New in Sweden: your first steps, from personnummer to BankID

EN Published September 27, 2026 · 8 min read · SverigeFokus-redaktionen

In Sweden a lot depends on the personnummer (personal identity number). BankID, the e-ID most e-services use, is only for bank customers with a personnummer, and banks first want to know who you are. So the order matters: here are the steps, which agency handles each, and why.

1. Secure your right to live in Sweden

Nordic citizens need no permit.
EU/EEA citizens may stay up to three months with a valid passport or national ID card. Staying longer requires a right of residence (uppehållsrätt): you work, run a business, study or can support yourself. You then do not need to contact Migrationsverket, the Swedish Migration Agency.
Everyone else generally needs a residence permit from Migrationsverket, plus a work permit to work. See Migrationsverket’s pages for which permit applies to you.

2. Register and get a personnummer

If you will live here for at least a year, you should usually be registered in the population register (folkbokföring). You then get a personnummer: your date of birth plus four digits, kept for life. Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, decides.

Notify your move in the e-service Flytta till Sverige (Moving to Sweden), also available in English, at the earliest 14 days before moving. Without an e-ID, Skatteverket points you to the Freja app.
Book an identity check at a service centre (servicekontor). Everyone moving needs their own notification and must attend with original ID documents.
Wait for the decision, which comes by post. As of September 2026, Skatteverket says a notification takes about four weeks to reach a case officer.

Non-EU/EEA citizens show a valid residence permit card. EU/EEA citizens show their right of residence, for example an employment contract. If you will stay less than a year, you should not be registered but can apply for a samordningsnummer (coordination number) if you need one and have a connection to Sweden.

For citizenship, your registration date is not necessarily what counts: see when residence time starts and the 2026 requirements.

3. Apply for an ID card from Skatteverket

With a personnummer you can apply for Skatteverket’s ID card (id-kort), an approved identity document in Sweden, used at pharmacies and banks. Swedish citizens go to the Police. Requirements as of September 2026:

you are registered and have a Swedish personnummer
you are at least 13 (under 18, your guardians must consent)
you have paid the SEK 400 fee before your visit (it cannot be paid on site)
you can prove your identity.

Book an appointment at a service centre that issues ID cards and bring your passport and any residence permit card, or an attestor (intygsgivare), such as your spouse, to confirm who you are. As of September 2026 the card takes about two weeks. It is valid for five years, only in Sweden, and does not replace a passport for travel.

4. Open a bank account and get BankID

BankID is Sweden’s most common e-ID, used to log in and sign with companies and agencies, and its signature is legally binding. Banks issue it, and to get one you must

have a Swedish personnummer
be a customer of a bank that issues BankID
have identified yourself with an ID document the bank accepts.

So the bank comes first. By law, anyone who can show they live in the EEA has a right to a basic payment account, and according to the consumer advice service Konsumenternas Bank- och finansbyrå, lacking a personnummer is not in itself grounds for refusal. Refusals must be in writing, and you can complain to the bank or the National Board for Consumer Disputes (Allmänna reklamationsnämnden).

There is no legal right to BankID, though, and a bank can refuse despite a valid foreign passport. That is why the ID card comes first: it is a Swedish ID document. You order BankID from the bank, usually online or at a branch, and activate it in the BankID Security Application.

5. Give Försäkringskassan your details

Benefits from Försäkringskassan, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, such as child allowance (barnbidrag), require you to be insured in Sweden. That depends on whether you live or work here and is checked when you apply, so a first case can take longer. With children under 16, Försäkringskassan needs information from you before child allowance can be paid: see its Move to Sweden page.

6. Learn the healthcare system: 1177, vårdcentral and 112

1177 is the healthcare advice line, around the clock, all over Sweden. A nurse tells you where to go, and you can call without a personnummer.
1177.se has health information and e-services for contacting your clinic. Logging in requires a Swedish personnummer and BankID or Freja+.
The vårdcentral (health centre) is usually the first place to go. You can choose one to belong to, called listing (lista sig).
112 is for when life, property or the environment is in danger. Whoever answers speaks Swedish or English and can bring in an interpreter.

The order matters here too: with a residence permit but no registration yet, 1177 says you pay the full cost of care yourself. Once registered, you pay the same patient fee as other residents.

7. Register with Arbetsförmedlingen

Arbetsförmedlingen, the Swedish Public Employment Service, serves everyone with the right to work in Sweden and lists vacancies in Platsbanken. You register as a jobseeker online, or get help at a service centre if you have no e-ID.

If you were recently granted a residence permit as a refugee, a person with subsidiary protection status or a family member of one, and have turned 20 but not 67, you can join the introduction programme (etableringsprogrammet), which includes SFI. Visit Arbetsförmedlingen soon after the decision and bring it. The programme must fit within 36 months of getting your personnummer.

SFI, Swedish for Immigrants (svenska för invandrare), is free and run by the municipality (kommun) where you are registered. You can start from 1 July of the year you turn 16 if you lack basic Swedish. Since 1 January 2026 you have three years to finish, counted from enrolment. Sign up through your municipality. Read more in our guide to SFI.

Housing: start early

Join a housing queue (bostadskö) early, via the municipal housing agency (bostadsförmedling) where there is one, or directly with housing companies. If you sublet (hyra i andra hand) in the meantime:

Check that the landlord has approved the sublet.
Sign a contract and pay no deposit before it is signed, or you risk being cheated.
Never pay for the contract itself. Selling a lease is a crime, and you can lose a bought one.

Good to know

Report a move within a week. When you move within Sweden, tell Skatteverket, free of charge, no later than a week after moving. It shares your address with other agencies and banks.
Put your name on your mailbox. If Skatteverket cannot reach you, your notification of a move to Sweden cannot be processed.
Read letters from agencies straight away. A decision you can appeal explains how. If a letter is unclear, contact the agency. You may be entitled to an interpreter.
Protect your BankID. Never use it because a caller or a message asks you to: agencies, banks and the police never do that.

Summary

The order matters: your right to live here, then population registration and a personnummer, then an ID card, a bank and BankID. Much of the rest, from the patient fee to e-services, depends on those steps. Keep your address up to date with Skatteverket and read letters from agencies straight away.

SFI Prov is a free app for learning Swedish from zero up to the SFI national test, with a beginner path, recorded audio and an interface in Swedish, English, Arabic, Persian and Somali. It is not a government service and does not replace SFI.

Download SFI Prov on the App Store → · Google Play →

Sources

SverigeFokus is not a government authority. Rules and fees change: always check with the agency concerned before you act.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a personnummer, and how long does it take?

You get one when Skatteverket registers you in the population register, which applies if you will live here for at least a year. As of September 2026, a notification takes about four weeks to reach a case officer.

What is the difference between a personnummer and a samordningsnummer?

A personnummer comes with population registration. A samordningsnummer (coordination number) is for people who are not registered, for example during a stay under a year, and is replaced by a personnummer on registration.

Who can get an ID card from Skatteverket?

Anyone registered with a Swedish personnummer who is at least 13 and can prove their identity. The fee is SEK 400 (as of September 2026). Swedish citizens apply to the Police.

Can I get BankID without a personnummer?

No. BankID requires a Swedish personnummer, being a customer of an issuing bank and an ID document the bank accepts. You may still have a right to a basic payment account without one.

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