Swedish social services are local, broad and, for residents, the final safety net. Here is what they do, who can get money, what changed in 2026, how visitors in crisis are helped, and what a report of concern about a child really means.
When you need this
You live in Sweden and the money has run out: no wages, no benefits, no savings left. Or you are a visitor who has been robbed or stranded, and the embassy and bank are closed until Monday. A teacher or nurse has mentioned an orosanmälan (a report of concern) about your child, or you are worried about a child yourself. Someone needs a safe place to sleep tonight because of violence at home. Or you already receive support and a letter has arrived about a new activity requirement.
What social services do
Socialtjänsten (social services) is run by every Swedish municipality through an elected social welfare board, the socialnämnd. The law gives it a broad mandate: the board must offer advice, care, support and other help to individuals who need it. In practice that covers:
| Area | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Income support | Last-resort money for people who cannot support themselves |
| Victims of crime and violence | Support for victims and their families, including people hurt by someone close |
| Budget and debt advice | Free guidance for people in debt, also during debt restructuring |
| Family counselling | Help for couples and families in conflict |
| Children and young people | Assessing reports of concern and offering support or protection |
| Care | Addiction, elderly and disability care |
The rules sit in a new Social Services Act, socialtjänstlag (2025:400), which replaced the 2001 act on 1 July 2025. The chapter numbers changed with it: the right to income support that older pages cite as “4 kap. 1 §” is now chapter 12, section 1, and the duty to report concern for a child is now chapter 19. If a page you are reading still cites the 2001 act, treat its details with caution.
Social services are not the same thing as Försäkringskassan, which runs national social insurance benefits (see Försäkringskassan explained), or the a-kassa unemployment funds (see a-kassa unemployment insurance). Those come first; social services step in when nothing else covers your needs.
Income support: who gets it
The core rule is short. Someone who cannot meet their needs themselves, and cannot get them met in any other way, has a right to financial assistance from the social welfare board for their maintenance (försörjningsstöd) and other living costs. The support must give a reasonable standard of living. The board may also give extra help beyond that when there are reasons for it.
That “in any other way” matters. Wages, benefits, savings and other help count first, which is why income support is called the last safety net. Conditions follow:
- Available for work: if you can work, you must be available to the labour market, including taking Swedish for Immigrants (sfi) if needed.
- Report every change: new income or a new address must be reported at once. Support paid on wrong information, or that you should have realised was too much, can be reclaimed.
- Asylum seekers covered by the reception act for asylum seekers have no right to income support under the Social Services Act; they are supported through that system instead.
Support covers food, clothes, leisure, consumables, health and hygiene, newspaper and phone, plus housing, household electricity, work travel, home insurance and union and a-kassa fees. The government sets a national standard, the riksnorm, for the first group of costs, and the amounts change every January.
Two rules reward work. After six months on support, 25 percent of new employment income is disregarded for two years. And the earnings of children and school pupils under 21 living at home are ignored up to one price base amount a year.
The 2026–2027 changes
Social assistance is changing faster than most English-language pages show. The government’s reform package arrives in two steps, and both are now law.
Since 1 July 2026: the activity requirement. After three consecutive months on income support, the board must, as a main rule, require you to take part in activities that move you towards work: job-focused, language, job-search or workplace-based activities. The requirement covers the time you are able to take part, at most 40 hours a week. It is reduced for part-time work or study, and by ten hours a week if you have young children at home. It applies for the first time to support for October 2026, so it is biting right now.
Some people are exempt: under-18s, 18–20-year-olds still in school, people in full-time work, a labour-market programme or sfi, pensioners, people on sickness benefits to the extent they receive them, and parents on leave with a baby under one. If you decline or skip assigned activities without an acceptable reason, continued support must be refused or reduced, though the board may hold back if there are special reasons. Since the same date, illness that keeps you from work or activities for more than seven days in a row must be shown with a doctor’s certificate.
From 1 January 2027: the benefit cap. Socialstyrelsen, the national board of health and welfare, summarizes it as a benefit cap (bidragstak) plus a changed riksnorm. In the statute that means:
| Change from 1 January 2027 | What it does |
|---|---|
| Larger households | Support is limited for households with more than three children under 21 living at home |
| Above the standard | Support for everyday costs may no longer be calculated above the riksnorm, except for special or exceptional reasons |
| Sublets | Rent is covered for a sublet only if the landlord, housing co-op or rent tribunal has consented, unless special reasons apply |
| Not lawfully in Sweden | Only the support needed in acute situations |
Good to know: the activity requirement comes from Lag (2026:730) and the benefit cap from Lag (2026:897). Pages written before mid-2026 describe the previous rules.
Visitors and EU citizens in crisis
The law decides which municipality helps you. Normally it is the one where you live or have your strongest ties. But if a need arises during a temporary stay, the municipality you are in, the vistelsekommun, must provide whatever is needed in an acute situation. That rule covers tourists.
