Guides to Swedish authorities
Step-by-step help with Skatteverket, Migrationsverket, Försäkringskassan, BankID, 1177, SFI and housing — in plain language.
Getting a personal identity number (personnummer)Your personnummer is the key to almost everything in Sweden — banking, healthcare, work, renting a flat. You apply for it at Skatteverket (the tax authority).Registering with Skatteverket (the tax authority)Skatteverket handles your personnummer, your registered address (folkbokföring), taxes, and family events like marriage and children. Almost every Swedish authority uses the address you give Skatteverket.Dealing with MigrationsverketMigrationsverket decides on residence permits, work permits, asylum, family reunification, and Swedish citizenship. Almost everything happens through their website and your personal online account.Healthcare — 1177 and vårdcentral1177 is Sweden's healthcare guide. A vårdcentral is your local health clinic — your first stop for almost everything that isn't an emergency: colds, pain, mental health, vaccinations, prescriptions, children's care.Försäkringskassan (social insurance)Försäkringskassan handles child allowance, parental pay, sick pay, housing allowance and other benefits. Most things are done online with BankID.Getting BankIDBankID is the digital ID you use to log in to almost every Swedish service — banks, 1177, Skatteverket, Försäkringskassan, schools, e-commerce. You get it from your Swedish bank, not from BankID itself.Opening a Swedish bank accountBy Swedish law, banks must offer you a basic account if you live here legally — even if you don't have a job yet. Some banks make it harder than others, so don't give up if the first one says no.Free Swedish lessons — SFISFI (Svenska för invandrare) is free Swedish language teaching for adults. Every kommun (municipality) offers it, and you have a legal right to it if you live in Sweden and don't speak Swedish.Finding somewhere to liveRenting in Sweden is competitive, especially in big cities. Most first-hand contracts (förstahandskontrakt) come through a queue system (bostadskö). Until you reach the top of a queue, most people rent second-hand (andrahand).
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