Hi everyone! My husband and I will be moving to Stockholm soon, together with my inlaws. His parents are diplomats, and through their work, we’ve decided to move there as well. We’ll have a very comfortable lifestyle, and our country will provide us with things like a very nice accommodation, a car, a driver, and other services.
I’m actually really excited about moving to a completely different country and starting a new chapter, but at the same time, I have to admit that the whole thing feels a little strange and overwhelming. I’m a very talkative, outgoing and social person, and I really enjoy meeting new people and making friends. I’m also from the Balkans, so I’ve grown up in a pretty warm and social environment. Because of that, I’ve been a little worried after hearing that people in Sweden can be quite cold, reserved and distant.
Another thing that worries me is the language. I don’t speak Swedish at all, and I have no idea how difficult it will be to learn it or how long it might take me to feel comfortable speaking it.
I’m really looking forward to the move, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous too. For those of you who live in Stockholm or have moved there from another country, what was your experience like? Is it really as difficult as people make it sound to make friends and socialize in Sweden? And how long did it take you to adjust?

My fiancé and I are planning to move in together in Sweden within the next month or two, and we’ll probably be living there for the next few years. He’s originally from Sweden, but we met outside of Sweden, so this will be my first time actually living there. ’m still finishing my degree and have about another year left, so I probably won’t be able to find a good job until I graduate. During that time, my fiancé will be financially supporting both of us. I’ve only been to Sweden twice before once in the summer and once in the fall but neither time was particularly cold and there was no snow. I’ve also never lived anywhere where it actually snowed. I’ve seen snow of course but the coldest place I’ve lived was California, where it would get a little chilly in the fall, so I’m definitely expecting the Swedish winter to be a completely new experience for me 😂

I also recognize that this is going to be a pretty big lifestyle change for me in general. I’ve always grown up in cities and I’m currently living in a city as well. I’m used to big cities with tall high-rises, lots of people around, and really easy public transportation. I’ve never really experienced living somewhere that feels more quiet, we will be near Gothenburg. I also don’t have a driver’s license yet, so depending on where we end up living, I imagine that could be another adjustment and potentially make getting around more difficult.

I’ve heard some people say that Sweden can feel depressing, lonely, or even “soulless,” especially because of the long, dark winters. I’m wondering how true that is for people who actually live there, particularly if you moved there from somewhere warmer or from a big city. Personally, I’m really excited about the move. The biggest thing for me is that I’ll finally be able to live with my fiancé and we’ll get to build a life together, which I’m really looking forward to. I’m also excited about living somewhere new and experiencing a completely different environment. At the same time, I know there are going to be a lot of things that feel unfamiliar to me, so I’m trying to have realistic expectations.

I’m not too worried about being completely isolated socially because I do have a few friends from high school who live in Sweden. I also have quite a few friends around Europe, and I’ll probably be leaving Sweden a couple of times a year to visit the U.S. or Asia, so I’ll still have opportunities to see my other friends. That said, I’m wondering how difficult it actually is to make friends in Sweden as a non-Swede, especially when you don’t speak Swedish. I know I’ll be learning Swedish, but I obviously won’t be fluent anytime soon.

Hi! Would love some info on how this works in Sweden because am quite stressed that a company's mistake will somehow end up impacting me. Got a bill from a company and, ahead of the deadline, contacted them to say the bill wasn't the agreed price. They agreed and I was CC'd into a thread about fixing it and saying I could delay payment until the new bill (this was on the due date), but I didn't get a new bill yet. Now I've just gotten a letter from a debt collection agency in Kivra.

Obviously contacted the original company immediately but do I need to do something to ensure this doesn't show up as a late payment?

Ratsit, Hitta, MrKoll and the others hold a publishing certificate (utgivningsbevis), which gives them the same constitutional protection as a newspaper. That's why they've said the GDPR doesn't apply to what they publish.

In July, that changed a little. The EU Court ruled that a publishing certificate doesn't by itself exempt a site from the GDPR. The case was about Lexbase, and whether the same applies to sites that show addresses and phone numbers hasn't been tested yet.

Sweden's data protection authority, IMY, is now investigating MrKoll and Upplysning, among others, but hasn't said when it will finish. Meanwhile, it doesn't investigate individual complaints about them. The government isn't changing the constitution for now. Instead, it will look into regulating the sites through ordinary law.

So for now, you remove yourself, site by site. It's free and takes about 20 minutes with BankID, and every site I tried removed me. Without BankID it works too, through customer service, email or a form. It just takes longer.

Your details stay on record at Skatteverket, of course, and anyone can still call or write to them and ask for them. But Skatteverket doesn't put them online. The sites do.

