The first thing you do when you move to Sweden regardless of migration status is apply for registration on the Swedish Population Register via Skatteverket. This will in turn trigger your personal identity number (personnummer). This number will grant you access to EVERYTHING from healthcare and schools to your supermarket loyalty club card.

Skatteverket – where is your nearest Skatteverket office

Skatteverket – things to bring when applying for Personnummer.

Your personnummer acts as the keychain to all of your personal information. Some may feel that this is a little too “big brother” but I promise, it makes life so much easier! The most useful benefit of having the personnummer can be experienced when filling out online forms. Another useful tool used in conjunction with personnummer is BankID, this unlocks all sorts of tools from online banking, e-services from Skatteverket and Försäkringskassan, to picking up parcels from the post office.

BankID – what is it and how do I get it?