Relocating to Sweden: First 90 Days Checklist

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Why the first 90 days matter
Week 1: Registration
Weeks 2 to 6: Waiting for the personnummer
Month 2: Tax and family
Month 3: Permit housekeeping
What HR can provide on day one
Moving for work? How Settio helps
Sources

Why the first 90 days matter

A new hire's first months in Sweden are full of steps that depend on each other: population registration leads to a personal identity number (personnummer), and much of daily life, from healthcare on resident terms to most e-services, follows from that. A simple plan, shared between HR and the employee, keeps those steps moving.

Week 1: Registration

Notify Skatteverket of the move. Anyone who plans to live in Sweden for one year or more should be listed in the population register (folkbokföring). The notification is made in Skatteverket's "Moving to Sweden" e-service, logging in with an eID or the Freja app, and can be sent up to 14 days before the move. Each family member needs their own notification.
Book the identity check. After arriving, the employee and each family member must visit a state service centre in person. Book through the link on the receipt, and bring the original passport and the residence permit card.
Use the real home address. Enter the address accurately, including the apartment number, and make sure the employee's name is where the post is delivered. Report any later change of address to Skatteverket.
Staying less than a year? Then the employee should not be registered, and may need a coordination number (samordningsnummer) instead. Someone staying less than a year can apply for one themselves, and authorities can request one; either way it needs an identity check at a service office.

Weeks 2 to 6: Waiting for the personnummer

Expect a wait. Skatteverket says it takes about five weeks for a moving-to-Sweden case to reach an administrator, and the decision comes by post.
Healthcare in the meantime. According to 1177, someone with a residence permit who is not yet registered pays the full cost of care, and someone working in Sweden for more than 12 months needs to be registered to get care on resident terms. Make sure the employee knows this before the first doctor's visit.
Banking and e-ID. Ask the bank what it needs to open an account and issue an e-ID, and open the account as early as the bank allows.

Month 2: Tax and family

Check how tax is withheld. SINK, the special income tax for non-residents, is for people who will stay in Sweden for less than six months. The rate is 22.5% in 2026 and falls to 20% from 1 January 2027. The employer can apply on the employee's behalf, and a new application is needed each income year. Check with payroll which applies.
School and preschool. Contact the municipality where the family lives as soon as the address is settled.
Family members following later. Family members who do not apply together with the employee submit their own application. From 1 October 2026, the maintenance requirement for family members of employees is also checked at extension, so plan the family's housing and income with that in mind.

Month 3: Permit housekeeping

Check the permit conditions. A new occupation, entirely new duties or a new employer needs a new work permit application. If anything in the role is changing, talk to HR first.
Note the extension window. An extension can be made no more than two months before the current permit expires and must be registered before it expires. Put a reminder in the calendar a few weeks before that window opens, so the documents are ready.

What HR can provide on day one

Help with the "Moving to Sweden" notification and a booked identity check
An employment certificate (anställningsintyg) for banks and landlords
A copy of the permit decision and the residence permit card details
A contacts list: HR, payroll and any relocation support
This checklist, adapted to the company's own support

Settio's case workspace includes a post-arrival checklist that HR and the employee complete together, so nothing is missed and every step is logged.

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

7 official sources

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Relocating to Sweden: The First 90 Days Checklist for International Employees