How does obligatory motor third party liability insurance work when you travel abroad with your Swedish-registered vehicle?
Motor third party liability insurance covers your liability as driver/owner for any damage caused by the vehicle. It also offers compensation to other people ('third parties') for damage to property or personal injury in accordance with tort liability law. In Sweden motor third party liability insurance also contains extended protection for the driver of the vehicle and for any passengers who are injured.
When travelling abroad we generally recommend that you take the vehicle's insurance papers and registration certificate with you. This is obligatory in some countries.
Your Swedish motor third party liability insurance is valid here
Your Swedish motor third party liability insurance is automatically valid in the following countries, this means that you do not need to take any special proof of insurance (green card):
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and United Kingdom.
You need a green card in these countries
If you are going to visit one of the following countries, on the other hand, you must have a green card as proof that your vehicle has motor third party liability insurance. The card shows that your Swedish motor third party liability insurance is valid in all the other countries in the green card system:
Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iran, Moldova, Morocco, Republic of North Macedonia, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine.
In special circumstances, a particular country or countries may be exempt from the validity of the green card. Find out what applies to your motor third party liability insurance and for the country you want to travel to.
Contact your insurance company before travelling and ask them to issue a green card for those countries you plan to visit that require a green card. If you travel to any of these countries without a green card, you will be obliged to take out special motor third party liability insurance at the border. A green card issued in Sweden is printed on green paper. Green cards issued in other countries may, from July 1, 2020, also be printed in black and white.
Contact your own insurance company for information on additional protection for damage to your vehicle (physical damage to vehicles insurance), towing assistance etc. (rescue insurance) and other insurance products that may come in useful on your trip abroad.