the810

It could have been, for example, passenger arriving without a valid documentation to Malmö and deported as a result.

But there are no restrictions on entering Sweden from Denmark. That is and always was my point.

GUWonder

A traveler from Denmark (or anywhere) arriving in Sweden may be denied entry into Sweden for being without valid documentation for entry into Sweden.

And being without valid documentation — depending on route taken to get from Denmark to Sweden — for entering Sweden covers, jointly and severally, the following: being without valid documentation to meet Sweden’s Covid test requirement; and/or trying to use documentation of vaccination in lieu of test results when that documentation of vaccination is not acceptable to Swedish border control police.

Pre-pandemic it’s indeed been possible for some to fly from Denmark to Sweden via EU/EEA non-Nordic countries without valid government-issued photo ID being checked and then rejected by the Swedish police because of lack of that kind of valid documentation. But the situation for Sweden-approved travel and entry documentation in 2021 is different than it was in 2019 and earlier; and some may even find that schizophrenic, gaslighting Sweden today is already way more restrictive than Denmark when it comes to entry by vaccinated foreign visitors arriving from EU/EEA countries.

the810

There is no "Sweden's covid test requirement" when travelling from Denmark to Sweden unless you for some reason choose to travel via another country, which doesn't make any sense and certainly can't happen at Hyllie (I'm not aware of any link between Hyllie and a country other than Denmark).

Of course, people can be denied entry if they lack passport or an ID card but that's not what we discussing here.

The passenger in question likely didn't have valid documentation on entry at MMX and was therefore deported. It may even be the case that police itself suggested the Denmark cheat to him.

nacho

Yes and no:
https://www.regeringen.se/artiklar/2...-till-sverige/
https://www.regeringen.se/pressmedde...ordmakedonien/

the810

Where do you see to "no" part?

GUWonder

"Sweden's covid test requirement" when travelling from Denmark to Sweden has been a moving target this year. “Sweden’s Covid test requirement” has been applicable to some travelers from Denmark who arrive in Sweden. That some travelers from Denmark to Sweden may choose to not stick to staying within the Nordic countries when going from Denmark to Sweden is neither new nor old. It happens, including during the pandemic; and that is whether it makes sense to some/many/most or not.

Of course, some people can be denied entry into Sweden if they lack passport or an ID card and that is what your posts brought up here too. And of course people with a passport/ID card can be denied entry if they are subject to “Sweden’s Covid test requirement” but failed to have acceptable test or other acceptable Covid-19 related documentation (eg, accepted proof of vaccination in lieu of test results) for entry into Sweden. And this is what is being discussed here too.

Not having valid documentation covers failure to have documentation in line with “Sweden’s Covid test requirement”.

What do people think of the proposed idea of the Swedish police suggesting “the Denmark cheat” to a foreign traveler subject to “Sweden’s Covid test requirement”?

nacho

https://www.regeringen.se/pressmedde...ordmakedonien/

Where does it say they can just get into Sweden via DK/FI/NO? I think this update overrides this one: https://www.regeringen.se/artiklar/2...-till-sverige/

I'm sure if they are not checked they can get in, but if they do drive across the bridge, their passports will be checked and I'm sure the police will turn them away. They are very careful in checking people (I know because I was waiting in line a couple of days ago).

GUWonder

https://polisen.se/en/the-swedish-po...QQmNvsHFiD8z9E

So the way it’s generally enforced is that if the last country transited prior to arrival in Sweden is a Nordic country, then it’s much the same Swedish welcome mat as for a Nordic country-residing citizen’s entry to Sweden at the same point in time.

the810

Here:
The entry ban only applies at the external border of the EU/EEA, as is explained within the press release itself. There is no entry ban when arriving from the EU/EEA. Furthermore, there is no test requirement when entering Sweden from Nordic countries, as explained on the website of the Swedish police linked below the press release.

@GUWonder - I obviously never claimed that there is no reason at all to deny someone entry into Sweden but that there are no covid restrictions when entering from Denmark.

GUWonder

Sweden has had COVID restrictions when entering Sweden from Denmark; but there aren’t legally any such restrictions now.

Sweden still has COVID-19 restrictions applicable to some travelers from Denmark, but the conditions of applicability happens to depend on the route taken by some travelers from Denmark to get to Sweden. And during the pandemic in Sweden, the most direct route sometimes works out better for foreign visitors to get into Sweden; and sometimes it works out worse than less direct routes to get into Sweden.

The Swedish border control police still refuse to accept COVID-19-related documentation (for entry into Sweden by foreigners) which the Danish border control police accept (for entry into Denmark by foreigners) without issue. Sweden in various ways is still less open than Denmark, and it shows in how and for whom Swedish border control police frustrate travel/entry.

Sweden’s response to the pandemic — including border management — continues to be a continuing chapter of the bizarre dog and pony show it’s been giving since the beginning of the pandemic. Fortunately, at least now the Swedish authorities can try to count on c. 70% of its vaccine-eligible population being reported as fully vaccinated.

nacho

I wouldn't try to game my chance to get through the passport control by the bridge - IMO whether one is let in is totally YMMV (I would never know because I have the right passports). Even pre-Covid, a US citizen commuting between DK and SE to work had to explain himself to the border control approximately a couple of times a week why he has US passport and Swedish ID card.

