time, name and birth date of the person being tested and the contact details of either the laboratory or the issuer of certificate.

Antigen tests and PCR (or other nucleic acids amplification tests) are accepted as valid tests.

Source: schengenvisainfo.com