Sweden work visa

Beginners guide to living in Sweden

1. Applying for a work permit 1

2. Tax authority - getting a national ID 2

3. Open a bank account 2

4. Health care 3

5. Learning swedish 4

6. Social security 4

7. Primary education for children 5

8. Higher education 5

9. Finding accomodation 6

10. Having children in Sweden 6

11. Applying for citizenship 7

12. Drivers licence 8

13. Open a business 8

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1. Applying for a work permit

Applying for a work permit should be done before entering Sweden. The easiest way to apply
for a work permit is through the migration authorities website ​https://www.migrationsverket.se/​.
You will go through this step after your employee has filled in their application. When that is
done you will receive an email with instructions on how to proceed with your part of the
application.

The process has the following steps:

1. You have been offered employment by a company.

2. The employer starts the application process by applying at migration authorities website.
By this time the migration authority could contact you through email if they have
questions regarding your employment.
3. Once the employer’s application has been processed you will receive an email with how
you should proceed with your application. Here you specify if other family members will
come with you. Check that what you agreed with your employer corresponds to the
information the migration authorities received.
4. You should provide scanned copies of yours and your family's passports. You will also
need birth certificates for your children. If you are married you need a marriage
certificate. If not married some other proof is needed that you and your partner live
together.
5. Pay your application fee.
6. Once the application is processed and approved you need to visit your closest swedish
embassy or consulate (or the one specified in your application) to take photographs and
leave fingerprints. If your work permit extends for more than three months you will also
get a residence permit.

It is important to know that your employee is the one that provides your health- ,life- , pension-
and employment insurances. To be covered by swedish health care and social security you
need to have the intention of staying longer than 12 months in Sweden. Then you can get a
personal identification number from the tax authorities. This brings many benefits since it will be
much easier to communicate with authorities and receive benefits that most swedish nationals
does.

If you are not granted a personal id number you will receive a coordination number from the tax
authorities. This is a simpler form of a personal identity number. It does not bring as much
benefits but is needed when communicating with authorities.

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2. Tax authority - getting a national ID

Tax authority logo

As soon as you get to Sweden you should make a visit to the swedish tax authority,
skatteverket. Here you can get a swedish national identification card that you will need for doing
many errands with different authorities. These steps are needed to get a national ID card:

1. Book an appointment: ​skatteverket id card​.

2. You need to pay a fee of 400 SEK. This should be done before your meeting with the tax
authority. You need to provide proof of your payment so pay well in advance so they can
see that they received the money. Print out the payment confirmation if you paid online
and bring it with you.
3. Bring your swedish residency permit to the meeting as a proof of who you are. If you
hold a european passport this can also be used.
4. When you are done with your application it will take approximately 2 weeks before you
can come and pick up your national ID card.

When you are registered at the tax office you get a tax balance account. Here you can see how
much tax you paid and whether you can expect to get money back on next year's tax
declaration or if you need to pay in more taxes. Most of the errands at the tax authority can be
done at their website. You need a bank id to login and authenticate yourself which we discuss in
the next section.

At the tax authority you register the address that you intend to stay at. You can also see children
that are registered as your, marital status, information about companies you run and real
estates that you own.

3. Open a bank account

The first thing you need to get when you come to sweden is a swedish national identity card,
see the tax authority section. This is necessary to open a bank account, swedish banks will only
accept swedish identifications and no foreign passports. The reason for this is to counter money
laundering. Some of the major banks with bank offices are listed below:

- Nordea
- Swedbank

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- SEB
- Danskebank
- Handelsbanken
- Forex
- Skandia

When you open a bank account you should make sure that you get a service called ​bank-id​.
This is a 2 factor identification that you can download and install on your mobile phone. This will
help you a lot. With this you can identify yourself online on authority websites and do all your
errands there. It can't be stressed enough how important it is to come to this step. All the mayor
banks listed can provide you with this service.

Bankid logo

You do not need to book an appointment ahead of time. Just visit one of the mayor banks office
and they should be able to provide you these services as long as you bring your swedish
identifications.

4. Health care
Health care is free of charge for anyone having a personal identity number. This means if you
only have a coordination number you will not be covered. Thats why your employee needs to
sign you a health care insurance.

This is also true for eu citizens. Eu citizens will be asked to send their health care bills to their
home country which can refund their expenses, unless the have a swedish personal identity
number.

Sweden has a well renowned health care system. The public health provides a very good
service. It is very uncommon for swedish people - even those who can afford it - to have a
private health care insurance.

The number for emergency in Sweden is 112. There is also a number for medical advice, 1177,
which can give you advice about your health. They provide their service in several different
languages.

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5. Learning swedish
Swedish can be learned in many ways. You can study yourself by using apps or online material
like ​information sverige​. Every swedish municipality does provide with free swedish courses for
people having a swedish personal identification number. These courses are called ​SFI, swedish
for immigrants​.