SusanDK

I've never heard of this happening. I used to work for an international organization in Denmark and we had many staff who lived in Sweden who were citizens of non-Nordic countries. This is just anecdotal, but not once did I hear anyone mention that their ID was checked on their daily commute nor that crossing was a hassle. And if an individual had a Swedish residence permit, why would they even be showing a passport?

Granted, I can't support this opinion by facts, but in the 27 years I worked in Denmark, I am certain I would have heard something. In fact, one of my closest colleagues was a US citizen married to a Swede, living in Sweden and commuting daily to Denmark. Other than the time it took (she lived in Lund) and the occasional bridge closure due to high winds / weather, I never heard her complain, nor mention anything about ID checks or being questioned by authorities. She is now a dual Swedish/US citizen and now works in Sweden but she made the commute as a US citizen for years.

Edited to add: I can understand checks since the pandemic, but you specifically mention pre-pandemic. And pre-pandemic, I never experienced any check going over the bridge, but we took the bridge infrequently as we generally took the ferry route to Helsingborg.

the810

No, it's not. There is no law requiring anything else than ID/passport. It doesn't exist. The website of the Swedish police, the agency that performs those border checks, explicitly says this is permitted. There is no "chancing it".

GUWonder

The “chancing it” is a reference to not abiding to the strictest and most risk-averse interpretation of the rules. Some people are more willing to “chance it” than others.

Is it fair to conclude that you are neither a Swedish lawyer nor engaged in work exchanges with Swedish law enforcement and lawyers and judges involved in cross-border and migration matters here?

Is it fair to conclude that you’ve not crossed the bridge as much as those of us here who have crossed the bridge hundreds — and even thousands of times in the case of at least one contributor to this thread — since it opened in 2000?

It helps to put in context who has more and less experience with how it practically has gone and goes with going from Denmark to Sweden during this pandemic and before.

The bridge wasn’t open 27 years ago. I’ve been taking the bridge for around 20 years. I have crossed it thousands of times and know its issues well during the course of that time. I am a US citizen and have never availed to accepting any opportunities to pick up additional citizenships, and I’m a US passport user when dealing with these folks working Scandinavian borders.

For the first 15+ years of the bridge being open to private cars and passenger trains, I hadn’t been checked by Swedish law enforcement for any documentation more than maybe twice on train crossings. I hadn’t seen it happen in person more than a couple of dozen times in those first 15 or so years on passenger trains, and when it happened those couple of dozen times, it was due to customs checks not migration control. In the course of the most recent five weeks, I’ve been checked for documentation and seen more people checked for documentation for Copenhagen-Malmö crossings by rail than I saw in the first 15 years of taking the train across the bridge. But since Q4 2015, the border crossing situation for arrival into Sweden at Malmö changed a lot. And then it changed even more during this pandemic, adding even another layer of complexity to the matter.

Swedish residency cards are generally not considered ID by the Swedish police. That is not new. US passports on their own aren’t even always accepted as ID by the Swedish police in some contexts for US citizens in Sweden. That too remains anything but new and still makes for some very interesting dynamics when US persons are trying to get Swedish ID for themselves or are trying to get Swedish passports for their Swedish/US-Swedish children.

I’ve seen US citizens turned away on the bridge and at Hyllie by Swedish police for lots of different things during this pandemic but also at times in 2016-2019 for: having just their US passport with them but not some EU/EEA residency card/permit paper; having just an EU/EEA residency card or EU/EEA-country issued ID but no passport; having all pre-pandemic-required documentation but not having timely COVID test results during parts of this pandemic; having all pre-pandemic-required documentation but trying to get in using CDC cards instead of COVID-19 test results during part of the pandemic; and more. And that’s just the immigration control side.

The enforcement dynamic of crossing on the ferry from Helsingor to Helsingborg is different in various ways than the dynamic of enforcement on crossing the bridge. Malmö is always more in the spotlight, at least when it comes to “the bad”; and that and its proximity to Copenhagen and CPH makes for a very different dynamic than what happens with the ferry crossings. And taking a private, non-commercial boat to get across is even more different.

Here’s a bit of a window into what has gone on with the Swedish border since the fall of 2015:

ID Checks between Sweden and Danish borders

SusanDK

Thank you for the interesting history and data points. My reference to "27 years" was context for how long I worked in Denmark, and of course, the bridge wasn't there when I first arrived in 1990. But indeed I do recall the inauguration ceremony of the bridge which we attended from the Danish side to see the live concerts and fireworks (if I'm not mistaking that event with another!).

My first trip across the bridge wasn't actually until many years after it opened and, compared to the number of times I've made the ferry crossing, was only a handful of times. We drove it maybe a half dozen times, and took the train once. I'm guessing our last time was in early 2015 when we took the train to Stockholm for my husband's US green card interview at the embassy there. We were never checked on any of those trips but, as you note, it wasn't until 2016 that things changed significantly.

The only time I recall being checked in Helsingborg pre-2016 was when we drove in with blue diplomatic license plates on my car. Once we shifted to normal Danish white plates, we weren't stopped until the time period you mention. We probably made a couple of hundred ferry crossings over the years and I believe we had to flash our Danish driver's licenses a couple of times between 2016 and 2019.

Interesting you mention taking a private boat. We had a 36' sailboat for years and primarily sailed to Ven, Landskrona, Mölle from Denmark. But I suspect you are referring to another type of private, non-commercial boat.