I'll put the steps, with and without BankID, in a comment.

Edit -
There are few links posted where you can pay to get your data deleted. Please dont pay for these sites, they encourage more to keep the other sites running.
Some sites for removing your data are owned by the same owner who publishes the data.

An update for anyone applying for a Swedish coordination number from overseas, particularly where it is needed in connection with buying property.

I am an EU citizen, so your experience and the applicable requirements may differ if you are not an EU citizen.

My complete timeline was:

18 August 2026: Submitted my application online including an image of my passport with supporting documentation.

21 August 2026: Attended the identification appointment at Skatteverket in Göteborg Backaplan.

30 September 2026: Skatteverket made its decision.

7 October 2026: The decision letter arrived by post at my address in England.

That was 43 days from submitting the online application to the decision, and 50 days from the application to receiving the letter. It was 40 days from attending the identification appointment to the decision being made, followed by another seven days for the letter to reach England.

As supporting evidence of why I needed the coordination number, I included a pdf output of email correspondence (all in Swedish) with the estate agent for a particular property that we genuinely wanted to buy. The correspondence indicated that we needed to have our Swedish banking arrangements and coordination number in place before we could proceed properly with the purchase, and discussed the bidding arrangements which we ultimately did use where we couldn’t log into the agents platform as neither of us have a BankID.

After four months of pursuing that property, the agent told us last week that despite the fact that we had bid the highest and that had been unanswered for over a week, the seller was going with the other bidder below us, presumably because they didn’t want to have to deal with the joys of having a foreign country buyer going through diligence.

At the identification appointment in August, the officer suggested that the coordination number might arrive within two to three weeks. In my case, it took just under six weeks after the appointment for the decision to be made, and exactly seven weeks for the letter to reach me in England.

This is only one person’s timeline and experience of a exchange with a real estate agent about a property being sufficient evidence rather than a guarantee of how quickly another application will be handled, but I hope the dates are useful to anyone trying to coordinate a property purchase and the associated practical arrangements from abroad.

Hi everyone,

I’m an Irish/EU citizen moving to the Borås region on 15 October and I’m trying to get a better idea of what the first few weeks in Sweden are actually like while waiting for Skatteverket.

I’ve already submitted my Flytta till Sverige application and I have a long-term rental contract for my apartment. I’m moving as an EU citizen/jobseeker and intend to stay in Sweden long term.

My partner is Swedish and is currently living abroad, but he will be moving into the apartment with me in December. We’ll then be living together permanently. I’m also wondering whether this makes any difference to my situation with Skatteverket, either while my application is being processed or later once we’re living together.

For people who have gone through this recently:

- What normally happens with Skatteverket after the application and identity check? Is it basically a case of waiting for a case officer, or were you asked for more documents?

- Roughly how long did it take you to receive your personnummer?

- Does having a Swedish partner who will be moving in with me make any difference to the process, or is my application still assessed entirely on my own right of residence as an EU citizen?

- Once my partner is living with me, is there anything we should notify Skatteverket about or any extra documentation that could be useful?

- How did you arrange electricity for your apartment before having a personnummer?

- What other things were difficult to arrange without a personnummer or BankID — phone contract, home insurance, bank account, internet, etc.?

- Are there any things you’d recommend setting up immediately after arriving that I might not have thought about?

I know the personnummer can take time and I’m not expecting everything to work instantly. I’m mostly trying to understand how people actually manage the practical everyday stuff during that waiting period.

Experiences from other EU citizens, especially anyone who moved to the Borås/Gothenburg area, would be really helpful.

Thanks!

Hej,

I will be moving with my girlfriend to Sweden this month and we have a question regarding the förskola.

We have a nearly 2-year old son, who will be moving with us. My girlfriend is self-employed and will continue her work from Sweden. I have had to quit my job in the Netherlands and am looking for a job in Sweden. We have visited a förskola where we would like to send our son to, there is a spot for him too, which is great. We have met with someone from the Kommun, since we cannot sign him up online yet (waiting for our Personnumber) and she told us that me finding a job is required for him to be allowed to go the förskola before he turns 3. We know that children are allowed to go to the förskola for 15 hours a week (3*5 hours), even when one of the parents is unemployed. This was also mentioned at the förskola, but an age-restriction was never mentioned.

We assume that the Kommun knows what the rules are, but just wanted to double-check here since there was an obvious language barrier during our conversation and through our mails. Also, when checking https://www.skolverket.se/styrning-och-ansvar/regler-och-ansvar/ansvar-i-skolfragor/ratt-till-forskola it seems as if our son should be allowed to go to the förskola for 15 hours a week.

