How to Get a Swedish Personal Number & Swedish ID

Congratulations on moving to Sweden! Now that you have arrived in Sweden, you will experience a lot of “firsts”. And, one of the first things you should do on your first week in Sweden is to register in the Swedish Population Register to get a Swedish personal number or personnummer.

A personal number is your identity in Sweden and you will be using the same number for the rest of your life. Just like in other countries, you will get some form of identity number. In Sweden, it’s either a Swedish personal number (personnummer) or coordination number (samordningsnummer).

A coordination number will be your identity number if you are not registered in Sweden. Since it is a different form of identification in Sweden, this post will only focus on how to get a Swedish personal number.

Your life in Sweden without a personal number is not going to be easy! It is essential to your day-to-day life in Sweden. A personnummer is a 12-digit number (YYYYMMDD-XXXX) where the first 8-digits are your birth date, the next three are your birth number, and the last number is the control number.

The second to the last number is your sex. An even number if your legal sex is female, and an odd number if your legal sex is male.

If you have a Swedish personal number, you can

• easily access the healthcare services 
• open a bank account 
• get a bank ID which will be used for almost everything online
• sign a contract (usually the bank ID is used) 
• register your children at daycare or school
• register as a jobseeker at Swedish Public Employment Service
• take the free Swedish course called SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) or SFX (Swedish for trained professionals)
• basically everything in Sweden

To register in the Swedish Population Register (folkbokförd) you need to inform the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) that you have moved to Sweden.

Skatteverket is a government agency in Sweden responsible for national tax collection and administering population registration.

Regardless of whether you are an EU or non-EU citizen, if you are planning to live in Sweden for at least 12 months, you must be registered in the Swedish Population Register.

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How to get a Swedish personal number (personnummer)

Skatteverket has developed a service where you can fill out the application form and answer some questions related to your move and plans in Sweden.

Registering in the Swedish Population Register (folkbokförd) is free.

1. Use the Move to Sweden service 

The Move to Sweden service is an online application form where you will need to provide information about the following:

1. Personal information
2. Details about your move to Sweden such as arrival date and the reason why you moved to Sweden
3. Current address in Sweden
4. Your right to reside in Sweden: Swedish residence permit or right of residence as an EU-citizen
5. Contact information
6. The additional information you wish to mention

In the additional information section, you can add more details that you think will support your application. 

For example, my husband’s Swedish residence permit card is valid for less than a year only because of his passport’s validity. This will not qualify him in getting a Swedish personal number, but he specified in the application form the reason why he was not able to renew his passport. 

He also mentioned that he has the intention to live in Sweden as long as I live in Sweden. 

2. Print the application form

Once you are done filling out the online application form, you can review it and make sure you did not miss anything. 

Print it out and bring it to Skatteverket. 

3. Prepare the required documents

In general, you need to bring your passport and Swedish residence permit card. Skatteverket will also require you to bring additional documents if you are:

1. A Swedish citizen
2. A citizen of a Nordic country
3. A citizen of an EU or EEA country
4. A citizen of a non-EU or EEA country or stateless
5. Belong to a family that lives in or is moving to Sweden

For more information, visit Skatteverket and choose which one best applies to you.

Citizen of a non-EU country

• Passport
• Swedish residence permit card.
• Documents showing your civil status, e.g., marriage certificate. No need to show your civil status if you are unmarried.
• Birth certificate, if you have children.

Belong to a family that lives in Sweden

My husband moved to Sweden 2 years later. Aside from bringing his passport and Swedish residence permit card, he also had to bring documents showing his family relationship. 

We got married in Stockholm last year, so he only provided our marriage certificate issued by Skatteverket. 

4. Visit the Skatteverket

You don’t have to book an appointment when submitting your documents anymore. Find the nearest Skatteverket office.

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Processing time for a personnummer

After you submitted your application, you need to wait at least 4 weeks to get your Swedish personal number. It depends on how lucky you are, some people reported that they received it within a week.