SFI has three different entry levels which are categorized by how easy it will be for you to learn
the language. The first level is for people who do not have any primary education from their
home country and needs to learn the alphabet. The second is for people that are more
advanced and can study more independently. The third level is for those who have a higher
previous education, can study independently by themselves.

The course is very flexible and can be studied during morning, afternoon, evening or weekends.
You can choose the pace that you will study at yourself. Each entry level has different levels
where you can pass to the next by doing a test. If you pass the test, you move on to the next
level.

When you have finished all SFI courses you will be granted a grade. This is important if you
want to continue to study swedish at komvux which is a pre college for adults. When you study
at komvux you can apply for student benefits and have the right to apply for student loans. This
is done at ​CSN (Swedish board of study finances)​.

SFI also provides swedish courses that are tied to certain professions. Then you will learn the
language and vocabulary for that specific profession. This can be very beneficial if you are
looking for jobs in that industry.

6. Social security

Försäkringskassan logo

Forsäkringskassan​ is the authority that handles social security like childcare benefits or if you
get sick. The rule of thumb is that you get benefits depending on your own contribution to the
system, in other words how much you pay in taxes. This will determine how much you will get if
you are sick and cannot work or are off for parental leave. There are minimum benefits that you
will get no matter what your past income has been or if you had zero income.

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7. Primary education for children

Sweden has 9 years of primary education. Starting at the age when the child is turning 7 and
ending at the year the child turns 16. After that there are 3 years at gymnasium where you
choose a specific field to continue studying in. This can be civics, nature science or becoming a
construction worker etc. All gymnasium education gives the ability to continue studying at a
university. Gymnasium is the equivalent of ​komvux​ for adults. If you and your children have a
residence permit in sweden they are eligible for swedish education. More about education for
new arrivals can be read at ​skolverket​. In sweden there is a free choice what school you want
your kids to study at.

Except for public schools there are also private schools that are free of charge. There are
schools that specialise in english where english is the primary language for teaching. ​Engelska
skolan​ is an example of that.

8. Higher education
Higher education refers to studies at komvux or universities. If you passed the SFI courses you
can study at komvux. Studying at komvux gives you the opportunity to apply for a student loan
or benefits. At komvux you can continue study swedish or any other subjects like english, math,
history, etc, any subject that swedish studies at the gymnasium which is the level before
university studies. Studies at komvux are very individual and flexible. There are many distance
courses where you only meet for a final test and can do most of the course from home on your
computer. Find a ​komvux​ in your municipality.

CSN​ handles the payments of student benefits and loans. The loans have a very low interest
rate and a long payback time. Benefits are usually around 1000 SEK a week and loans can be
up to 3000 SEK a week which amounts to a total of around 4000 SEK a week. The amount
depends on your age and if you have children. When getting these financial aids you can only
have a certain amount of income. Right now the cap is around 100 000 SEK in income each six
months of a calendar year before the financial aids are gradually lowered.

CSN logo

Studying at the university is free of charge. You can also study abroad and apply for a student
loan to finance those studies. To be eligible for student benefits and loans from CSN you need
to have a swedish national number for at least two years.

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9. Finding accomodation
Finding affordable places can be a challenge even for swedish nationals. It is important to
search as early as possible if your employer doesn't help to provide accommodation.

There are three ways to find a place to live:

1. Buy a house or an apartment. For most people this is not an option.

2. Rent a first hand contract.
3. Rent a second hand contract

If you have a personal identification number you can sign up in a queue for a first hand contract.
This is done at ​bostadsförmedlingen​. It can be a good idea if you plan on staying for some years
in Sweden. A first hand contract gives the tenant a lot more rights. However, you are very
unlikely to receive one unless you have been in the queue for several years and even then it
might not be in your favourite neighborhood. There are different queues for first hand contracts
in different municipalities so it can be worth signing up on several. There are also private
queues that can have less waiting time like ​EM​, ​akelius​, ​ikanobostad​, ​Wallenstam​. Signing up
on the private ones can be good since even Swedes tend to overlook these options.

In most cases, your best bet will be to look for a second hand contract. They come with less
rights for the tenant and tend to be for shorter periods of time. It is usually a private person who
rents them out for different reasons. There are sites where you can look for them yourself like:

- Blocket
- Bostadsportalen
- hyresbostad

But it will be easier if you go through an agency which will act as a third party with guaranteed
payments to the host like ​samtrygg​. They are a bit more expensive for your part but it will be
helpful. Once you have some good references you can look for something yourself.

There are laws that regulate how high the rent can be. If you think your rent is too high or has
been too high you can contact hyresnämnden which might force the host to refund some of your
rent. If you rent through a second hand contract the host can cancel your contract without no
special reason.