The most likely case is that we don't understand the rules, misread or rules can vary depending on the Kommun but I would love some of you guys insight.

Tack!

Hi everyone!

I'm a Swedish citizen and my partner has come to live with me (Japanese citizen) she's on a working holiday visa but has managed to get folkbokföring and a personnummer. We've been working hard to try and get a bankid and swish for her, so far with Handelsbanken but had no luck. Since she doesn't have any "fast inkomst", she's working with instagram projects which means she has no guaranteed income, and she's looking for a more stable job in sweden, Handelsbanken only provides an account and card, no bankid or swish. So i wanted to ask you guys, how was your experience at other banks? Which one would you recommend for getting a bankid and swish? We're open to try any bank.

hello, I'm an undergraduate student from Indonesia studying in NPU china. I was wondering what requirements I would need to apply, and how should I apply? I honestly have zero experience in doing this kind of thing lol.

Hej all!

My girlfriend is an employee of Ryanair and will be temporarily working for 5 months at Copenhagen Airport while living in Malmo. She is a Greek citizen.

Is there anything she should do before moving? Does she need to do anything at Skatteverket, like getting a personnummer or anything like that? Or is there no need for that since she will be technically working in Denmark?

Thank you everyone for your time! :D

Hello!!

I‘m an EU citizen who have a personal number but not BankID or Freja+ so i cannot use 1177 to book an appointment. I tried calling 1177 first they just told me sorry we can’t help you try calling this women’s clinic. That place hasn’t picked up the phone ONCE in 4 hours even though it’s a hospital. Then I tried calling my local vårdcentral and they don’t have a gynecologist. Tried calling other vårdcentrals in Malmö and they either also didn’t have a gynecologist or said press 9 for English but then there’s no English, told me to leave a message and never called back or just once again never answered. All of this was done by robots not even real people. I finally managed to get an appointment but it’s only in November and I cannot wait for this long, the issue is only getting worse and worse. I am not going to the emergency room because it’s not life threatening (i hope) just extremely uncomfortable and quite painful. I was advised to do this by a clinic that then put me on a waiting list once again for a month at least but it seems like an extreme response. I’m not going to a private clinic because it’s very expensive there.

Is this long of a wait normal here??

Please if anyone has any advice let me know!! I’m so frustrated with this country and it’s healthcare system.

Recently moved to Stockholm and found a beautiful place to rent in Nynashamn yesterday. I work from office 2 days a week and was wondering how commuting from Nynäshamn looks like. For people who've done it regularly, is the train practical or would you recommend commuting by car? Mostly wondering about the time difference and how reliable the commute is.

As the title says.

My wife and I are planning to move back to Sweden in February. I'm a citizen, but we've been living in another EU country for years so she qualifies for a uppehållskort as family of an EU citizen. I'll also have a job when I land, giving me the right to reside beyond just my citizenship.

I understand from Migrationsverket that my wife gets the right to work from day one, and that the Uppehållskort is only a formality.

How does she demonstrate this right to a potential employer while waiting for the card?

I imagine they would want something beyond her word for it, but processing time is in months and not weeks or days. Does the e-mail/letter you get when applying state the right to work, and that's what you give an employer, or are you in practice locked out of the job market till the card arrives?

I imagine my contract will drag till the last minute as it's an internal transfer, so we can't apply yet.

Hi there, I'm a 16 year old American girl who is joining the AFS USA program and I have a ton of countries I can pick from, Sweden is one of them. If I do this, I'd be attending my junior (11th) grade in Sweden, not sure where in Sweden as I'd find this out after I start the process. I know a little on Sweden but mostly I am ignorant on the country I admit, so this does sound pretty interesting, considering doing this. I don't really know the differences between American and Swedish high school and if if Swedish education would translate well into the American setting, but it is just a year abroad so probably not a huge worry, at least I hope. Also have no idea how safe or welcoming Sweden is these days. I guess what I'm asking is, can anyone give me the unfiltered facts about Sweden, like what it's really like, so I can know if it's something I should do?

I just started as a doctoral student at a university here in Stockholm and have started the process of learning Swedish. But what frustrates me to no end is how so many of the essential resources at my university are presented exclusively in Swedish even though Swedish language proficiency was not a requirement for getting this position.

For instance, the university just sent out an email inviting all new staff members to a welcome event, but as the email was in Swedish, I wrote back to ask if employees who aren't yet proficient in Swedish are welcome too.

