THE SHORT ANSWER
A travel certificate is a document from your insurer showing that you have travel cover. Konsumenternas says you download it from your insurer and that it contains contact details for the emergency assistance centre. It is sometimes called a certificate of insurance or proof of insurance.
The certificate does not replace your policy schedule and terms, and it is not the same as the European Health Insurance Card from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. This guide shows where to find the certificate, what it shows, when you may need it and what insurance a relative needs to get a visa for Sweden. [1][2][7][4]
Keep these points in mind
- The certificate shows that you have travel cover and how to reach the emergency assistance centre.
- It only applies together with a policy that is in force.
- The European Health Insurance Card and the certificate answer different questions.
STEP BY STEP
How to check your cover
Get the certificate from the insurer that provides your travel cover
For ordinary holidays, Konsumenternas says home insurance includes travel cover, usually for up to 45 days. Konsumenternas says you download the travel certificate from your insurer. If you have separate travel insurance, you get the certificate from that insurer instead.
If you paid for the trip by card, the card may include travel cover. According to Konsumenternas, card insurance is a complement to the travel cover in home insurance and lacks, among other things, payment for medical costs and repatriation after illness or accidents. A certificate from the card therefore does not on its own show that medical care is included.
[1][3]Read what the certificate shows, and what it does not
Konsumenternas describes the travel certificate as proof that you are insured, with contact details for the emergency assistance centre. One insurer's travel certificate, retrieved in October 2026, also lists who the cover applies to, what it pays for and that it covers private trips during the first 45 days. It also has a section in English.
The same certificate says it only applies if you hold that insurer's home or house insurance, and refers to the terms for a full description. So check that the policy is in force for the whole trip. Konsumenternas also reminds travellers to make sure every fellow traveller is insured.
[1][2]Keep the certificate and the emergency number close at hand
If you fall acutely ill or are injured on the trip, Konsumenternas says to contact the emergency assistance centre your insurer works with, so you get the right care on the spot. The certificate above says the centre is open around the clock and that you report the event to the insurer as soon as you are able.
Konsumenternas also says to ask for a medical certificate and to keep receipts for all costs for care, medicine and travel. Keep the travel certificate both on your phone and on paper, so the emergency contact details are still at hand if something goes wrong.
[1][2]Show the right document when someone asks for it
If the country you are travelling to requires a visa or proof of insurance, ask that country's embassy what applies, such as the amount and the period. Then ask your insurer for a certificate showing exactly that. An example from the other direction: a Swedish embassy writes to visa applicants that the insurance certificate must show that the policy covers the whole period applied for, and that it may need to be shown at the border check.
For a flight delay, you also need evidence of the delay itself. Konsumenternas says a delay certificate from the airline is often needed, and that compensation may be paid if the outbound flight is delayed by 6, 8 or 12 hours or cancelled. Keep receipts for extra costs and take photos of boarding passes and confirmations.
[7][8]
The certificate and the European Health Insurance Card are different things
You order the European Health Insurance Card from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. It gives the right to necessary care during a temporary stay within the EU/EEA, Switzerland and the UK, on the same terms and at the same cost as the country's own residents. It applies mainly at public care providers and gives no right to payment for journeys back to Sweden, for example by air ambulance.
The card is valid for three years and delivery takes up to ten days. There are no digital cards. If you fall ill without the card, you or the care provider can call the agency and get a provisional certificate, but it cannot be issued before you travel. The agency says it is important to also have private travel insurance.
- The travel certificate: shows your private travel cover and how to reach the emergency assistance centre.
- The European Health Insurance Card: shows the right to necessary care in the EU/EEA, Switzerland and the UK.
- The policy schedule and terms: show what the agreement actually covers.
Inviting relatives to Sweden: the insurance for a visa
Konsumenternas says everyone visiting Sweden needs insurance covering medical costs for acute illness or accidents. If your relative comes from a country whose citizens need a visa for Sweden, visitor insurance is one of the requirements for the visa. It must be bought before arrival, and only a few Swedish insurers sell it.
