Moving to Sweden for Work: The First Month

Sweden’s paperwork runs in a fixed sequence, and each step unlocks the next. Get the order right and your first month is mostly waiting; get it wrong and you lose weeks at a bank counter that can’t help you yet.

When you need this

You’ve signed a Swedish job offer, or you’re about to, and want to know what happens before and after you land. You’re a non-EU citizen checking whether the salary clears the 2026 threshold. You’re an EU citizen wondering whether you have to register anywhere at all. Or you’ve arrived, and your landlord, bank and payroll all want a personnummer (personal identity number) you don’t have yet.

Before you travel: the work permit

This changed on 1 June 2026. Most guides still say the salary must be 80% of the median. For decisions from 1 June 2026 the floor is 90% of the median salary published by Statistics Sweden (SCB). Since 16 June 2026 that means at least 34,470 kr a month. Migrationsverket applies the new rule to every decision made after 1 June, even if you applied earlier.

Citizens of countries outside the EU/EEA need a work permit in most cases, whether the employer is Swedish or foreign. The requirements:

Some people need only 75% of the median: occupations on the government’s list in the Aliens Ordinance (several IT technician, assistant nurse, welding, forestry and food-industry roles among them), people moving from a student or researcher permit to their first work permit, doctors, dentists and nurses working toward Swedish certification, and staff of small, young tech or life-science companies. Personal assistants can no longer get a work permit at all, and forest berry pickers can no longer get an ordinary one, though a picker employed by a company established in Sweden may still apply for a seasonal work permit.

How it works in practice. Your employer starts the application with your name, date of birth, citizenship and email. You complete it online and pay 2,200 kr (1,500 kr per adult family member, 750 kr per child). Expect an embassy visit to show your passport and give fingerprints. Your first application must be made from outside Sweden, or it may be rejected. A permit runs for at most two years, never longer than the contract, and for those first two years it is tied to one employer and occupation. Start work within four months; if you lose the job, you have three months to find a new one or apply for a new permit. If it’s longer than three months, you get a residence permit card.

Other 2026 changes to know: since 13 July Migrationsverket also weighs your vandel (good conduct), including unpaid debts and false benefit claims. Since 1 October your family’s maintenance requirement is checked again when you extend, not only at the first application. If you hold a permit granted before 1 June and extend between 1 June and 1 December 2026, the old 80% rule still applies; from 2 December, it’s 90%.

EU, EEA, Nordic and Swiss citizens

EU/EEA citizens can stay three months on a passport or national ID card. Working gives you uppehållsrätt (right of residence) beyond that, and with it you do not need to contact Migrationsverket at all. You may start working the day you arrive. Nordic citizens also need no permit. Swiss citizens are the exception: staying more than three months, you apply for a residence permit for Swiss citizens.

Week one: register with Skatteverket

If you’ll live in Sweden for a year or more, folkbokföring (population registration) is a legal duty. The test is whether you can be expected to sleep in Sweden regularly for at least a year, and the deadline is one week after three months in the country. Not reporting is a crime (folkbokföringsbrott), though minor cases go unpunished. Don’t wait for it: registration is what gives you a personnummer.

1. Report the move through Skatteverket’s “Moving to Sweden” e-service, up to 14 days before arrival, or at a service office.
2. Bring proof of your right to be here: the residence permit card, or for EU citizens the employment contract or certificate.
3. Do the identity check in person at a state service office (servicekontor) with all original ID. Every family member moving with you goes too.
4. Wait. Skatteverket says a moving-in case takes about five weeks to reach an administrator. The decision comes by post.

From 1 December 2026 the identity check also includes fingerprints and a facial image on request. Staying less than a year? You won’t be registered; the coordination number is the non-resident alternative, and it doesn’t give BankID.

The order that unlocks everything: ID card, bank, BankID

BankID is the e-ID behind Swish, 1177’s logins and most Swedish e-services. Banks issue it only against a Swedish personnummer, and most also want a Swedish ID document showing that number. So the sequence is fixed:

The trap nobody mentions: Skatteverket’s list of documents accepted for the ID card includes EU, EEA and Swiss passports, but no other foreign passports. A Swedish residence permit proves your identity instead, by law, if you say you want to use it. Without that you need an intygsgivare (attestor): a spouse, adult family member, cohabiting partner of at least six months, or an employer you’ve worked for at least one year. The ID card still comes only after the personnummer, so BankID rarely arrives in the first month. Plan for it: keep a low-fee foreign payment card, and phone services instead of logging in.

