Famous as the land of the Vikings and the home of the two great Bergmans of cinema – Ingrid and Ingmar, the Volvo and also of ABBA, Sweden is unique in that it’s long and interesting history has had little outside influences on it. Like Switzerland, it has maintained both it sovereignty and neutrality through the ages.
Sweden is a land of beautiful countryside and abundant natural wonder ranging from innumerable lakes to snow capped mountains. A variety of flora and fauna make it a great destination for the nature lover. The country is also a popular destination for business travelers who are attracted by the country’s professional work ethic and the cutting edge technologies that its companies’ are creating.
Sweden has many different types of visas and you should always contact the Swedish Embassy to ascertain which category you fall under and what type of visa you should apply for. Sweden has a liberal tourist and business visitor policy and getting a visa is not difficult. However, although the requirements may appear to be fairly simple, including those of the photos to be submitted along with your application, please make sure that the forms are completed in every respect since the Swedish policy is not to ask for additional information in the case of incomplete forms, but to reject them. If your application has been rejected once, even for the most innocuous reason, future applications will be subject to even greater scrutiny.
As with most countries, Sweden has standardized on the type photos required for both passports and visas. The photos must be in color and of the standard passport photo size, which is 3.5cms X 4.5cms. The face should occupy about 70% of the photo and you must be looking directly at the camera so that both sides of your face are visible.
The background should be light colored and should contain no shadows or objects. It is important that your expression be neutral which means that you should not have a big smile on your face and your teeth should not be visible. While regularly worn spectacles should be worn in the photo, there should be no reflection that limits the visibility of the eyes in the photo. Head gear of any kind and dark or heavily tinted glasses are not allowed. The photos must be submitted in duplicate with the applicants name clearly printed on the back of the photos in pencil.
Sweden permits citizens of many countries, epically those of the European Union, to enter the country without a visa or obtain a visa on arrival. However, since the rules on these are very strict, it is better to check with the embassy to know your eligibility and also the visa fees which vary form country to country.