Administration and legal

Swedish bureaucracy can feel overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be. We walk you through residence permits, visas, official documents, and the role of government agencies, so you can understand your rights and take each step with confidence from arrival to citizenship.

Guide to the Swedish authority jungle

Sweden’s public system can feel complex at first, but once you understand how it’s organised, it becomes much easier to navigate. This guide introduces the key authorities you’ll interact with as a newcomer, and what each of them is responsible for.

SWEDISH GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES QUICK GUIDE

Responsible for national tax collection and administering the population registration.

Evaluates and decides on applications for temporary residence permits, permanent residence, or citizenship.

Responsible for the public employment service and the implementation of labour market policies.

Administers social insurance, such as parental benefits, housing allowance, parental leave, and more.

Handles the registration of new companies and registry changes for existing businesses.

Administers and pays out the public pension, and provides both general and individual information about the pension.

Regional agencies whose goal is a clean living environment, a stable labour market and a good life for the residents.

MEDBORGARKONTOR

Co-locating service where citizens can turn to with questions concerning life in the municipality.

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VISA

About Swedish VISA

What are the requirements for a Swedish visa? Want to visit family and friends in Sweden? Or are you curious about Sweden and want to have a look? Well, then you need a visa which is – simply put – a permission to spend a limited time in Sweden. You get this permission from the Swedish Migration Board – Migrationsverket.

Work permit for young people

Some countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea has signed a work agreement with Sweden, which makes it possible for citizens from these countries to come to Sweden to work.

Documents

How to get a personal number

If you are just visiting for a limited time, you can skip this step. But registering with the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) is necessary for anyone planning to live in Sweden long-term.

How to get an ID-card

Having a Swedish ID-Card – a so-called ID–kort – will make your life in Sweden a lot easier as you will need it all the time – when picking up packages from the post office or when you wish to open a Swedish bank account.

Citizenship

Becoming a Swedish citizen: A milestone on the path of integration

Some of us are lucky enough to be born with one (or two…) of those ‘strong’ passports which allow us to explore the world without visas, study and work in many places of our choice without obtaining residence permits. And some of us aren’t. I definitely wasn’t – until now that I got my Swedish citizenship. A significant milestone on the way to the ‘integration’ into the Swedish society – but only one milestone among many.

Becoming a Swedish citizen: How does it feel?

The historical day has come: I am holding in my hand two passports, a Russian and a Swedish one. In an earlier post, I wrote about the journey to obtaining Swedish citizenship, which I hope may be useful to other newbies or not-so-newbies settling in Sweden. When I wrote it, someone asked me: So how does it feel, to be a Swedish citizen? In this post, I will try to answer that question.

Bureaucracy and laws

Changing your legal name in Sweden

For most people, a name is more than just a word. A name represents not only an existence but an identity. Knowing that, it is easy to understand why a person would want to change their legal name to something that represents them better. What we need to understand now, is how to do so.

Can you Survive in Sweden Without a Personal Number?

If you’ve arrived in Sweden on a visa that doesn’t allow for you to obtain a personal number, all is not lost. It can be a challenge to access certain services, such as banking, the library, and signing up for a gym. With a little effort and the right provider, you can not only survive but thrive in Sweden without a personal number.

Life in Sweden without a personal number

Life in Sweden without a personal number can be a struggle sometimes. A personal number is the most important number in Sweden that serves as your identification number. So let’s look at the different potential problems without a personal number in Sweden.