Key takeaways
- Staying a year or more: register the move with Skatteverket, which leads to a personnummer; under a year, apply for a coordination number instead.
- The "Moving to Sweden" e-service takes your notification 14 days before you move at the earliest.
- Everyone moving with you goes to a state service centre in person for the identity check after you arrive.
- Each step unlocks the next: personnummer, then the ID card, then a bank account and BankID.
On this page · 8 sections
Newcomers to Sweden rarely lack information. What they lack is the order: which step unlocks which, and what you can do before the flight. This guide puts the first weeks in that order, using what Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) says on its own pages.
Want the dates worked out for your own landing day? Use the free first 30 days planner.
Before you fly
- Report the move online. Skatteverket's "Moving to Sweden" e-service takes your notification 14 days before you move at the earliest. Moving to Sweden (Skatteverket)
- Plan the identity check. You and the family members moving with you visit a state service centre in person after you arrive. Some centres only see people who have booked.
- A phone number from day one. A prepaid SIM is registered with your name, address and an identification number, checked against a valid identity document; it doesn't have to be a personnummer. Prepaid cards (PTS)
- An e-ID with your passport. If you hold an EU/EEA or UK passport, Digg (the agency for digital government) has approved an e-ID for people without a Swedish number, set up remotely by scanning the passport. Many services still ask for a personnummer.
Week 1: register (or apply for a coordination number)
If you'll stay a year or more, you're registered in the population register (folkbokföring), which leads to a personnummer. If you'll stay less than a year, you aren't registered: you apply for a coordination number (samordningsnummer) yourself, in Skatteverket's e-service, and book an identity check at a service centre. The number is issued after the check. Coordination numbers (Skatteverket)
Tip: Put your name on your mailbox. Letters from Skatteverket and the bank go to the address you registered.
Weeks 2 to 6: the personnummer arrives by post
Skatteverket's decision comes by letter. Waiting times vary. When it arrives, give the number to your employer straight away: payroll uses it for the regular tax table.
Then: the ID card, the bank and BankID
- ID card. With a personnummer you apply at a service centre; the fee is paid in advance. Most banks want it before they issue BankID.
- Bank account and BankID. Ask for both at the same meeting. Banks in Sweden must offer a payment account with basic features to consumers resident in the EU/EEA, but they still check your identity. The right to a payment account (Finansinspektionen)
- Staying under a year? A basic payment account with your coordination number is the realistic goal; BankID usually needs a personnummer.
In the first month at work
- Decide about an a-kassa. Since 1 October 2025 the time you've been a member decides how much unemployment benefit you could get, so the months count from the day you join. See a-kassa and income insurance.
- Choose a health centre (vårdcentral) once you have a personnummer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first thing to do after moving to Sweden?
If you'll stay a year or more, report the move to Skatteverket (you can do it in the e-service up to 14 days before you move) and go to a state service centre for the identity check. Everything else builds on the personnummer that follows.
Can I open a bank account without a personnummer?
Banks must offer a payment account with basic features to consumers resident in the EU/EEA, after checking identity. In practice a coordination number or a personnummer makes it easier, and BankID usually needs a personnummer.
How long does the personnummer take?
Skatteverket doesn't promise a time; the decision comes by post after the registration and the identity check. Plan for several weeks.
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.
More in our guide toSettling in SwedenRelocating to Sweden
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