Healthcare and Social Insurance After Moving to Sweden: A Newcomer's Guide (2026)

Swedish healthcare and social insurance are generous, but for newcomers they depend on registration. You may be covered at work from the start and still pay full price at the doctor because you aren't in the population register yet. This guide explains the difference, so employees know when they're covered and HR knows where the gaps are.

Healthcare: it starts when you're registered

• Registered (folkbokförd): care on the same terms as people insured in Sweden.
• Residence permit but not registered yet: you pay the full cost of care until you are registered.
• Stay under a year (no registration): you are not registered, so the same applies. That's one reason employment of a year or less requires comprehensive health insurance.

The wait between reporting your move and getting a case officer at Skatteverket alone was about five weeks when we checked. Employers can cover the gap by keeping a private health insurance policy in place until the personnummer arrives. Visitors from Australia, Algeria, Israel, Türkiye and Québec can get some care at the same cost as residents under healthcare agreements.

Using the system

• 1177: the healthcare advice line and 1177.se, where you can read about care and find where to get it.
• 112: emergencies.
• Health centre (vårdcentral): choose one once you're registered. It's your first stop for anything that isn't an emergency.
• High-cost cap: in 2026 you pay at most SEK 1,450 in 12 months for outpatient visits, and a region can set a lower amount. After that you get a free-care card (frikort) that is valid in every region. Most prescription medicines have their own high-cost protection.

Social insurance: two kinds of cover

Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency) covers people in two ways:

Based on	Gives you	Needs
Living in Sweden	Child allowance, housing allowance, parental benefit at the basic and minimum levels	Living in Sweden
Working in Sweden	Sickness benefit, occupational injury compensation, parental benefit at the sickness benefit and basic levels	Working, or having worked, in Sweden

People who work in Sweden but aren't registered in the population register must notify Försäkringskassan. The employer pays sick pay for up to the first 14 calendar days of sickness. After that the employee can apply for sickness benefit from Försäkringskassan.

Parental benefit and child allowance

• Parental benefit: 480 days per child. 390 days are paid at the sickness benefit level, based on income, and 90 at a minimum level of SEK 180 a day. Each parent has 90 days at the sickness benefit level that can't be transferred to the other.
• Child allowance (barnbidrag): SEK 1,250 a month per child, with a large-family supplement from the second child. You don't apply for it: it is paid automatically.

Which level of parental benefit you get depends on your situation. Ask Försäkringskassan.

Benefits people miss

Sick pay, holiday, dental support and child benefit are summed up in benefits newcomers miss in Sweden, and adult dental support in dental care for adults.

Workplace insurance from the employer

For a work permit the employer must have health, life, occupational injury and occupational pension insurance in place by the employee's start date. When the permit is extended, Migrationsverket checks that the conditions of employment were met throughout the permit period.

Checklist for HR

1. Permit of a year or less: confirm comprehensive health insurance for the whole stay.
2. Longer permit: cover the weeks before registration with private insurance, or tell the employee clearly that they'll pay full price until then.
3. Make sure the workplace insurances start on day one, and keep proof for the extension.
4. Give new arrivals 1177 and 112 on their first day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do work permit holders get free healthcare in Sweden?

Once they are registered in the population register (folkbokförda), they get care on the same terms as people insured in Sweden. Patient fees still apply, capped at SEK 1,450 for outpatient visits per 12 months in 2026 (a region can set a lower cap). Before registration, care is charged at full cost.

Why do short Swedish work permits require health insurance?

People staying less than a year are generally not registered as living in Sweden, and people who aren't registered pay the full cost of care. Since 1 June 2026 employees whose employment lasts up to a year must have comprehensive health insurance for the whole stay.

Do I need to register with Försäkringskassan when I move to Sweden?

If you work in Sweden but are not registered in the population register, you must notify Försäkringskassan, preferably through My pages (Mina sidor) or on form 5456. Ask Försäkringskassan what applies to you.

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

10 official sources

• 1177: Care for people from other countries
• 1177: High-cost protection for outpatient care
• Försäkringskassan: Insured in Sweden
• Försäkringskassan: Work in Sweden
• Försäkringskassan: Parental benefit
• Försäkringskassan: Child allowance and large-family supplement
• Försäkringskassan: Sick pay
• Migrationsverket: Work permit requirements, including insurance
• Migrationsverket: Extending a work permit
• Skatteverket: Processing times for folkbokföring