The Swedish Migration Agency's checklist for visiting family and friends says the visitor must have individual medical travel insurance. It must cover costs for urgent medical care, urgent hospital care or transport to the home country for medical reasons, of at least 30 000 euro, and apply in all Schengen countries. As the person inviting, you fill in the agency's invitation form and order a special personal certificate for invitations from the Swedish Tax Agency. Visits longer than 90 days follow other rules, and Konsumenternas then refers to the Swedish Migration Agency.
[5][6]Get the certificate from the insurer, keep the terms together
Keep policy documents and terms in My Forsio. You have the documents in one place, and each detail shows the passage it came from, so you can read which people and which travel days the agreement states. If a document is missing, for example the card's terms, that part is shown as Not verified, not as confirmed absent.
Forsio issues no travel certificates and does not decide whether a document is accepted by an embassy or by the Swedish Migration Agency. Whoever sets the requirement decides that. Forsio is not an insurance intermediary and does not provide insurance advice.
Fictional example
One certificate, three things to check.
Lina is travelling for three weeks and has downloaded the travel certificate for her home insurance.
- Travel cover in the home insurance
- The first 45 days
- Partner covered
- Not verifiedThe policy schedule names only Lina.
- Cancellation cover
- Not in the policy schedulePotential gapMay exist in the card's terms, which have not been added.
The certificate confirms the travel cover, but not who is covered or what the card adds. The policy schedule and terms decide that.
Common questions
Where do I find my travel certificate?
With the insurer that provides your travel cover. Konsumenternas says you download the travel certificate from your insurer. For ordinary holidays, the travel cover is usually part of home insurance. If you have separate travel insurance, you get the certificate from that insurer. [1]
What is a travel certificate?
A document showing that you are insured on the trip and how to reach the emergency assistance centre. One insurer's certificate also lists who is covered, what the cover pays for and how long it lasts. The certificate only applies together with the policy, and the terms decide what is paid. [1][2]
Is the European Health Insurance Card travel insurance?
No. The card from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency gives the right to necessary care during a temporary stay within the EU/EEA, Switzerland and the UK, at the same cost as for the country's residents. It gives no right to payment for journeys back by air ambulance. The agency says it is important to also have private travel insurance. [4]
What travel insurance does the Swedish Migration Agency accept for a visa?
For visits to family and friends, the agency's checklist says the visitor must have individual medical travel insurance of at least 30 000 euro, valid in all Schengen countries and covering urgent medical care, urgent hospital care or transport to the home country for medical reasons. A Swedish embassy writes to visa applicants that the certificate must show the whole period is covered, and that automatic renewals are not accepted. [6][7]
Does my home insurance cover relatives who visit?
Do not assume so. Konsumenternas says everyone visiting Sweden needs insurance covering medical costs for acute illness or accidents, and that visitors who need a visa must have visitor insurance. It is bought before arrival. Read in your own policy schedule which people it names. [5]
What do I need to show when a flight is delayed?
Konsumenternas says a delay certificate from the airline is often needed. Keep receipts for extra costs and take photos of boarding passes and confirmations. Then report the delay to the insurer that provides your travel cover. [8]
MY FORSIO
Bring the documents together before you travel.
Keep policy documents and terms in one place in My Forsio. Read periods, people covered and details that need confirmation. Free for individuals.
Sources and references
Sources checked
This guide explains general principles of Swedish insurance. Your policy schedule and terms set out what applies to you.
- Konsumenternas: travel insurance before and during a trip abroad
- Example of an insurer's travel certificate, retrieved October 2026
- Konsumenternas: what card travel insurance contains
- Swedish Social Insurance Agency: the European Health Insurance Card and care abroad
- Konsumenternas: visitor insurance for a visa
- Swedish Migration Agency: visiting Sweden for up to 90 days with a visa
- Sweden Abroad: medical travel insurance for visa applicants
- Konsumenternas: claiming compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight