Swedish passport

Swedish passport
Date first issued January 2, 2012 (current version)
Issued by  Sweden
Type of document Passport
Purpose Identification
Eligibility requirements Swedish citizenship
Expiration 5 years after issuance
Cost 350 SEK[1]
The data page of a Swedish biometric passport
The front cover of a Swedish biometric temporary passport


Swedish passports are issued to nationals of Sweden for the purpose of international travel. Besides serving as proof of Swedish citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Swedish consular officials abroad or other European Union member states in case a Swedish consular is absent, if needed. Every Swedish citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The passport, along with the national identity card allows for free rights of movement and residence in all of Europe (other than Russia, Belarussia, Ukraine and Turkey)

The passports are issued by the Swedish Police and applications are filed at police stations equipped with a passport terminal for taking photographs and fingerprints. Passports issued since October 1, 2005 are biometric, and valid for five years.[2] Earlier passports are valid for ten years (adults) or five years (children). The blue cover passports issued up until 1998 (and not valid after 2008) are not valid as identity documents in Sweden due to insufficient security features which resulted in widespread forgery.

It is possible for a Swedish citizen to hold two valid passports at the same time if it is needed for work or "another special reasons" [3] The validity time of an additional passport is "as long as the necessity applies",[4] but never longer than the ordinary passport. This can be useful when traveling to states which reject a passport with an entry stamp or visa of another state in it (Israel vs several Arab states). Also it is useful when one needs to travel when the ordinary passport is handed in for a visa application.

In 2013, Swedish passports were reported to be among the most frequently sold passports on the black market. The reason cited was that no upper limit on the number of replacement passports being available for the rightful holder, which prompted calls for legislation to limit the number of lost passports allowed per person.[5]

Physical appearance and data contained

The Swedish passports issued since October 1, 2005 are burgundy, with the words "EUROPEISKA UNIONEN" (English: EUROPEAN UNION), "SVERIGE" (English: SWEDEN) and "PASS" (English: PASSPORT) inscribed at the top of the front cover, and the Swedish lesser coat of arms emblazoned on the bottom of the front cover. The Swedish passport has the standard biometric symbol emblazoned below the coat of arms and uses the standard European Union design. Diplomatic passports are dark blue, with the words "DIPLOMATPASS" (English: DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT) and "SVERIGE" (English: SWEDEN)

Identity information page

The Swedish Passport includes the following data:[6]

The information page ends with the Machine Readable Zone starting with P<SWE.

Biometric data

The biometric passports contain an RFID chip containing the passport's printed data in a digital format along with the photograph in a JPEG format along with a digital key to verify the that the data contained is authentic and hasn't been tampered with. The data in the chip can only be accessed after using the printed codes on the lower part of the passport's person page.[7] The European Union requires fingerprint data to be stored on the member state's passports at latest in June 2009. Sweden started storing fingerprint data when applying for a new passport on 28 June 2009.

Languages

The data page/information page is printed in Swedish and English, with translation in other official languages of the European Union elsewhere in the document. The page containing the guide to check the security features of the data page is printed only in English.

Identification requirements

Application is done at special passport offices or embassies. When doing the application identification of the applicant is needed. This is done by:[8]

A person not possessing any of these identity documents must bring a person who vouches for the identity, is at least 18 years old, has one of the above documents, and is one of:

These requirements are similar to the procedure for other Swedish identity documents.

Visa free travel

Visa requirements for Swedish citizens

Visa requirements for Swedish citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Sweden. In 2014, Swedish citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 174 countries and territories, ranking the Swedish passport 1st in the world according to the Visa Restrictions Index.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pass och nationellt id-kort
  2. ↑ "Fakta om nya passet". Swedish Police Service. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  3. ↑ "Passförodning (1979:664)" (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "Passförodning (1979:664)" (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  5. ↑ Olaglig handel med svenska pass ökar, from Dagens Nyheter, accessed 29 September 2013
  6. ↑ http://www.consilium.europa.eu/prado/EN/1292/viewImage_28112.html
  7. ↑ "Datachippet". Swedish Police Service. Archived from the original on 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  8. ↑ http://www.polisen.se/Service/Pass-och-id-kort/Giltig-legitimation/ Giltig legitimation vid ansökan av pass] (Swedish text)

External links