Getting BankID as a Newcomer: Personnummer, ID Card and Bank in the Right Order

You can get BankID once you live here, but not in your first week. It hangs on a chain of steps that only works in one order. This guide walks the chain, says where non-EU newcomers get stuck, and explains what changes in December 2026.

When you need this

You have moved to Sweden for a year or more and every app, agency and landlord says Logga in med BankID. Maybe your personnummer letter has just arrived and you want the next step. Maybe your bank has told you your passport is not enough. Or you have a coordination number and can’t work out why BankID still won’t work.

If you are only visiting, this is the wrong page: see BankID for tourists for why it is out of reach and how to get by without it.

What BankID actually requires

BankID is issued by banks, not by the state. BankID’s own rule has three parts, and you need all three:

The first requirement sets the timetable. The third is where non-EU newcomers get stuck. A samordningsnummer (coordination number), the number people staying under a year get, does not count: banks state plainly that it is not enough.

Each bank sets its own age limit, most often 13 or 18, and minors always need a guardian’s consent. Mobile BankID itself is free from the bank.

Step 1: Register and get your personnummer

The personnummer comes only with folkbokföring, registration in the Swedish population register. The law registers you if you can be expected to sleep regularly in Sweden for at least a year.

1. File Skatteverket’s “Moving to Sweden” notification online. You can do this up to 14 days before you arrive.
2. Visit a government service centre in person for the identity check. Bring your passport, plus your residence permit card if you have one. Each family member needs their own visit.
3. Wait. Skatteverket says a moving-in case takes about five weeks before it is even assigned to an administrator. The decision, with your personnummer, comes by post.

No BankID? You don’t need one for the e-service. Skatteverket’s moving notification also works with the Freja app set up with nothing but an email address, or you can go to a service centre.

The full rules, including what happens if you move again, are in folkbokföring: registering where you live.

Step 2: Talk to a bank early

You don’t have to wait for the personnummer to become a bank customer. Some banks open an account on a foreign passport before you have a Swedish number. You then update the account once you have both the number and a Swedish ID card. That way your salary has somewhere to land while the registration queue runs.

If you live legally in the EEA, the law goes further: a bank may not refuse you a basic payment account unless money-laundering rules or special reasons stand in the way. Fees must be “reasonable”, and each bank sets its own. Opening a Swedish bank account as a newcomer covers the account itself.

Use that first meeting to ask the question that decides your next month: which ID documents does this bank accept for BankID?

Step 3: Get an ID document your bank accepts

This is the step most guides get wrong, because the rules moved in 2021 and again in 2026.

Ordering BankID remotely through a bank’s app works by scanning the chip of your ID document with your phone. It needs a bank that offers this digital ID check, a valid passport or police-issued national ID card, and a phone with NFC. Since the rules tightened in autumn 2021, that meant a Swedish passport or national ID card, which foreign citizens cannot get.

What’s new in 2026: BankID now says some banks accept passports and national ID cards from EU and EEA countries and the UK in that digital check, if they follow the ICAO standard. Documents from other countries are not accepted yet, though BankID hopes to add more. You still need a personnummer. BankID’s support site lists which banks do this, and the list can change.

For everyone else, the usual route is a Swedish ID card shown at a branch. Many banks want a Swedish ID document that shows your personnummer. For a foreign resident that is Skatteverket’s id-kort för folkbokförda (ID card for registered residents):

• You must be registered and have a personnummer.
• Pay the fee before you book the visit; you cannot pay at the service centre.
• Non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss passports are not on Skatteverket’s list of accepted documents. Instead, your Swedish residence permit proves your identity by law, if the application matches the permit record. Say that you want to use it. Otherwise you need an intygsgivare (attestor).
• Issuing normally takes about two weeks, and the card is valid for at most five years.

The detail, including who can be an attestor, is in the Swedish ID card guide.

Step 4: Order and activate BankID

With a personnummer, an account and an accepted ID, you order BankID from your bank. Most often you do this in the internet bank or at a branch; each bank’s process differs a little.

1. Download BankID Säkerhetsapp (the BankID app) from your app store.
2. Order BankID through your bank, in the internet bank, the bank’s app or at a branch.
3. Activate it in the app following the bank’s steps.
4. Turn on location services when getting a new BankID or moving it to another phone through the bank’s app. BankID makes this mandatory, to check that old and new phones are in the same place.

Then add Swish, which needs BankID and a Swedish bank account. One thing that won’t work yet: BankID’s in-app digital ID card can be activated only with a Swedish passport or national ID card, not with a foreign passport or Skatteverket’s card.

What changes in December 2026 and March 2027

Two changes overlap this winter, and advice written before autumn 2026 misses both.