From 1 December 2026, registered foreigners can also apply to Polisen for Sverige-id, the state e-ID, on an ID card without a travel function: a non-bank alternative. Booking opens 1 November 2026 on 114 14. The government proposes that Skatteverket’s card stops taking new applications from 1 March 2027; cards already issued stay valid. See BankID and its alternatives.

Tax, social insurance and healthcare

Tax. Stay six consecutive months or more and you have unlimited tax liability: normal municipal and state income tax through payroll, and a Swedish tax return. Short trips home don’t break the six months. SINK, the flat tax for non-residents, is only for stays of at most six months: 22.5% in 2026 and 20% from 2027. More in how Swedish taxes work.

Social insurance. Försäkringskassan splits benefits in two. Work-based ones, such as sickness benefit, parental benefit at the income-related level and VAB (pay while caring for a sick child), come from working here. Residence-based ones, such as child allowance, come from living here. Moving with children under 16? Försäkringskassan contacts you after registration. If you settle from 1 January 2027, child allowance and other residence-based benefits first need five years’ residence or an income fast track. Without children, notify it through its e-service if you want a benefit.

Healthcare. Once registered, you get medical and dental care on the same terms as everyone who lives in Sweden and pay the region’s standard patient fee.

Housing and learning Swedish

Housing. Stockholm’s rental queue averaged 9 years for an ordinary flat in 2025, so most newcomers start in a sublet or employer-arranged housing. Two rules protect you: a tenant may not sublet without the landlord’s consent, and paying for a rental contract is a crime for both sides. See the Stockholm housing queue and long-stay rentals.

Swedish. SFI (svenska för invandrare, Swedish for immigrants) is a legal right for people living in Sweden from the second half of the year they turn 16 who lack basic Swedish. It’s free, run by your municipality, and should normally start within three months. New since 1 January 2026: the right lasts three years from first admission, with extensions only for special reasons. See learning Swedish as a newcomer.

Practical information

FAQ

What salary do I need for a Swedish work permit in 2026?

From 1 June 2026 the monthly salary must be at least 90% of the median salary published by SCB when you apply. Since 16 June 2026 that is 34,470 kr a month. Pay must also match collective-agreement levels for the job, so it may need to be higher. Listed shortage occupations and a few groups need only 75% of the median.

Do EU citizens need to register to work in Sweden?

Not with Migrationsverket. EU/EEA citizens may start work the day they arrive, and working gives right of residence without any permit. If you will live in Sweden for a year or more, you must report the move to Skatteverket and do an identity check, using your employment contract to show right of residence. That registration gives you a personnummer.

How long does it take to get a personnummer after moving?

Skatteverket says a “Moving to Sweden” report takes about five weeks to reach an administrator, and the decision arrives by post. You must also visit a service office for the identity check, so book that early. Filing online up to 14 days before arrival saves time. Seasonal peaks in late summer can stretch the wait.

Why can’t I get BankID in my first weeks?

BankID needs a Swedish personnummer, and most banks also want a Swedish ID document showing it. You only get the number after folkbokföring, then the ID card takes about two more weeks. A coordination number is not enough. Until then, use a foreign payment card and phone services instead of logging in.

Should I pay SINK or normal Swedish tax?

SINK, a flat 22.5% in 2026 and 20% from 2027, is only for people staying in Sweden at most six months. Stay six consecutive months or more and you have unlimited tax liability: you pay normal municipal and state income tax through your employer and file a Swedish tax return. Short trips home do not break the six months.

Can I learn Swedish for free?

Yes. SFI, Swedish for immigrants, is a statutory right for people living in Sweden from the second half of the year they turn 16 who lack basic Swedish, and municipal adult education is free. Since 1 January 2026 the right lasts three years from first admission, with extensions only for special reasons. Ask your municipality once you are registered.

Related guides

• The personnummer explained — why every form asks for the number you’re waiting for
• Coordination numbers and bank accounts — your right to a basic account, and the non-resident number
• BankID for newcomers and visitors — what it opens and how to live without it meanwhile
• Swedish work culture — consensus, fika and the 40-hour week you’re joining
• Why Swedes pay high taxes — what your payslip deductions buy

Facts verified 2026-10-06. Sources: Migrationsverket, Skatteverket, Försäkringskassan, Sveriges riksdag (Folkbokföringslag 1991:481, Skollag 2010:800, Lag 2010:751, Lag 2026:1358, Jordabalk), Bostadsförmedlingen i Stockholm and Swedbank — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not legal advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.