Register in Sweden
Publish date: 5 September 2024
If you plan to stay in Sweden for longer than 12 months, you’ll need to register at the Swedish Tax Agency. Once you have been issued with a Swedish personal identity number and ID card, it will make any contact you have with local authorities and banks much easier.
Population Registration
Are you planning to stay in Sweden for more than 12 months? Then you’ll need to be registered in the Swedish Population Register. You can do this at the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket).
Please note that you need to have been granted a Residence Permit that is valid for at least 12 months to register. This rule also applies for EU/EEA citizens who move to be with a Swedish spouse or registered partner.
To be entered into the population register you will also need to show that you can support yourself for at least 12 months and that you either have a private full coverage health insurance or that you are covered by the health insurance system of another EU/EEA country or Switzerland. A European Health Insurance Card is not enough in this case, unless you are still a student.
Family members who are non-EU citizens must apply for a residence card at the Swedish Migration Agency.
Should the processing time for your application take longer than promised, we recommend that you contact Solvit, a network in all EU countries that can help with problems connected to your EU rights free of charge. Another useful site is the National Board of Trade’s ”Without a personal identity number in Sweden”.
Personal Identity Number
After registering with the Tax Agency, you’ll get a Swedish personal identity number (personnummer). Everyone registered in Sweden has a personal identity number, and it opens doors to much of Swedish society. This number is based on your date of birth, as well as a code unique to each individual, and follows you throughout your life. It’s used for identification in many everyday situations so it’s a good idea to learn it by heart.
Personal ID card
When you apply for an ID card, you can prove your identity with an approved and valid identification document. An approved Swedish ID document contains a photograph, personal identity number, full name, signature and validity period.
Read more about the Swedish ID documents approved for:
To apply for a Swedish identity card, please visit the Swedish Tax Agency.
Find further practical information here: