How to get your Covid-19 vaccine pass in Sweden
From July 1st, it is possible to get a vaccine pass in Sweden to facilitate travel within the EU.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is out of date. For a new article on the updated Swedish Covid-19 vaccine pass rules, published on December 1st 2021, CLICK HERE.
Everyone who gets any vaccine in Sweden is already entitled to proof of vaccination, but what's new is that the Covid-19 vaccine pass is being made digital.
In future, it will also be able to show if you have recently been infected and recovered from Covid-19, or tested negative for the disease, but to begin with it will only show whether you have been vaccinated and with how many doses.
The first step to getting the pass is, of course, to get your vaccine when your group becomes eligible. Read more about how and when to do that in your region in the guide below:
Within seven days of the jab, your vaccination should have been reported to Sweden's National Vaccination Register by healthcare staff.
From July 1st at 9am, you should be able to visit the website covidbevis.se and log in, using a digital ID like BankID if you have one. It is also possible to apply using a paper form, following instructions on the site.
Once you have logged in on the website, you will get your digital proof of vaccination, which you can print out, send to your mobile phone or computer, and get sent to your digital mailbox if you have one (the website has English-language instructions on creating one if you need help).
That's all you need to do to get your vaccine pass, which will show your name, date of birth, which Covid-19 vaccine you got and on which date(s). The next step is to confirm which rules apply for travel to your planned destination. That's not as simple as it may seem. Individual EU countries set their own rule of entry, so while the vaccine pass allows border police or transport company employees to see your vaccine status, some countries are only allowing entry to people from two weeks after their first dose, while for others a first dose is sufficient.
But for individuals without a personnummer, the process is unfortunately unclear.
On July 1st, a press spokesperson for the agency told us by email: "We’re still working on how people with samordningsnummer and reservnummer can get their COVID certificates. As of now, you need a personal identity number (personnummer)."
The agency had previously told The Local that it would be possible to apply using a samordningsnummer (coordination number), but only using the paper form.
For people who have not yet had the opportunity to be vaccinated, or who are unable to do so, at a later date it will be possible to use the pass to show recovery from Covid-19 (by presenting a positive antibody test result) or a recent negative test, which should facilitate travel as well.
As for people who were vaccinated abroad, Sweden's eHealth Agency says the vaccine pass will only be available to people who received either both doses or their second vaccine dose in Sweden.
The agency's website advises "If you have been vaccinated or tested in a different EU country, you should investigate how you can obtain a certificate from that country".
A spokesperson for the Agency confirmed to The Local by email: "You cannot get a Swedish COVID certificate if you are vaccinated in another country. If you have been vaccinated in another EU country, you should find out how you can get a certificate from that country. However, if you are a Swedish citizen, with a personnummer, and have received your first dose in another country, with an EU approved vaccine, and then get your second dose in Sweden, your vaccination will be reported in Nationella vaccinationsregistret [the national vaccine register], and then you can get a Swedish COVID certificate." The Local has contacted the agency for clarification on whether this also applies to people living in Sweden without Swedish citizenship.
So if you received both doses of your Covid-19 vaccine outside the EU and need to travel within the EU, you should check with your destination country about which documents they will accept as proof of vaccination, or whether you will need to find another way to fulfil entry criteria, for example by taking a Covid-19 test before travel.
To begin with, the aim of the vaccine pass is to make travel between EU countries easier, and all EU member states are introducing their own version. It is possible that in future, the pass may also be used to facilitate other activities, for example admission to cultural events or venues, but the Swedish government has not confirmed whether or not it plans to do this.
Do you have questions about the vaccine pass, or about Covid-19 in Sweden? Please contact our editorial team at [email protected] and we will do our best to look into them. We can't reply to every email, but we do read them all and they show us which areas to focus on in our reporting.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is out of date. For a new article on the updated Swedish Covid-19 vaccine pass rules, published on December 1st 2021, CLICK HERE.
Everyone who gets any vaccine in Sweden is already entitled to proof of vaccination, but what's new is that the Covid-19 vaccine pass is being made digital.
In future, it will also be able to show if you have recently been infected and recovered from Covid-19, or tested negative for the disease, but to begin with it will only show whether you have been vaccinated and with how many doses.
The first step to getting the pass is, of course, to get your vaccine when your group becomes eligible. Read more about how and when to do that in your region in the guide below:
Within seven days of the jab, your vaccination should have been reported to Sweden's National Vaccination Register by healthcare staff.
From July 1st at 9am, you should be able to visit the website covidbevis.se and log in, using a digital ID like BankID if you have one. It is also possible to apply using a paper form, following instructions on the site.
Once you have logged in on the website, you will get your digital proof of vaccination, which you can print out, send to your mobile phone or computer, and get sent to your digital mailbox if you have one (the website has English-language instructions on creating one if you need help).
That's all you need to do to get your vaccine pass, which will show your name, date of birth, which Covid-19 vaccine you got and on which date(s). The next step is to confirm which rules apply for travel to your planned destination. That's not as simple as it may seem. Individual EU countries set their own rule of entry, so while the vaccine pass allows border police or transport company employees to see your vaccine status, some countries are only allowing entry to people from two weeks after their first dose, while for others a first dose is sufficient.
But for individuals without a personnummer, the process is unfortunately unclear.
On July 1st, a press spokesperson for the agency told us by email: "We’re still working on how people with samordningsnummer and reservnummer can get their COVID certificates. As of now, you need a personal identity number (personnummer)."
The agency had previously told The Local that it would be possible to apply using a samordningsnummer (coordination number), but only using the paper form.
For people who have not yet had the opportunity to be vaccinated, or who are unable to do so, at a later date it will be possible to use the pass to show recovery from Covid-19 (by presenting a positive antibody test result) or a recent negative test, which should facilitate travel as well.
As for people who were vaccinated abroad, Sweden's eHealth Agency says the vaccine pass will only be available to people who received either both doses or their second vaccine dose in Sweden.
The agency's website advises "If you have been vaccinated or tested in a different EU country, you should investigate how you can obtain a certificate from that country".
A spokesperson for the Agency confirmed to The Local by email: "You cannot get a Swedish COVID certificate if you are vaccinated in another country. If you have been vaccinated in another EU country, you should find out how you can get a certificate from that country. However, if you are a Swedish citizen, with a personnummer, and have received your first dose in another country, with an EU approved vaccine, and then get your second dose in Sweden, your vaccination will be reported in Nationella vaccinationsregistret [the national vaccine register], and then you can get a Swedish COVID certificate." The Local has contacted the agency for clarification on whether this also applies to people living in Sweden without Swedish citizenship.
So if you received both doses of your Covid-19 vaccine outside the EU and need to travel within the EU, you should check with your destination country about which documents they will accept as proof of vaccination, or whether you will need to find another way to fulfil entry criteria, for example by taking a Covid-19 test before travel.
To begin with, the aim of the vaccine pass is to make travel between EU countries easier, and all EU member states are introducing their own version. It is possible that in future, the pass may also be used to facilitate other activities, for example admission to cultural events or venues, but the Swedish government has not confirmed whether or not it plans to do this.
Do you have questions about the vaccine pass, or about Covid-19 in Sweden? Please contact our editorial team at [email protected] and we will do our best to look into them. We can't reply to every email, but we do read them all and they show us which areas to focus on in our reporting.
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