Have you bought a nice old chest on auction, and plan to take it with you abroad? Then you should consider applying for an export permit. The law on relics of ancient culture stipulates that old, cultural objects cannot be taken outside of Sweden without a special permit, in order to protect Sweden's cultural heritage.

Numerous cultural objects disappear from Sweden every year. Many of these items require one, or both, of two kinds of permits. The objects that need permits to be taken abroad are often vital to the national, cultural heritage, and could help us understand ancient cultures. Usually, the object should be older than a hundred years, or be worth more than SEK 50,000. It is hard to say how many relics leave the country unauthorized, but the number of unrecorded cases is believed to be large.

The export permit is required if an item will be brought outside the European Union, in addition to another permit for exportation of cultural relics. The criteria for the export permit depends on whether the relic will be exported to another EU member state, or to a non-EU country. For the export permit, the object's economic value is more important than its age. The export permit is necessary if, for example, a painting is worth more than EUR 150,000. Consequently, both a permit for exportation of cultural relics and an export is needed if you will bring cultural objects outside the EU.

You can get application forms from the National Heritage Board, which is also where you send the applications. Five different authorities with expert knowledge make the actual decisions. The Royal Library (KB) and the National Archives take care of applications concerning books and scripts. The National Museum for cultural history is responsible for furniture, and the National Museum with the museum Prince Eugene's Waldemarsudde, make decisions about various kinds of art work. The National Heritage Board is in charge of ancient relics and archaeological objects, among other things.

Export will not be denied in certain cases. This applies to cases wherein the owner of the object moves abroad, if someone outside of Sweden inherits the relic or if it is temporarily loaned to a foreign exhibition. Nonetheless, even in these cases you have to file an application. This procedure makes it easier for customs authorities to control that objects of cultural-historical significance do not leave Sweden without proper authorization.

Contact:

Anna-Gretha Eriksson - Department for Sustainable Management. Phone: +46 8 5191 8243.
Linda Danielsson - Registrar, for application forms Phone: +46 8 5191 8116.

See also:
Objects prohibited to export - furniture and inventories prohibited to export outside of the European Union.