When my husband applied for a personnummer in November 2020, he got a letter & was approved on April 1, 2021.

You can call Skatteverket at 0771-567 567 to get a status, but it will not speed up the process. You can ask for your case number so you will have a reference.

When you received your Swedish personal number

1. You will be registered as living in a building with an address from your application.
2. Your civil status will be registered
3. Your relationship with your spouse or partner, children, or parent will be registered.

Related post: Are you curious to know if living in Stockholm is expensive or not? I created a detailed post about the cost of living in Stockholm & and what our monthly expenses look like.

How to get a Swedish ID card

As soon as you get your Swedish personal number, you can then apply for a Swedish ID. The application fee is 400 SEK.

Conditions for a Swedish ID

• Must be registered in Sweden. This means you should have a Swedish personal number. 
• Must be at least 13 years old (you need a guardian’s approval if you are below 18).
• Must have paid the application fee of 400 SEK. You need to bring your proof of payment.
• Must have proof of identity such as a Swedish residence permit card. 

Book an appointment

Not all Skatteverket offices can issue a Swedish ID. You can find the list of offices that issue ID cards and book an appointment on Skatteverket’s online service.

1. Choose ID card for the type of appointment. 
2. Click Make an appointment. 
3. Choose the service center, input the number of people applying for the Swedish ID, and choose a date to search time. You can also find the first available time. 
4. Select a time.
5. Provide your first and last name, and select which proof of identity you are going to bring. 
6. Provide your contact information.
7. Keep note of the payment information. 
8. Confirm your booking.

Pay the application fee

Don’t forget to indicate your personnummer in the OCR or message field when paying the application fee. 

The application fee is not refundable. 

If payment is from a Swedish bank account:

Bankgiro:
389-0100 (Swedbank)

OCR:
The personal number of the applicant

If payment is from abroad:

Iban (International Bank Account Number)
SE55 1200 0000 0128 1012 1613

Swift/BIC
DABASESX

Danske Bank
Norrmalmstorg 1
S-103 92 Stockholm

Visit Skatteverket 

When you visit the Skatteverket at your booked time, your photograph and height will be taken. You will also need to write your signature. This will appear on your Swedish ID card. 

Once you are done, you will get a confirmation letter. You will need to bring this when you pick up your card.

Previously, the Swedish ID can be delivered to your home. Now, you need to pick it up at your selected Skatteverket office. 

Check your full name in your Swedish residence permit card & the letter you received when your personnummer was granted. In the Philippines, we usually use our middle initial only. But, in Sweden, the middle name will either be added to the first or last name.

When my husband applied for a Swedish ID, his Swedish residence permit card doesn’t have his middle name, but it is attached to his personnummer. So, his residence permit card wasn’t accepted as proof of his identity.

Luckily, I went with him so I became the attestor. This is the person who can certify your application details.

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Processing time for a Swedish ID card

The processing time for a Swedish ID card is around 2 weeks. It may take longer if they need to investigate your application further.

You will get a notification by post or by SMS when your card is ready for pick up. The letter will contain your PIN or PUK code for your e-identification.

When you pick up your Swedish ID card, you need to bring your letter excluding the PIN or PUK code.

What to do next when you get a Swedish personal number & Swedish ID card

You can now open a Swedish bank account as soon as you get your Swedish personal number & Swedish ID card.

If you are on a work permit or student visa, you can open a bank account while waiting for your Swedish personal number. Just a disclaimer, this depends on the bank but still try your luck out!

Read my guide on how to open a bank account in Sweden.

The process of getting a Swedish personal number or personnummer has been really slow lately! It can be difficult or near impossible to get a Swedish bank account without it. But, once you have a bank account & bank ID, your life in Sweden will be smooth!

Not sure what else you should do after arriving in Sweden? Don’t miss out on the important things to do after moving to Sweden.

If you are curious about what it’s like to live in Sweden, I have a separate post about living in Sweden!