Scandinavians Part 2

[OrihimeandIchigo 216]

32 minutes ago, emma24 said:

Thank you for keeping us updated @OrihimeandIchigo !!

Aww your welcome and of course 😊. This is very important for all of us. 

[Ellxtdan 95]

On 6/26/2020 at 2:45 PM, LilyJ said:

We got word on email this week that the embassy is ready again to reschedule our interview once we've collected all our papers again! How is the situation over there for those who have recently been to the embassy/Stockholm in general? Are people wearing masks on the buses/social distancing, if the buses are running much at all? Particularly for anyone who had to fly in from out of Sweden, which airport do you recommend flying in to and did you take rental car/bus/taxi/something else to and from the airport? We are trying to feel out the situation and transportation options to minimize my husband's contact with other people when he goes without spending too much on transportation since we are tight on money with this unexpected COVID and an almost 3 months delay on the interview..

Been lurking here every so often, but just wanted to say, I’m rooting for you and your husband LilyJ! You guys are so close!! 

 

Exciting to hear that Stockholm’s starting to reschedule interviews!

[OrihimeandIchigo 216]

I wanted to inform everyone that the Swedish Government extended their entry ban once again. It was set to expire on July 4th but they decided to extend it to August 31th.

 

So this is nerve wracking in that; One member in the forum had a theory about why some consulates are opening for "mission-critical" visas and some aren't has to do with the travel restrictions and the American employees of the Embassy being able to return to work and return to routine visas services full staff.

 

The good news is that with the new travel restrictions for the first time they included more exemptions besides just Swedish citizens and permanent residents that are traveling just for the purpose of returning home. 

 

Here's the list of exceptions; I do not know what type of employment visa or anything that US employees have to live and work in Sweden at the embassy but I'm hoping it's one of these exceptions if anyone can find out for me I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Who is exempt from the entry ban?

As of 4 July, the entry ban does not apply to people who:

1. are an EEA citizen or a citizen of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland or the Vatican City;
2. have long-term resident status in Sweden or another EU Member State;
3. have a permanent residence permit in Sweden or another EEA state, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland or the Vatican City;
4. have a national visa for Sweden or a national visa valid longer than three months in another EEA State, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland or the Vatican City;
5. have family ties as specified in Chapter 3a, Section 2, first paragraph, or Chapter 5, Section 3, first paragraph, points 1–4, or Section 3a of the Aliens Act (2005:716) to a person covered by any of points 1–4 or to a Swedish citizen, or
6. lives in one of the following countries:

• Algeria
• Australia
• Georgia
• Japan
• Canada
• Morocco
• Montenegro
• New Zealand
• Rwanda
• Serbia
• South Korea
• Thailand
• Tunisia
• Uruguay

In addition, the entry ban does not apply to people with an essential need or function in Sweden. For example, this may be the case for:

• healthcare workers, researchers in health and medical care and elderly staff;
• frontier workers;
• seasonal workers in the agricultural, forestry and horticulture sectors;
• personnel transporting goods and other staff in the transport sector;
• people covered by Chapter 2, Section 10 of the Aliens Act (2005:716);
• people who work in international organisations or are invited by such organisations and whose presence is necessary for the organisations’ activities, military personnel, aid workers and civil defence staff;
• passengers in transit;
• people with imperative family reasons;
• seafarers;
• people in need of international protection or for other humanitarian reasons;
• people who travel for the purpose of studying; and
• highly skilled workers, if the job the alien is to perform cannot be postponed or performed remotely.

The above list of people who can be considered to have an essential need or function is for illustration only and there may therefore be other categories of people who may be exempted.

It is the responsibility of the enforcing authorities (primarily the Swedish Police Authority) to determine in each individual case how the exemptions are to be interpreted and which decisions are to be made. The purpose of the measure is to mitigate the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This is a temporary measure.

 

What applies for people residing abroad who will perform work in Sweden – will they be allowed to enter?

Travel from another EU country, the UK, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland is not covered by the entry ban. Further exemptions from the entry ban are people with residence permits, people living in certain particularly specified countries (see above) and people with an essential function in Sweden, such as seasonal workers and highly skilled workers. How exemptions are to be interpreted and what assessments are to be made in an individual case is primarily a matter for the Swedish Police Authority. Swedish citizens living abroad are not affected by the entry ban.

Edited July 2, 2020 by OrihimeandIchigo

[OrihimeandIchigo 216]

 I saw on the State Departments website they updated a alert to Passport Operations in Response to COVID-19 in which they made a page for FAQ and one of them was discussing Phases in reopenings:

 

2. What services can I expect in each phase of reopening?

The Department will resume processing passports in phases, while protecting the safety of both our staff and our customers.

Phase 1:  Some of our employees will return to our agencies and centers, allowing us to resume limited processing of applications we already received. Applications will be processed on a first in, first out basis, beginning with the oldest applications received. We will continue to prioritize services for customers with life-or-death emergencies by appointment only. Customers must wear cloth face coverings in all common areas, including our lobbies, and observe strict social distancing. During phase one, we will continue to recommend customers wait to submit new or renewal applications as delays will continue.