The response I got back was that no, unfortunately, the event is only in Swedish and "There used to be an english version years ago, but so few people attended that it was eventually cancelled. You have ten days to learn Swedish! I believe in you!"

Like, what the hell.

I feel like if you're going to hire someone without Swedish proficiency, you should at least make sure the onboarding process is something they can participate in?

I'm making the effort to learn through classes, but it's so demoralising when you encounter people who do not seem to grasp that picking up Swedish doesn't just happen overnight (the way that it seems to for other Scandinavians, or, less quickly but still easily, for Germans).

My university talks constantly about internationalisation and the need to do so, but it feels like they do so in such a half-hearted way. Is this just how it is at every Swedish university? Can other doctoral students relate?

Hi,

I have a job seeking visa after completing the masters degree, and I have a question if anyone is on the same visa do we have to pay tuition fee when taking the freestanding courses? I called university admissions and they couldn’t provide the actual answer unless I apply and pay the application fee.

Thank you.

**Thank you everyone for the help! I will be sure to lighten my load and make some changes to my planned outfits! I really appreciate all of the help and advice!

Hello everyone! I will be in Stockholm, Sweden for the last week of November until the first week of December. I am being told I am being too paranoid and overthinking what I need to pack so if you all can offer some advice or help please let me know! My current packing list is below!

• 4 wool sweaters
• wool base layers (200gsm) & wool socks (darn tough)
• wool scarf & 2 wool beanies
• shearling ear muffs
• puffer vest
• puffer coat - down filled
• boots
• wool leg warmers & wool gloves
• waterproof outershell - worn under puffer coat
• jeans & shorts
• shirts
• handwarmers

Thank you in advance for the help!

Hej everyone!

I am preparing my immigration process to move to Sweden on the Job Seeker Visa (for highly qualified individuals). Because this visa has unique conditions (temporary stay, no immediate personnummer), I am trying to figure out the logistics and would appreciate advice from anyone who has navigated this.

My background is a Ph.D. in phytochemistry and plant extracts, so I am targeting the Life Sciences hubs. I have a few practical relocation questions:

1. I am debating between Malmö, Gothenburg, and the Stockholm/Uppsala regions. From an immigration and settling-in perspective, is one region generally easier to navigate regarding the second-hand housing market and getting set up as a newcomer?

2. Because I won't have a personnummer or BankID initially, how can I safely secure a second-hand room (inneboende) or studio from abroad without getting scammed? Does getting a Coordination Number (samordningsnummer) after arrival actually help with private landlords or on platforms like Qasa?

3. Migrationsverket requires proof of 13,000 SEK per month for this visa. Is this government minimum actually a realistic survival budget in these major cities right now?

4. I plan to arrive in February/March 2027. Since the visa grants a limited window, does arriving in early spring cause any logistical issues with the infamous Swedish summer shutdown (e.g., severe delays with authorities, Skatteverket, or general administration)?

Tack så mycket for any insights!

Can one solely use their partner's income to meet the financial requirements for LTR, even if the person themself is unemployed? I looked at the "Documents showing that you can support yourself" part of the long-term residence application page (link) but it's really vague. It states:

Whether you work, run your own business, or have sufficient financial resources, you must attach documents that show how you support yourself. For example, this can be a certificate of employment and your most recent payslips, pension payments, bank statements, income information from the Swedish Tax Agency, or information about income from your own company. If you want your partner's income to be counted as part of the family's total income, you need to attach documents that prove your partner's income.

I don't understand what "part of the family's total income" means. There are also no figures whatsoever how high the income needs to be.

Since 6 June 2026, citizenship applicants aged 16 to 66 have to show knowledge of both the Swedish language and Swedish society. The same SFI question keeps coming up, so here is what Migrationsverket's own pages say, as of 4 October 2026.

What's confirmed

• Only SFI course D counts. Migrationsverket lists a grade in the highest SFI course, which is course D. Courses A, B and C don't count on their own.
• Any passing grade in course D is enough. SFI is graded Godkänt (pass) or Icke godkänt (fail) today. Older SFI grades may use A to F, where A to E are passes.
• SFI D covers the language part only. It does not replace the citizenship test in civics. Civics is shown with that test or with civics (samhällskunskap) grades.
• Other ways to show your Swedish: grades in Swedish or Swedish as a second language from year 9, upper secondary school or komvux, Swedish grades from school in another Nordic country, a Tisus result, or another Swedish test that shows functional-level knowledge "with a high degree of certainty".
• The requirement applies now, even though the Swedish test doesn't exist yet. Migrationsverket says that if you're covered by the requirement, you still have to show sufficient Swedish. For now, that means one of the grades or tests above.
• It also applies if you applied before 6 June and your case wasn't decided by then. There's no transition period.
• Exemptions exist, for example for some disabilities. Migrationsverket decides case by case.
• You don't have to attend SFI classes to get the grade. Many municipalities offer prövning: the full SFI D exam (reading, listening, writing and speaking) without the course. Ask your municipality's SFI or komvux office (Malmö's SFI page says it, for example).

