November is a good time to see northern lights displays in northern Scandinavia.
Life in Scandinavia is largely back to normal following the relaxation of domestic restrictions in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Entry bans remain in place, but exceptions have been introduced allowing many American, British and Canadian residents to visit parts of the region.
While the rules for EU/EEA travelers are very similar, Denmark, Norway and Sweden each take a different approach to travelers from the rest of the world.
Denmark now permits entry to fully-vaccinated U.S. residents, having lifted the previous travel ban introduced in September. Sweden will do the same from November 5. But the extension of Norway’s travel ban means even fully-vaccinated American residents cannot yet visit Norway for tourism.
As always, rules change frequently and at short notice, so be sure to check the official government websites—listed below—for any changes in rules and categorization.
Denmark
On October 25, Denmark lifted the requirement to have a ‘worthy purpose’ to enter the country, effectively reopening the country for tourism.
Fully vaccinated travelers from the EU/EEA and many other countries including the U.S. and Canada can enter Denmark with no testing requirements. Those without full vaccination may need to provide a test result, take a test upon arrival or self-isolate for 10 days upon arrival.
For example, non-vaccinated arrivals from the U.K. and the U.S. will be required to test and self-isolate, but non-vaccinated Canadians just need to test before and immediately after arrival.
You can check the latest requirements for every country on Denmark’s Covid-19 website.
Norway
Norway’s strict entry ban on most non-EU/EEA residents has been extended following a surge in positive Covid-19 cases.
There are exemptions to the ban, including for those with close family members in Norway, students starting a course of study, some business travel and residents of a handful of ‘purple countries’. The purple list does not include the U.S. or Canada at the time of writing.
Holders of a valid EU Digital Covid Certificate can enter Norway without quarantine. This includes certificates issued by Britain’s NHS and selected other countries. Residents of EU/EEA countries without the certificate can still enter Norway but may need to quarantine depending on the status of their country of residence.
You can check the latest information on Norway’s entry ban and quarantine requirements at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Sweden
Travelers from the EU/EEA must provide a vaccine certificate issued by an EU or other approved country, a negative test result taken within the previous 72 hours, or a certificate of recovery. Arrivals from Nordic countries are exempt from this requirement.
Sweden has extended its entry ban for non-EU/EEA residents until the end of 2021. However, there are many exceptions to the ban.
Residents of ‘exempted countries’ are able to travel to Sweden but must provide an approved vaccine certificate or a recent negative test result. At the time of writing, exempted countries include Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore.
In addition, residents from ‘approved countries’ can use a vaccine certificate issued by that country to bypass the travel ban. At the time of writing, this includes Great Britain and Switzerland. The U.S. will be added to this list from November 5. You can check the countries on both lists on Sweden’s crisis management website.