Phase 2:  Most staff will return to our agencies and centers, and we will be able to resume processing more of the applications we already received. Applications will be processed on a first in, first out basis, beginning with the oldest applications received. While we will continue prioritizing life-or-death emergency cases, we will also offer more appointments at our agencies and centers. Services offered at our agencies will continue to be by appointment only. Staff and customers should wear cloth face coverings in all common areas, including our lobbies, and continue to observe social distancing. During phase two, we will continue to recommend customers wait to submit new or renewal applications as delays will continue.

Phase 3:  All remaining staff return to our agencies and centers, and we plan to resume normal operations. We will offer a processing time commitment for routine service and resume expedited service in this phase. You should continue to make an appointment to apply at an agency or center. We will continue to address applications on a first in, first out basis, focusing on the oldest applications. Staff and customers may wear cloth face coverings in common areas and we will encourage social distancing.

 

I know its talking about passport operations but I thought it might have the same rules or guidelines for routine visa interviews and it was interesting to see it written exactly what the phases are. 

 

So I think it has a lot to do with how many employees are back at the embassy like some suggested. 

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/passport-covid-19.html

[LilyJ 1,258]

On 6/30/2020 at 2:10 PM, Ellxtdan said:

Been lurking here every so often, but just wanted to say, I’m rooting for you and your husband LilyJ! You guys are so close!! 

 

Exciting to hear that Stockholm’s starting to reschedule interviews!

Thank you!! We are rooting for you, too!!!

[SarahSwede 55]

Anybody have a similar experience recently? 

We have been DQ since April, but have been just sitting around not expecting much.

Yesterday we got an email saying our interview has been cancelled. We never knew once had been scheduled. We figured it was just a system glitch. 

Today we got an email saying our expedited request was approved. We never applied for that. 

I don't want to get my hopes up that we might have an interview soon, but maybe it is some weird way they are working now?

[emma24 161]

My fiancé just told me that Norway will be opening borders for loved ones of Norwegian citizens. A form will just have to be filled out with evidence that you’ve had a relationship for longer than 9 months. So atleast I’ll be able to visit if the embassy doesn’t start processing K1s soon! 

[SkeletonNessa 8]

18 hours ago, emma24 said:

My fiancé just told me that Norway will be opening borders for loved ones of Norwegian citizens. A form will just have to be filled out with evidence that you’ve had a relationship for longer than 9 months. So atleast I’ll be able to visit if the embassy doesn’t start processing K1s soon! 

I hope it's not just talking about this link: https://www.udi.no/en/about-the-corona-situation/eueaa-national-or-family-member/#link-18188

Because that still only counts for EU/EEA citizens, and excludes fiance's who aren't planning on getting married in Norway(excluding 2 year cohabitants and people with children). 

Crossing my fingers they open it up so we can go visit. I've been worried about mailing my documents anyway, with how shipping delays and stuff are still going and it would be a lot less nerve wracking to be able to just go give my fiance the documents in person(and also see them-wah!) 

[emma24 161]

@SkeletonNessa Nope! See this link. https://www.udi.no/en/about-the-corona-situation/currently-not-in-norway-questions-and-answers-for-nationals-outside-eueea/#link-18294

 

My fiance and I just did a little digging  You would just have to quarantine for 10 days upon your arrival! Very exciting news!!

[emma24 161]

So I have a question....does anyone know the legality of working remotely for a US company while visiting in Norway? 

[OrihimeandIchigo 216]

On 7/10/2020 at 9:16 PM, SarahSwede said:

Anybody have a similar experience recently? 

We have been DQ since April, but have been just sitting around not expecting much.

Yesterday we got an email saying our interview has been cancelled. We never knew once had been scheduled. We figured it was just a system glitch. 

Today we got an email saying our expedited request was approved. We never applied for that. 

I don't want to get my hopes up that we might have an interview soon, but maybe it is some weird way they are working now?

Thats amazing and Congratulations 😊 Do you know when they scheduled your expedited interview for?

 

Yes, I've read on the forum where people got emails saying their expedited requests were approved and they didn't apply for it but it sounds wonderful and gives me hope that they'll schedule more surprise expedited interviews for mission critical applicants soon 😊

[SarahSwede 55]

1 hour ago, OrihimeandIchigo said:

Thats amazing and Congratulations 😊 Do you know when they scheduled your expedited interview for?

Haven't heard anything from the embassy at all, but I assume it's still in transit and maybe we will hear from them next week. Also since most of Sweden is on vacation I think it will still be awhile before we can get the medical done.

[OrihimeandIchigo 216]

11 hours ago, SarahSwede said:

Haven't heard anything from the embassy at all, but I assume it's still in transit and maybe we will hear from them next week. Also since most of Sweden is on vacation I think it will still be awhile before we can get the medical done.

This is true it is vacation time, but they do have 2 options for the medical to be done at so its hopeful at least one is still open 🙂 

 

Please keep us updated when your interview is scheduled, I'm so curious to know when they might be scheduling interviews. Thanks so much 😊

Edited July 12, 2020 by OrihimeandIchigo

[RandB 156]

Applied for my naturalization yesterday. I'm thankful that the Norwegian government changed the laws so dual citizenship is allowed. I would not have applied otherwise.

[Scandi 4,166]

47 minutes ago, RandB said:

Applied for my naturalization yesterday. I'm thankful that the Norwegian government changed the laws so dual citizenship is allowed. I would not have applied otherwise.

Yeah I don't think I would've either. Us Swedes have only been able to have dual since 2001, so that's not very long either.