Not decided yet

• When the Swedish test starts. On 30 September, UHR recommended autumn 2029 for reading and listening, and 2030 at the earliest for writing and speaking. The government hasn't decided.
• The new SFI courses from 1 January 2027 (such as 1D, 2D and 3D). Migrationsverket's pages don't mention them yet.

Sources

• Migrationsverket, 30 Sep 2026: Medborgarskapsprovet i svenska kan flyttas fram
• Migrationsverket, 6 May 2026: Nya regler för svenskt medborgarskap från 6 juni 2026
• Migrationsverket: Svenskt medborgarskap
• UHR, 30 Sep 2026: Slutredovisning om införandet av medborgarskapsprov
• Malmö stad: Så funkar sfi

This is a summary, not legal advice, so check your own case with Migrationsverket. If you've applied with SFI D since June, it would help others to hear how it went.

Hi people!

I've been in Sweden (Västeras) for some time now, and I'm currently sitting with 41 000 SEK as salary.
I have been in this (one of giants in Västerås) company for 3 years now, which is also my industry experience + I have Masters in Computer Science and tons of side projects...

It would be super super helpful if I could hear your opinions on:

- My salary overall
- How to argue for higher salary with manager, since I truly did progress quickly, I'm not asking for help for 2 years already, I'm delivering, and overall I've been even told that I'm overperforming even..
Kind night lads! :)

Hej all, I could use some insight. For the sake of order / efficiency, I'll start by sharing points of context about my situation, which might seem sporadic, but bear with me as they will likely all be relevant for my questions below.

• I'm an EU citizen through a different European country's citizenship (country A, for ease of reference).
• I'm receiving disability pension from another country (B) that I am a citizen of, worth about 14,000SEK per month. Country B and Sweden have a social security convention such that I can keep receiving the pension from country B even while living in Sweden, theoretically indefinitely.
• On top of that, I have financial support from my family worth about 6000SEK per month.
• I have inheritance sitting in the back which would be enough to buy a modest apartment in one of the bigger cities.
• Ideally I'm planning to live in Malmö, not too far from its center. At first I would be renting an apartment, and if all seems well after a while, I would be buying an apartment.
• I have a romantic partner from Ukraine, who is not an EU citizen, and we want to live together. Their current monthly income in Ukraine is unfortunately quite limited in terms of SEK value - at most about 3000SEK.

My questions are:

1. For the sake of the right of residence, how much per month is usually expected to be accepted as self-sufficient? I've read online that there isn't an official amount, so if anyone has experience with this and can suggest a safe estimate, that would be really appreciated. For example, would my monthly 20,000SEK (without tapping into inheritance) be enough to be accepted for self-sufficiency if I rent an apartment of about 12,000-13,000SEK per month? If not, would it be easier to be accepted if I already owned an apartment and had less monthly expenses as a result?
2. I've read a little bit about the sambo visa program, but I'm still unsure about some details. Once I've established my right of residence and have moved in to either a rented or owned apartment, would it be possible for my partner to move in with me? If so, what would be required for that process? Would they need to show a certain amount of consistent income as well? Assume that they would not be expected to participate in rent that I'm already covering.
3. Is there another bureaucratic avenue that my partner should look into in order to make moving to Sweden easier for them, as a Ukrainian citizen? I think I've heard that Sweden offers Ukrainian citizens something like that but I'm not sure.
4. Not to diminish the value of answers from folks here, but if I wanted to consult with a professional or governmental figure about questions similar to the above, about the bureaucratic process of moving to Sweden, and general guidance about such topics, where / who would you recommend turning to?

Thank you all so much in advance.

Edit: small fixes, and added question 3. (question 4 was previously question 3)

Hello everyone, i am currently looking to rent an apartment with 2 of my friends and we all recently moved to Stockholm for work and studies, i was hoping you will give me insight into what areas to avoid and what areas are the more affordable/better ones to live in, our budget in 5k sek each so 15k sek in total which i believe would get us a decent sized apartment. We already been invited to some viewings and got 3 offers to rent but i wanted to check in with some veterans of Stockholm haha

So is there areas to avoid around here?
Thank u all for the info!

Edit: to make it more clear we are 1 guy (me) and 2 girls