Credit in Sweden: Why Newcomers Start From Zero

Swedish credit works differently from many countries. There is no score you build with a credit card; lenders ask a credit reporting company for a report about you.

What a Swedish credit report holds

• Income and property, from Skatteverket's tax register and the property tax register.
• Payment remarks: for a private person, normally only payment failures confirmed by a court or an authority, debt restructuring, suspended payments or a bankruptcy application.
• Lookups: some credit reporting companies record that a report was asked for.

You're registered automatically and can't ask to be removed. IMY: what's in the credit reporting registers

Why newcomers start with little

A newcomer has no Swedish income on file yet, so a report has little to say at first. In practice: open the account and BankID first, pay every bill on time, and leave loans and credit cards until you're settled.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is in a Swedish credit report?

Mainly economic information: income and property from Skatteverket's registers, payment remarks confirmed by a court or authority, and in some cases a record of earlier lookups.

Moving for work? How Settio helps

Settio helps employers and immigration and relocation agencies run the whole move in one place, so the person moving can focus on settling in:

• Before the move: one plan for the permit and the move, with every step and deadline. A partner and children get their own steps in the same household.
• After arrival: the employee portal shows the newcomer their next steps on their phone, in their language, from registering after arrival to help for settling in.
• When the permit runs out: permit monitoring flags the extension in good time.

HR teams and agencies can start for free. Moving yourself? Try our free tools for life in Sweden.

Sources

2 official sources

• IMY: what's in the credit reporting registers (in Swedish)
• IMY: how credit reporting works (in Swedish)