Sweden’s government has decided to prolong the temporary entry ban to the European Union via Sweden until July 7, due to the Coronavirus
situation, the country’s Ministry of Justice has announced through a press release.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the “aim of the entry ban is to mitigate the effects of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and reduce the outbreak of COVID-19,” SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The entry ban includes all internationals travelling to Sweden from countries other than European Union member states, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Swedish citizens are also excluded from the imposed ban.
The government has clarified that there are two main exceptions to the entry ban.
Firstly, all European Union nationals and individuals with a Swedish residence permit will be eligible to enter the country to return home.
Secondly, persons with an essential need or function in Sweden may enter the country.
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to extend the advice against non-essential travel to third countries, until August 31, as part of the country’s efforts to stop the further spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
“For travel to countries outside the EU, the EEA and the Schengen area, the advice against non-essential travel is, therefore, being extended to August 31, 2020. In good time before this date, the MFA will provide information about whether the advice against travel will be changed, extended or removed,” the Ministry announced.
Sweden’s government has decided to lift the travel advice against Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Croatia, France, Greece, Iceland, and Switzerland on June 30, as the current Coronavirus situation allows such a step to be taken.
The decision to impose an entry ban came into force on March 19 and initially applied for 30 days. Since then, the imposed ban has been extended three times, as permitted by Article 28 of the Schengen Border Code.
According to the Schengen Border Code, this decision is taken in the context of cases requiring immediate action must be limited to up to ten days.
European Commission in its communication of June 11, 2020, recommends the European Union Member States to gradually lift the travel restrictions to the EU from third countries from July 1 “based on a common, coordinated approach.”
Last week, the Swedish authorities decided to start accepting visa applications in several locations in the Philippines, Morocco, Thailand, as well as in China, after asserting that the situation related to the Coronavirus allows such a decision to be taken.
About 8,000 Passengers Every Day at Schönefeld and Tegel airports.
Nearly 8,000 passengers are being handled every day at Schönefeld and Tegel, as travel warning for European Union countries was lifted on June 15.
Before the start of holidays, a total of 31 airlines will be flying from airports of Schönefeld and Tegel to 52 destinations in 31 countries, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In July, the number of routes on offer will show an increase, while the number of daily guests will surpass 10,000 and will continue to rise in the following weeks. Nearly 70 destinations are expected to be offered this summer.
“All of us, including the airlines and Berlin’s airports, are noticing a significant increase in the willingness to travel. We are pleased that the airlines have reacted quickly and comprehensively to the lifted travel restrictions in Europe. Air traffic has increased considerably in the last few days, and the airlines are significantly increasing their services. After weeks of standstill, this is a good sign for the airport location, the economy and tourism in the capital region,” the Chief Executive Officer of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH, Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, pointed out.
On June 15, the German Federal Minister of Interior Horst Seehofer decided to lift the majority of border checks at the internal borders, as COVID-19 pandemic situation allows such a step to be taken.
The minister informed the Federal Cabinet that border controls at the borders with Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and Denmark would end on June 15.
However, Germany’s authorities extended travel warnings for 160 countries until August 31. German citizens are urged against “non-essential travel”, which do not include European Union countries, until the end of August, due to COVID-19 developments.
The German Federal Minister explaining his decision stressed that the country would not risk that Germans will get stranded again all over the world in summer or that holiday returnees will carry the virus to Germany undetected.
Editor:(Omor Bazuaye)
