About us

Welcome to the Embassy of Sweden in Canberra

In 1851 the first Swedish-Norwegian Consuls were appointed in Sydney, Melbourne and Port Adelaide. The first Swedish Consul-General was appointed in 1906.

The Embassy of Sweden is one of the oldest embassies in Canberra, the building was inaugurated in 1951. The Embassy is a white two-storey building with Scandinavian features such as a copper roof and it is surrounded by a large garden.

The Embassy in Canberra consists of three sent-out diplomats from Stockholm, a Defense Attaché and seven locally engaged staff.
A central mission for the Embassy is to follow up and report on the development in the region, such as domestic political affairs including human rights, foreign policy, regional and multilateral cooperation, climate and environment as well as economy and trade.

Trade and Sweden Promotion play an important and comprehensive role in the Embassy's work. The Embassy can be found in social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. In 1911, the Swedish-Australian Chamber of Commerce was established, one of the first foreign chambers in Australia. Australia is Sweden's fourth largest export market outside Europe. Over 500 Swedish companies are represented in Australia, operating in the fields of mining, pharmaceuticals and med tech, transport, telecommunications, infrastructure and defense. Free Trade negotiations between the EU and Australia were initiated in 2018.

The consular support is a prioritized task. The Embassy's consular section assists Swedish citizens in need, in Australia and in countries within the Embassy's geographic area. There are about 10.000 Swedish citizens living in Australia and each year ca 45.000 Swedes visit Australia as tourists. Australia is the second most popular country outside the EU for Swedish students.

The Embassy's migration section handles applications about visas and residency permits for Sweden.

The role of the Embassy's Defense section is to represent the Swedish Armed Forces in Australia.

The Embassy in Canberra also handles Swedish relations with New Zealand, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Sweden has eight honorary consulates in Australia; Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

In New Zealand Sweden has two honorary consulates, in Auckland and Wellington.

Sweden also has honorary consulates in the South Pacific; Fiji (Suva), Solomon Islands (Honiara), Samoa (Apia), Tonga (Nuku'alofa) and Vanuatu (Port Vila).