Sweden's Sex Purchase Law: The Nordic Model Explained

Sweden punishes the buyer, not the seller. Here is how the law works, what changed in 2022, 2025 and 2026, where it reaches abroad, and what a conviction means for a foreign visitor.

When you need this

You come from a country where paying for sex is legal and want to know where Sweden stands. You saw an escort advert or a “massage” offer and wonder what is allowed. You want to know whether paying for a webcam show from your hotel room is covered. Or you live in Sweden and are travelling somewhere buying sex is legal, and someone told you Swedish law follows you. It sometimes does.

How the Nordic model works

Sweden criminalised the purchase of sex on 1 January 1999 with the sex-purchase act (sexköpslagen), the first country in the world to do so. The idea was to punish only the buyer. The Swedish Gender Equality Agency puts the reasoning plainly: it is not reasonable to prosecute the party that is usually in the weaker position, and the law should strengthen the seller’s position and reduce demand.

Norway, Iceland, France, Ireland, Israel, Northern Ireland and Canada have since adopted similar laws, which is why the approach is called the Nordic or Swedish model. Don’t assume the details match Sweden’s, though; each country wrote its own statute.

In 2005 the offence moved into the Penal Code (brottsbalken), where it is now chapter 6, section 11. It has been tightened three times since:

What counts as buying sex, and what doesn’t

The offence is getting a person, in return for payment, to perform or endure a sexual act, mainly so that you can take part in it or have it shown to you. It doesn’t matter if someone else promised or paid the money. An attempt is punishable too, so you can be prosecuted even if nothing happened.

Since 1 July 2025 the “shown to you” part covers acts without physical contact. The government bill behind the change spells out what that means:

The dividing line is the “main purpose” test. Buying access to material made for everyone is pornography, not this offence. Paying someone to perform an act for you, live or recorded, is the offence. The old name, “purchase of a sexual service” (köp av sexuell tjänst), was replaced in 2025, so pages still using it are describing the earlier law.

Penalties since 2022

The scale is imprisonment for up to one year. Until 1 August 2022 it started at a fine, and many English pages still say buyers “risk a fine”. That is out of date.

When the minimum was raised, the government said the nature of the crime does not create a presumption that the sentence must be prison. A non-custodial sentence such as a conditional sentence remains possible, so prison is not automatic. But the conviction is still for a crime whose scale has no fine, and for a foreigner that matters, as the next section explains.

Warning: Older pages that say buyers in Sweden “only get a fine” describe the law before 1 August 2022. Since then, a fine alone is no longer a possible sentence.

What it means for visitors

The law applies to anyone who acts in Sweden. Your nationality and the law at home are irrelevant. The same goes for remote purchases: a crime counts as committed in Sweden if the offender acted here, so paying a performer abroad for a live-streamed act from a Swedish hotel room is a Swedish offence.

Since 1 September 2026, new expulsion rules in the Aliens Act also apply. A foreigner convicted to a penalty stricter than a fine shall be expelled if the conditions for their category are met and the reasons for expulsion outweigh those against, and the prosecutor must ask the court to consider it. Because the sex-purchase scale no longer has a fine, a conviction passes that first test. Whether a court actually expels someone is a weighing in each case.

For the general picture of what police may ask and how they work, see the Swedish police, and for other rules visitors trip over, Swedish laws tourists break without knowing.

Buying sex abroad: when Swedish law follows you

The common claim that “the law doesn’t apply to Swedes abroad” is too simple. Swedish courts can try crimes committed abroad by Swedish citizens and residents, including people who become citizens or residents before prosecution. For adult sex purchase, though, there is a dual-criminality requirement: the act must also be a crime where it happened, and the Swedish court can’t impose a harsher penalty than local law allows.

So a Swedish resident buying sex in a country where that is legal cannot be tried in Sweden; the government’s 2025 bill says so explicitly. But buying sex in a country that also bans it can be tried here. And buying sex from a person under 18 is excluded from the dual-criminality requirement altogether: it can be tried in Sweden whatever the local law says.

