Identification checks on both international and domestic flights
Sweden has introduced identification checks on both international and domestic flights. All airline passengers will be subject to this control at the time they check in and when they board the aircraft.
Read more.
Passport checks upon entering or leaving Sweden are no longer conducted now that Sweden is a member of the Schengen Area.
However, you will still need to produce an acceptable form of identification which indicates your nationality (your passport or national identity card) when you visit hotels, camping sites etc. of a member state.
The new passport
On October 1, 2005, Sweden heightened security levels by introducing the new biometric passport, which incorporates facial recognition technology.
The passport holder’s photograph is digitised and the size of the face stored in a microchip in the passport. This information is then compared with a digital photograph taken at the security checkpoint. A new regulation came into force on June 28, 2009, as part of ongoing efforts to improve security. It requires all newly issued Swedish passports to include fingerprints. Anyone applying for a new passport will now be asked for their fingerprints; exceptions to this are children under the age of 12 and people who have a permanent physical impairment that makes fingerprinting impossible.
Existing passports which do not include fingerprints will still be valid until their expiry date.
The new passports were introduced on October 1, 2005.
Passport photographs are to be taken at a national police passport office in conjunction with the passport application. Beginning June 28, 2009, passports will also include fingerprints; these are also to be taken at the passport office.
The new passport is valid 5 years and costs SEK 400 including photographs.
Passports issued before October 1, 2005, will still be valid and subsequently replaced when they expire.
Beginning October 1, 2005, opening hours for the national police passport offices were extended. However, the number of offices was reduced to 100.
Issuance of provisional passports will only take place at the following airports after October 1, 2005: Stockholm Arlanda, Göteborg Landvetter, Malmö and Skavsta. Provisional passports will also be issued at Swedish embassies or the equivalent.
Provisional passports are only valid for a single journey. Photographs for provisional passports (as well as ordinary passports) will be taken at the police station and will be biometric. On October 1, 2005, the price of a provisional passport increased from SEK 270 to SEK 980 (including photograph). The police want to reduce the number of provisional passports, which explains the increase in price. It is important to note that a provisional passport is not acceptable for travel to the United States as it is a requirement that all passports must be machine-readable.
Visa
New requirements for travelling to the USA
Since August 1, 2008 the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is accessible via the Internet for citizens and eligible nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries to apply for advance authorisation to travel to the USA under the VWP. Effective January 12, 2009, all VWP travellers will be required to obtain electronic travel authorisation prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the USA under the VWP. From September 8, 2010 there is a 14 dollar administration fee paid online when making the registration.
Read more about the Electronic System for Travel Authorization
Swedish citizens travelling as tourists to the United States do not need a visa as long as their visit does not exceed 90 days. The US has indicated that it will require passports to be machine-readable for people travelling to the US without a visa. The majority of Swedish passports meet that requirement.
A visa is not needed for:
Maroon and blue-coloured passports issued by the Police Authorities that are machine readable and can be used without a visa.
The new type of provisional passports.
A visa is needed for:
Blue passports issued by diplomatic or consular personnel abroad that are not machine-readable and therefore must be supplemented with a visa for travel to the US. However, it should be noted that it is both cheaper and faster to apply for a new passport. If you do apply for a visa, it is wise to allow sufficient time.
The old type of provisional passports.
The US requires that all passports issued as of October 26, 2005, must contain biometric information. All Swedish passports issued after October 1, 2005, contain biometric information and thus meet the requirement. Passports without biometric information issued before the requirement went into effect will be acceptable for travel to the US without a visa for the entire period of validity.
All queries regarding passports should be directed to The National Swedish Police Board (Rikspolisstyrelsen) or your local police authority. More information relating to the new biometric passports can be found at polisen.se.