Skatteverket

Skatteverket is the Swedish tax agency. There you can apply for your personnummer (personal number), which is used not only in contact with public agencies, but also all institutions, service providers, banks, registrations (for example for language courses), driving licence, at libraries etc. Applying for personnumer is the first thing you should do after moving to Sweden.

Personnummer application is available only at public offices and you have to apply in person. You cannot apply via internet. Documents that you would need are passport and birth and marital status certificates. Waiting time is one to three weeks.

Skatteverket takes care of taxes as well. Most of paperwork is done by the agency instead of the taxpayer. The system is complicated, but the agency does the work of counting the tax for you. All you have to do is sign the account once a year if everything is correct.

Information is available at www.skatteverket.se

Migrationsverket

Migrationsverket is an agency taking care of issues related to temporary and permanent stay of people who are not Swedish citizens. Every European Union citizen has a right to work, study, run a business and live in Sweden. If you study, work or have your livelihood, you have an automatic right of residence in Sweden. You don’t have to confirm it or contact an agency regarding the matter. Skatteverket takes care of registration and registers you when you apply for personnumer.

Försäkringskassan

Försäkringskassan is an agency taking care of benefits and insurance, including health insurance. It is also the agency that will help with transferring your health insurance. A person who is already registered and works can open a personal account which is helpful in issues related to insurance.

Further information is available at www.forsakringskassan.se

Apartment

Employers help in looking for an apartment through an appointed company or person. However, we would like to point out to all our candidates and students that the situation of housing market in Sweden is difficult. There aren’t many communal flats for rent and there are long waiting times in housing associations. There are also long periods of notice (usually three months), so it takes some time to change an apartment.

Your first apartment probably will not be the ideal one. It is important to remember that it is for the beginning of the employment, and that apartment standards in Sweden are a bit different. Flats usually have no furniture, but have a fully equipped kitchen – there are lockers, fridge and stove. Dishwasher is more and more common. Washing machines are rare in flats, but most often there is a laundry in the building. Traditions and methods of equipping the apartment might also seem different: the use of wallpapers and linoleum, simple equipment of bathrooms, or placement of electric sockets. Wooden elements are common.

Citizenship

European Union citizens can apply for Swedish citizenship after five years of living in Sweden. You can apply at Migrationsverket.