10. Having children in Sweden

Sweden has a very beneficial system for childcare and child benefits. For each child you receive
a child care benefit each month at 1250 SEK per child. You will get extra if you have many

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children. If your child is born in Sweden and you have a personal identification number you can
also receive parental leave days. There are a total of 480 days that the parents can split among
themselves. You get approximately 80% of your salary. There is a minimum of 240 SEK per day
if the parent never worked before. The money is paid through försäkringskassan.

During the pregnancy the women has repeated contacts with the MVC, mother care central.
They will provide you with information and medical aid during the pregnancy, there are usually
two ultrasounds, one at week 12 and one around week 20. When the child is born there will be
recurring contacts with bvc, child care centre, where child is given vaccinations and weighed
and measured. Here you can search for your closest ​mvc​.

Your child does not become a Swedish citizen. The child will get the nationality of the mother.
Unless the couple are registered as married the father will have to sign papers that he is the
father of the child. This signing is done some time after the child is born, you need to book time
at your municipality ́ s socialnämnd. This will be necessary to be able to receive parental leave
days.

11. Applying for citizenship

You will automatically be offered citizenship if you have a permanent resident visa and lived in
the country for more than 5 years. You can apply earlier under certain circumstances. If you
have children that lived and got used to the life here or you have children that's been born here.

There are no other conditions more than having been steadily living here for a connected period
of five years and that you hold a permanent residence visa. There are no language tests or
demands that you need to be working all of the time. Not being committed for crime is also a
prerequisite to be able receive a citizenship.

If you have a personal identification number and a permanent residence visa why would you
want to become a swedish citizen? There are certain things that only citizens are allowed to do.
For instance:

1. Vote in national election

2. If you get sick and need a long term treatment a personal identification number will not
cover those costs. You will have to seek aid in your home country.
3. You will be granted a swedish passport which is among the most valuable passports in
the world which will allow you visa free entries to many countries.
4. You will automatically become an eu citizen. Since Sweden is part of eu and schengen
you will have the right to move and work in any of those countries.
5. A swedish citizenship can never be taken away from you. There are no laws that can
strip you of your citizenship.

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6. You can work and live in Norway since Sweden and Norway have a special agreement
between themselves.

12. Drivers licence

To get a driver's licence you need to pass the following tests:

- A driving test
- A theoretical test
- A medical exam
- Be over 18 years old

You can book time for test at ​trafikverket​. Driver's test should only be taken after a period of
practice. They are considered to be very strict with who gets approved. There are many private
schools that can help you with your driving lessons.

If you have a driving license from your home country the following rules apply:

- Within EES: You can change your driving license for a swedish one if you are
permanently living in sweden.
- Driving license from outside EES: if you have a valid driving license that conforms to
international standards you can use it for up to one year after you registered as a
swedish resident. Your driver's license needs to have a translation of english, german or
french to be valid.
- The only drivers licenses from countries outside EES that can be changed to a swedish
are those from Japan and Switzerland.

13. Open a business

The three most common forms of companies in Sweden are:

Enskild firma.​ In this form the company and your private economy is considered the same. This
form of company is common for people that sell their own services like it-consultants or smaller
businesses which only has one or few employees. At ​verksamt.se​ you can apply for getting
FA-tax which is a tax form specifically for companies. You also need to register your company in
the VAT-registry which you can also at ​verksamt.se​.

Paying taxes are different when you have an enskild firma. You have to pay in the VAT that your
services charges and your own social fees together with income taxes. Income taxes plus social
fees amounts to about 50% of your profit. You have to notify the tax authority how much you
expect to earn during the year. Then based on this you will pay a fixed amount of tax each

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month. You can deduct everything that is used by your company like cellphones, computers or
any other tool necessary for your work from your total profits which will make your tax less.

With enskild firma you cannot transfer profit from one year to another. Everything that you
earned during a year needs to be declared and tax all profit. You always declare by calendar
year with enskild firma. If it's in the start or end of your business you can have a longer or
shorter year depending on when it started or ended.

Aktiebolag ​is the same as a shareholder company. Each owner owns a share of the company.
This form of company is different from enskild firma in a few ways. You can transfer profit from
one year to another. Your economy and the company are separated.

You can own 100% of the shares and work alone in the company. Aktiebolag pays a different
kind of tax called bolagsskatt. Bolagsskatt is set to 22% of the profit. You need to determine a
salary for yourself in aktiebolag. This salary needs to correspond to your work effort. The tax on
the salary will be the same as in enskild firma. It is more paperwork and more strict controls to
have an aktiebolag. You probably need help from a certified accountant. A declaration year is
different from enskild firma. If your company started in februari you will declare the next year on
februari.

Handelsbolag​ is a less common but it is similar to enskild firma. The difference is that it has
more than one owner that shares the responsibilities of the company.

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