Swedish custody runs on fixed legal deadlines, not on bail. Here is what police and prosecutors may do, how long each step can last, the rights you should claim out loud, and the one rule that makes visitors easier to hold than locals.
When you need this
An officer asks you to come to the station “for a talk”. Someone in your group has been taken into custody after a night out. Police are holding everyone at the scene of a fight. Or you have been told you may not leave Sweden, and your flight is in two days.
This guide covers what happens once you are questioned or held on suspicion of a crime. What officers may do on the street — frisks, security zones, asking for police ID — is in our guide to the Swedish police. What your embassy will and won’t do is in your embassy in Sweden.
Three things to say first
Swedish law gives a suspect these rights, but several only work if you ask:
- “I want a lawyer.” If you are arrested or remanded, the court must appoint a public defence counsel (offentlig försvarare) when you ask. You may also propose a specific lawyer.
- “I need an interpreter.” You have a right to one in questioning, in court and when talking to your lawyer, plus translation of the key documents.
- “Please inform my consulate.” The police tell your consulate only on your request, and then without delay.
You also have the right not to comment on the suspicion and not to help investigate your own guilt. Give your name, though: refusing it can itself be a ground for custody.
Questioned or arrested?
Swedish has separate words for each step, and they are not interchangeable.
| Status | Swedish | Who decides | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Held for questioning, not arrested | förhör | Police | 6 hours; 6 more for a possible suspect if of exceptional importance |
| Apprehended | gripen | A police officer, in an urgent case | Until questioned “as soon as possible”; then the prosecutor decides at once |
| Arrested | anhållen | A prosecutor | Until the remand hearing, at most four days after apprehension |
| Remanded in custody | häktad | A district court | Prosecution deadline set by the court; up to nine months before charges |
Once questioning ends or your six hours are up, you may leave. Without exceptional reasons, you cannot be called back to a new questioning within 12 hours. During questioning you can be told to hand over your phone temporarily, if the investigation could otherwise be hampered. It must be given back when your duty to stay ends.
The custody timeline
If you are apprehended, you must be told the offence you are suspected of and the ground for holding you. If you are arrested or remanded, you may also see the circumstances behind the decision. You also get your rights in writing, in a language you understand.
| Step | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Questioning after apprehension | As soon as possible |
| Prosecutor’s decision to arrest or release | Immediately after that questioning |
| Prosecutor’s request to remand | By 12 noon on the third day after the arrest decision, or release |
| Remand hearing in court | Never later than four days after the apprehension |
| Prosecution | Within the time the court sets; the prosecution authority says normally 14 days |
| New remand hearing if no charge | At least every two weeks |
In practice, remand can be long. The Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården) says many people stay up to three or four months, and over a year is very unusual. A court may also allow restriktioner: limits on calls, visits and letters, granted only where there is a risk you would interfere with the investigation.
No bail, and why visitors are easier to remand
Sweden has no bail. The EU’s official e-Justice portal puts it in one line: release on bail is not possible in Sweden. You are released, given a travel ban or reporting duty, or remanded.
Normal remand needs probable cause for a crime carrying at least a year in prison, plus a risk that you flee, destroy evidence or reoffend. It is never allowed if only a fine is expected. But one rule is written with visitors in mind. If you have no home in Sweden and may leave to avoid prosecution, you can be remanded for any offence, however minor. The same applies if your identity is unknown and you refuse to give, or falsify, your name and address.
The lighter alternative is a reseförbud (travel ban) or a duty to report to the police. Either can be imposed for any offence if there is a risk you would leave the country. If the prosecutor sets the ban, you can take it to court, which must hear it by the fourth day unless there is an exceptional obstacle. Unless the court sets a time, the prosecution must follow within one month. Breaking the ban is no shortcut home: you must then be arrested or remanded at once, unless there are obviously no grounds.
Your rights in questioning
When police tell you that you are reasonably suspected, they must also tell you your rights:
- a defence lawyer, and in some cases a state-paid public defence counsel; you may waive this and change your mind later
- an interpreter and translation of the documents you need
- information about changes to the suspicion and access to the investigation material, as the law allows
- not having to comment on the suspicion or help investigate your own guilt
You have the right to have your lawyer present at questioning. The police may not use deliberately false information, promises, threats, force or exhaustion to get a statement, and may not deny you normal meals or necessary rest. For a written record of your statement, you must be given the chance to read it and to object; objections are noted.
Since 1 July 2026 questioning is recorded on video as the main rule, and that recording can be used as evidence at trial unless it would be inappropriate. In other words, your first unassisted answers can follow you into the courtroom. This is why “lawyer first” matters.
Family and embassy: who gets told
There is no “one phone call” in Swedish law. What the statute gives anyone apprehended, arrested or remanded is the right to have a close relative, or someone especially close, informed as soon as possible. The investigation leader may postpone that if it would substantially hamper the investigation. If you refuse, nobody is told unless there are exceptional reasons.
Your consulate is a separate request. Swedish law obliges the authority holding you to inform it without delay if you ask, and to tell you about that right in writing if you are held on suspicion of a crime. The embassy gives you a list of lawyers; the Swedish court appoints your public defence counsel.
