Sweden lies in Northern Europe, in the region of Scandinavia. Sweden’s land is blessed with lush greenery and with 100,000 lakes dotting the entire territory. The country also has over 24,000 islands that are open for you to explore.
Sweden is bordered by two countries, Norway on the West and Finland on the Northeast. The Eastern border of Sweden opens to the Baltic Sea and three stretches of water - the Skagerrak, the Kattegat, and the Öresund straits – separates Sweden from Denmark.
The country’s territory is long and narrow, with an area of slightly larger than 450,650 square kilometres. The Northwest of the country features mountains and lakes. The highest mountain in Sweden is the Kebnekaise, which is part of the Scandinavian Mountain range, standing at 2,096 metres above sea level. The Southeast of the country features more forests, fertile valleys, and plains. The coast of Sweden is lined with bays and inlets.
Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. The city is built upon several islands as well as parts of the mainland. The city is connected by more than 50 bridges and has over 90 beaches. The city also has an abundance of green spaces, that allows them to not just enjoy the park, but has spaces for people to swim as well.
The currency of Sweden is the krona SEK, and 1 krona can be subdivided into 100 öre. It is issued in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and1,000 kronor notes, and 1, 2, 5,10, 20 and 50 kronor coins. Some of the older coins and notes are no longer legal tender since 2017. Please note that you are not allowed to pay in Euro or other currencies.
ATMs (also known locally as Bankomat or Uttagsautomat) can be found at airports and in Sweden’s major cities and towns. Money can be withdrawn using international credit cards: MasterCard and Visa are accepted in most ATMs. A small fee may be added based on the terms and conditions of your bank. To withdraw cash, a card with PIN and chip is required as the older cards with magnetic-stripe does not work.
Sweden is a widely cashless society. Many shops, museums, restaurants, and taxis accept cards payment. The commonly accepted methods are Visa and MasterCard, AmericanExpress is also widely accepted but there could be some restrictions. However, it is still recommended to carry sufficient cash in smaller notes especially in smaller and rural areas.
As part of the Schengen region, visitors to Sweden will require a Schengen Visa, unless they have citizenship from a country without a visa requirement for entering the Schengen region. The specific type of visa will depend on the purpose of travel.
For visits less than 90 days, Singaporeans do not require a visa to visit the Schengen area.
Applications for Schengen visa (short-term stay of a max. of 90 days) can be submitted at the earliest 6 months before and at the latest 15 calendar days before traveling. Applicants need to submit a duly completed and signed visa application form and present the required supporting documents. In Singapore, application for a Schengen visa can be carried out at the VFS Global Visa Application Centre and usually takes 10 days, sometimes longer, to process, upon submission of complete documents. The processing fee for the visa is 80 Euros, 40 Euros for children, and a service fee of 34.13 Euro is payable to VFS as well.
A Schengen visa grants you the right to stay in the entire Schengen region for a maximum of 90 days. The Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The climate of Sweden varies widely across time and regions.
Different regions in Sweden experience different climates: Central and southern Sweden: the winters are short and quite cold, and summer temperatures are similar to those in southern England, but with a lot more hours of sunshine and daylight. Northeast meanwhile, the winters are severe, the more so as you travel further north, while the summers can be surprisingly warm. Far north, the winters are also severe, with snow lying year-round on elevated areas, and the summers are short and changeable. Because Sweden lies at a high latitude much of the country has very long hours of daylight in summer and very long nights in winter.
The principal international airport in Sweden is Stockholm Arlanda Airport. Most major European and Middle Eastern carriers offer connections to Sweden.
