Folkbokföring and personnummer

The one-year rule

By law, a person is folkbokförd if they can be presumed to sleep regularly in Sweden for at least a year. Skatteverket puts it this way: if you have moved and plan to stay a year or more, you should in most cases be registered.

If you stay less than a year, you do not register. Further down you will find what to do in that case.

The right to stay is a separate matter, handled by a different agency: see the guide on right to stay and permits.

What you have to prove

Skatteverket needs to know that you are legally allowed to live in Sweden. What you show depends on your passport.

	EU/EEA/Swiss citizen	Citizen of a non-EU country
Proof	Your right of residence (uppehållsrätt)	A valid Swedish residence permit card
Examples	Employment contract or certificate of service; own business; sufficient means for at least a year	A permit from another EU country is not enough
Address	Full address where you sleep	Full address where you sleep

For EU/EEA citizens, sufficient means are shown with bank statements, a pension certificate, payslips or home insurance, covering at least a year. If you are looking for work you can stay 6 months to search, but you usually cannot be registered as a jobseeker.

How to do it, step by step

1. Notify online. Use the "Flytta till Sverige" e-service on Skatteverket's website. It is available in Swedish, English, Arabic and Ukrainian.
2. Book the identity check. You have to go in person to a servicekontor (Skatteverket's service counter), booking at one of the listed offices.
3. Bring original documents. All your identity documents, in the original.
4. Wait. It takes about 5 weeks before the case is assigned to a case officer.
5. Read the letter. The decision arrives by letter.

Family members who move with you also have to attend the servicekontor in person.

Documents for your family

To register a spouse and children, Skatteverket asks for civil-status documents:

• spouse or partner: marriage certificate, or an extract from the civil register, or a divorce decree;
• children: birth certificate or an extract from the civil register.

Check with Skatteverket whether your certificates must be legalised or translated: it depends on the country that issued them and we cannot tell you in general.

Your personnummer

The personnummer arrives with your first registration: you do not apply for it separately. It is the number that identifies you in dealings with Swedish authorities.

If you stay less than a year

If you stay in Sweden for less than a year you do not register. If you need an identification number and have a connection to Sweden, you can apply for a samordningsnummer: it is not a personnummer, and it is replaced by the personnummer if you later register. If you stay a year or more, you must notify the move instead. The full details are in the guide on samordningsnummer.

Common mistakes

• Not registering despite staying a year or more. In most cases the law expects you to.
• Turning up at the servicekontor without a booking. The identity check is by appointment.
• Bringing photocopies. You need your identity documents in the original.
• Using a permit from another EU country. For registration only the Swedish card counts.
• Expecting an answer within days. It takes about 5 weeks and the reply is a letter: check your letterbox.
• Forgetting family members. They also attend in person.
• Mixing up samordningsnummer and personnummer. The first is identification only, and does not give residence-based benefits.