For family at home, the consulate and the lawyer are the two channels that can reach a detained person. Keep the lawyer’s name and the case number.
Fines you’re asked to sign
Most small cases never reach a courtroom. An officer may offer an ordningsbot (on-the-spot fine), or a prosecutor a strafföreläggande (fine order). To approve a fine order you sign that you admit the act and accept the penalty. An approved fine of either kind has the force of a final judgment, so it is a conviction. If you dispute it, don’t sign; ask for a translation first. The case then goes the ordinary way, with your rights to a lawyer and interpreter. See fines from Sweden for paying one from abroad.
Drunk custody is not an arrest
Police can take into custody someone found so intoxicated that they cannot look after themselves, or are a danger to themselves or others. This LOB custody is not used in the person’s own home. It is not a criminal case: you are told why, released as soon as it is safe, and always within eight hours. If a friend vanished in a police car after a night out, this is the likely explanation. Festivals, Midsummer and New Year bring more of it; see drinking in public.
What changed in 2026
Three changes to the Code of Judicial Procedure make older guides out of date:
| From | Change |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 | Questioning must as a rule be video-recorded; recorded statements can be used at trial unless inappropriate |
| 1 July 2026 | Police may hold a group at the scene of a recent crime with a four-year minimum sentence for one hour, two at most, to identify them |
| 1 August 2026 | The remand presumption now also covers attempt, preparation or conspiracy to crimes with a four-year minimum, and certain integrity and honour offences |
Compensation: if you were remanded and the case is dropped or you are acquitted, you have a statutory right to compensation. An arrest of at least 24 hours in a row also counts.
Practical information
| Item | Rule or cost |
|---|---|
| Questioning when not arrested | Max 6 hours; 6 more for a possible suspect in exceptional cases |
| Remand request | By 12 noon on day three after the arrest decision |
| Remand hearing | Within four days of apprehension |
| Remand before prosecution | Max nine months unless exceptional reasons |
| Drunk custody (LOB) | Released within eight hours at most |
| Group holding at a crime scene | 1 hour, plus 1 in exceptional cases |
| Bail | Not available |
| Public defence counsel | State pays; if convicted you may repay part or all, normally capped at twice the legal-aid fee |
| Your own private lawyer | Your cost |
| Blood, urine or saliva tests | Reclaimed from you if convicted |
| Compensation after wrongful remand | Statutory right; amount assessed case by case |
FAQ
Do I have to answer police questions in Sweden?
No. A suspect has the right not to comment on the suspicion and not to help investigate their own guilt, and police must tell you so when they inform you of the suspicion. You still have to stay for questioning for up to six hours if not arrested, and giving your name matters: refusing it can itself lead to custody. Ask for a lawyer and an interpreter first.
How long can Swedish police hold me?
If you are not arrested, six hours for questioning, plus six more for a possible suspect in exceptional cases. If you are arrested, the prosecutor must ask a court to remand you by noon on the third day, and the court must hold the hearing within four days of your apprehension. A remanded suspect can be held up to nine months before prosecution.
Is there bail in Sweden?
No. The EU’s official justice portal states that release on bail is not possible in Sweden. Instead, the prosecutor or court releases you, imposes a travel ban or a duty to report to the police, or the court remands you in custody. For a visitor, a travel ban can mean staying in Sweden until the case is decided.
Can I get a free lawyer if I’m arrested in Sweden?
Yes, on request. If you are arrested or remanded, the court must appoint a public defence counsel when you ask, and you may propose a specific lawyer. The state pays up front; if you are convicted, you may have to repay some or all of it, depending on your finances. You also have the right to have your lawyer present at questioning.
Will the police tell my family or embassy?
Only if you ask. You have the right to have a close relative or someone close to you informed as soon as possible, though the investigation leader can postpone that to protect the investigation. Your consulate must be informed without delay on your request, and you must be told of that right in writing in a language you understand.
Can I leave Sweden if I am suspected of a crime?
Not always. If there is a risk you would leave to avoid prosecution, a prosecutor or court can impose a travel ban or reporting duty, or remand you, and having no home in Sweden is itself a ground for remand for any offence. If you were released without such a decision, ask the investigator whether you are free to travel.
Should I sign a fine the police or prosecutor offer me?
Only if you accept that you committed the offence. Signing an ordningsbot or approving a strafföreläggande has the force of a final judgment, so it is a conviction. If you dispute it, do not sign; the case then goes the ordinary way, with your rights to a lawyer and interpreter.
Related guides
- The Swedish police — what officers may do on the street, from frisks to security zones.
- Your embassy in Sweden — what consular help covers if you are detained, and what it doesn’t.
- Do you have to carry ID in Sweden? — the passport duty police can enforce on visitors.
- Drugs in Sweden — why use alone is a crime and how testing follows suspicion.
- Swedish laws tourists break — the offences most likely to bring you into contact with police.
Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges Riksdag (Rättegångsbalken, förundersökningskungörelsen, Lag 1976:511, Lag 1998:714, Lag 1989:152), Svensk författningssamling (SFS 2026:566, 2026:967, 2026:1319), Åklagarmyndigheten, the European e-Justice Portal, Kriminalvården, Polismyndigheten — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.