Whether to remove dual criminality for adult purchases abroad comes up in parliament regularly. An interpellation to the Minister for Justice in June 2026 asked exactly that and was withdrawn in August without an answer. No bill has been put forward.

Selling sex, procuring and children

Selling is not a crime under the Penal Code. Chapter 6 punishes the buyer and anyone who promotes or exploits the sale, not the person selling.

That does not mean selling is risk-free for a foreigner. A visitor from outside the EU/EEA may be refused entry if it can be assumed they will not support themselves “in an honest way”, and in 2012 the Parliamentary Ombudsman accepted that selling sex was treated as such, citing the preparatory works. EU citizens have a right of residence that can be overridden only on public-order grounds.

Procuring (koppleri), promoting or improperly profiting from someone else’s sale, carries up to four years, and gross procuring two to ten. A rule that surprises people: if you let out a flat and learn it is used wholly or largely for paid sex, and you don’t do what can reasonably be expected to end the letting, you are treated as promoting it if the activity continues.

Children are protected far more strictly. Buying a sexual act from someone under 18 carries six months to four years, or up to one year if less serious, and carelessness about age is enough for liability. Not knowing is no defence if you should have checked.

Sweden’s other sexual-offence rule that binds every visitor is consent: sex with someone who is not participating voluntarily is rape. That is covered in Sweden’s consent law and, with the wider context, in gender equality in everyday Sweden.

Where to get help

If someone seems to be controlled, underage or trafficked, call 112 in an emergency or 114 14 for a police tip-off. Both are answered in English. How to make a report as a visitor is in reporting a crime as a visitor.

Practical information

FAQ

Is prostitution legal in Sweden?

Selling sex is not a crime in Sweden, but buying it is. Since 1999 the buyer commits an offence, now called köp av sexuell handling, punishable by up to one year in prison. Procuring, meaning promoting or profiting from someone else’s sale, is also a crime. So prostitution is not legal as a trade: the law targets the buyer and anyone profiting, not the person selling.

What is the penalty for buying sex in Sweden?

Imprisonment for up to one year. Until 1 August 2022 the scale started at a fine; since then it starts at imprisonment. The government has said there is no presumption that the sentence must be prison, so a conditional sentence is possible. Buying from someone under 18 is a separate crime with six months to four years.

Does the law apply to tourists?

Yes. A crime is committed in Sweden if the offender acted here, whatever their nationality or the law in their home country. Since 1 September 2026 a foreigner convicted to a penalty stricter than a fine must be considered for expulsion, and the sex-purchase scale has no fine. EEA citizens can be expelled only on public-order or security grounds.

Is paying for a webcam show illegal in Sweden?

It can be. Since 1 July 2025 the offence covers paying someone to perform a sexual act mainly so that it is shown to you, for example in a live stream, photo or film made for you. Phone sex and text-only chat are not covered, and neither is buying ordinary porn made for a general audience.

Can Swedes be prosecuted for buying sex abroad?

Only in some cases. Swedish courts can try acts abroad by Swedish citizens and residents, but for adult sex purchase the act must also be a crime where it happened. Buying in a country where it is legal cannot be tried in Sweden. Buying from someone under 18 can be tried regardless of local law.

Is selling sex legal for foreigners in Sweden?

Selling is not a crime under the Penal Code. But a non-EU visitor may be refused entry if they are assumed not to support themselves honestly, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman accepted in 2012 that selling sex was treated as such. EU citizens have a right of residence that can be limited only on public-order grounds.

Related guides

• Gender equality in everyday Sweden — the policy context, and how consent and the sex-purchase ban fit into Swedish norms
• Sweden’s consent law — the other sexual-offence rule that binds every visitor
• Swedish laws tourists break without knowing — the rest of the list
• The Swedish police — what officers may ask and how to reach them
• Is Sweden safe? — the wider safety picture for visitors
• Dating in Sweden — norms on a date, and where the legal lines are

Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Brottsbalken 1962:700, Utlänningslagen 2005:716, interpellation 2025/26:569), Regeringen (Prop. 2024/25:124), Jämställdhetsmyndigheten, Riksdagens ombudsmän and Polismyndigheten — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not legal advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.