What this means for BankID: the banks’ association says Polisen’s new card can be checked electronically and carries a stored photo, which Skatteverket’s card lacks. It also warned that banks would consider no longer accepting Skatteverket’s card if its validity check ends after February 2027. The government’s draft says Skatteverket has confirmed that the check stays while valid cards exist. If you are applying from December 2026 on, compare Polisen’s card before paying for Skatteverket’s; the government wants applicants steered to Polisen.

SverigeID itself does not replace BankID. Polisen calls it a complement to other e-IDs, and Swish and bank logins still run on BankID.

Staying under a year, or stuck waiting

Under a year means no folkbokföring, so no personnummer and no BankID. You get a coordination number instead; coordination numbers and bank accounts explains it. EU and EEA citizens living here with a verified coordination number can get Freja+, an e-ID many agencies accept, using a biometric passport.

While you wait, keep paying with your foreign card. Phone agencies or visit a service centre instead of logging in. For healthcare, phone 1177, because logging in to 1177.se needs a personnummer plus BankID or Freja+. Once you do have a personnummer, Freja+ needs re-registration with a Swedish driving licence or Skatteverket’s ID card, not your foreign passport.

Keep your new BankID safe

BankID is a legal signature as well as a login: whatever you sign counts as your own act. Banks call it a document of value and tell holders never to use it when someone contacts them unexpectedly. Never sign or log in for someone who phones you, and ignore anyone selling “BankID for foreigners”; it comes only from your own bank. Phone and BankID scams shows how the calls work.

When you change phones, don’t delete BankID on the old one first. You use it to activate the new one.

Practical information

FAQ

Can I get BankID with a coordination number?

No. BankID requires a Swedish personnummer, and banks state that a coordination number does not count. The personnummer comes only with population registration, which needs an expected stay of at least a year. If you are staying less than a year, plan without BankID: use a payment card, phone agencies, and look at Freja+ if you are an EU/EEA citizen living here.

Can I use my foreign passport to get BankID?

Sometimes. You still need a personnummer. BankID says some banks accept passports and national ID cards from EU and EEA countries and the UK in their digital ID check, if they meet the ICAO standard. Passports from other countries are not accepted there yet, so non-EU residents usually get a Swedish ID card and identify themselves at a branch. Ask your bank first.

How long does it take to get BankID after moving to Sweden?

Usually several weeks. Skatteverket says a moving-in case takes about five weeks to reach an administrator, and the personnummer then arrives by post. If you also need Skatteverket’s ID card, issuing takes about two weeks more. Once you have the number and an accepted ID, the bank can issue BankID. File the moving notification early to start the clock.

Do I need a Swedish ID card to get BankID?

It depends on your bank and passport. Many banks ask for a Swedish ID document showing your personnummer. EU, EEA and UK citizens may avoid this where their bank accepts their own passport in the digital check. Non-EU residents usually need one: Skatteverket’s card until early 2027, or Polisen’s card for registered foreigners from 1 December 2026.

Is SverigeID an alternative to BankID for newcomers?

Partly. From 1 December 2026 Polisen issues SverigeID to Swedish citizens and to foreigners registered as living in Sweden, linked to an ID card without travel function. Public bodies must then accept authorised Swedish e-IDs. Polisen calls it a complement to other e-IDs, and it does not give you Swish or bank logins, which still run on BankID.

What can I do while waiting for BankID?

Keep using your foreign payment card, which works almost everywhere. Phone agencies or visit a service centre instead of logging in, and phone 1177 for healthcare, because logging in to 1177.se needs a personnummer plus BankID or Freja+. Some banks open an account on a foreign passport before you have a personnummer, so you can receive salary meanwhile.

Which bank should I choose for BankID?

Any of the ten banks that issue BankID can give you one, but their ID rules differ. Ask before you open an account: does the bank accept your passport in its digital ID check, does it accept Skatteverket’s or Polisen’s ID card at a branch, and what age limit applies? BankID lists the participating banks and their contact details.

Related guides

• Folkbokföring: registering where you live — step one, and the only way to a personnummer.
• The Swedish ID card — the card most non-EU newcomers need before BankID.
• Opening a Swedish bank account as a newcomer — the account BankID is issued on.
• Swedish e-government — what BankID, Freja+ and SverigeID open once you have them.
• Moving to Sweden for work — the whole first month in the right order.

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Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: BankID, Skatteverket, Polismyndigheten, Regeringen, Sveriges Riksdag (Folkbokföringslag 1991:481, Lag 2015:899, Lag 2026:1358, Lag 2010:751), Svenska Bankföreningen, 1177 — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.