What you can get beyond acute help depends on your right to be in Sweden. EU citizens may stay up to three months, and an EU citizen can be refused entry in that period if they become an unreasonable burden on social assistance. Socialstyrelsen’s guidance treats tourists, students and pensioners as not economically active, so they need their own resources and health insurance to have a right of residence. Without it, help can be limited to acute measures:
| Who you are | What social services can usually offer |
|---|---|
| Tourist or EU citizen without a right of residence | Money for the journey home, safe lodging until departure, money for necessities |
| EU worker, or jobseeker with a real chance of work | Assessed like other residents |
| Everyone, whatever their status | Acute help in an emergency; protection of children and of victims of violence or trafficking |
In plain terms: social services will not fund a holiday that has run out of money. For a visitor the faster routes are your embassy, your bank and your travel insurer (see lost wallet in Sweden). Whether you have a right of residence as an EU citizen is covered in EU citizens’ right of residence.
Reports of concern about a child
Health and dental care, schools, social services, the police and other listed agencies must report to social services immediately when they know of or suspect that a child is being harmed. Everyone else should report. Making a report is free, and a private person may stay anonymous by not giving their name.
After a report, social services must immediately assess whether the child needs protection right away, then decide whether to open an investigation. A report can end without one. Help is offered with the family’s consent first, and the board should offer the child, the parents and the reporter a meeting when that suits the child’s best interests. A report starts an assessment, not a removal. How Swedish law views smacking, and what a full investigation involves, is in children’s rights and the smacking ban.
Warning: a child in danger right now needs 112, not a form. Waiting can mean harm that could have been stopped.
How to get help
- In immediate danger: call 112. One call reaches police, ambulance and emergency social services (see emergency numbers in Sweden).
- Outside office hours: contact the municipality’s out-of-hours duty service, socialjour. Malmö’s, for example, answers evenings, nights and weekends, free, with an interpreter on request.
- During office hours: phone or visit the social services reception of the municipality you are in.
- Explain your situation and ask to apply. Social services assess your whole situation; other income, benefits and savings count first.
- Ask for an interpreter if you need one. An authority must use one when needed for someone who does not speak Swedish.
- Get the decision in writing. A decision that affects you must give its reasons and tell you how to appeal.
- Appeal within three weeks if you disagree. Decisions on income support, and on refused or reduced support, go to an administrative court, and the appeal must reach the municipality within three weeks of the day you received the decision.
The law is national but the service is local: every municipality runs its own reception, e-services and out-of-hours duty, and writes its own guidelines for income support. For domestic violence, Kvinnofridslinjen answers on 116 016 around the clock, and crisis helplines in Sweden lists others. Even if you don’t qualify for money, ask for budget and debt advice.
Practical information
| Item | What to know | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Applying for income support | No application fee in the act or on the information page | 2026-10-14 |
| Out-of-hours social services (socialjour, Malmö) | Free | 2026-10-14 |
| Making a report of concern (orosanmälan) | Free | 2026-10-14 |
| Riksnorm amounts | Set yearly by the government; ask your municipality for the current figures | 2026-10-14 |
| Appeal deadline | Three weeks from the day you received the decision | 2026-10-14 |
FAQ
What does socialtjänsten do in Sweden?
Socialtjänsten is the municipality’s social services, run by an elected social welfare board. It pays last-resort income support, supports victims of crime and violence, gives budget and debt advice and family counselling, runs addiction, elderly and disability care, and protects children. The rules are in the Social Services Act of 2025, and every municipality must follow them.
Who can get försörjningsstöd?
Anyone who cannot cover their living costs themselves or in any other way, after using wages, benefits and savings. If you can work you must be available for work, and since 1 July 2026 social services must normally require activities after three months on support. You apply to the municipality where you live. Visitors are limited to acute help.
Can a tourist get money from social services in Sweden?
Only in an acute situation. The municipality you are in must help when you are in crisis during a temporary stay, but Socialstyrelsen’s guidance limits help to people without a right of residence to acute measures: a ticket home, safe lodging until departure and money for necessities. Embassy, bank and travel insurance are the faster routes.
What happens after an orosanmälan?
Social services must immediately assess whether the child needs protection right away, then decide whether to open an investigation. A report can end without one. Help is offered with the family’s consent first. The board should offer the child, the parents and the person who reported a meeting when that suits the child’s best interests.
What is the new activity requirement for income support?
Since 1 July 2026, anyone who has received försörjningsstöd for three consecutive months must, as a main rule, take part in activities that move them towards work: job search, language, motivation or workplace-based activities, up to 40 hours a week. Some groups are exempt. Declining without an acceptable reason means support is refused or reduced.
Can I appeal a social services decision?
Yes. Decisions on income support, and on refused or reduced support, can be appealed to an administrative court. The appeal must reach the municipality within three weeks of the day you received the decision, and the decision itself must tell you how. You can ask for an interpreter. Keep the envelope or the date you were told.
Related guides
- Children’s rights and the smacking ban — what an orosanmälan leads to, and why a light smack is illegal
- Försäkringskassan explained — the insurance benefits that come before income support
- A-kassa unemployment insurance — the first line when you lose your job
- Crisis helplines in Sweden — someone to talk to tonight, in English
- Lost wallet in Sweden — the visitor’s money crisis, solved without social services
Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Socialtjänstlag 2025:400, Förvaltningslag 2017:900), Regeringskansliet, Socialstyrelsen, Information Sverige, Malmö stad, SOS Alarm and Kvinnofridslinjen — 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.