Introduction
After moving to a new country, there are many things to do and a number of bureaucratic hoops that you will need to jump through. If you are new to a country, you may not be familiar with how the bureaucratic process work. In Sweden, one of these things that should be on your checklist is to get a Swedish ID card.
Having a local ID will make certain things easier. There are many things you will do where you need to show an ID, such as collecting packages, opening a bank account, or proving your age and identity in restaurants, shops, or pharmacies. However, the only foreign ID that these places will accept is your passport, which I know personally is not something that I like to carry around when I can avoid it.
Who Can Get a Swedish ID
While having a Swedish ID is very convenient, not everyone is able to get one. For one, you need to be at least 13 years old. If you are under 18, you will also need permission from your parent or guardian. In addition, you must be registered as living in Sweden. More specifically, you will need to have your personal number to get a Swedish ID.
How to Get a Swedish ID
To begin, you should look at the Skatteverket website to book an appointment. This is important because not all Skatteverket locations issue ID cards. Even if there are appointments available immediately, you should book a few days out because you will need your application fee to register in the Skatteverket system. They say it takes approximately one banking day for your payment to register.
The next step after your appointment is booked is to pay your application fee. This fee is SEK 400 and you must be able to provide a receipt showing that you have paid. You can do this by printing out the payment confirmation and bringing that with you to your appointment.
To make this payment there are a few options. If you are paying from a bank within Sweden, you can send the money using bankgiro. If you are paying from a bank outside of Sweden, you can send the payment using the IBAN and SWIFT codes for Skatteverket which can be found here.
No matter how you pay, do not forget to state your personal number in the OCR or message field. This is how Skatteverket registers that the payment is associated with your application. It is also important to note that your payment will not be refunded if your application is not approved or if you cancel your appointment.
Next you should gather the documentation you will need at your appointment. You should bring the following documentation with you:
Proof that you paid the application fee
A National ID, such as a passport.
If you are living in Sweden with a residence permit, you should also bring that.
If you are under 18, you should also bring the permission form from Skatteverket which you can find on this page.
The mail from Skatteverket that proves you were issued a personal number.
you shouldn't need your housing contract, but if you want to bring that as well it does not hurt.
The next and somewhat obvious step is to show up to your appointment. Here, they will ask for the information above. It is also at this point that they will take your photo, get your height, and complete the submission of your ID application. They will also give you a document that acknowledges your application that you need to be sure to keep.
After you have submitted this information, Skatteverket begins processing your application. They say it takes approximately 2 weeks to complete, but the time does vary. Some people get the response quicker, for some the process takes longer. Similar to getting your personal number, they will not give you a processing time for your specific case.
After your application has been processed, you will get a letter in the mail and/or a text stating that your ID card is ready to be collected. After you get this message, bring the acknowledgment document you received when you made the application and go collect your ID at the office where you applied. You will want to pick it up as soon as possible of course, but you need to make sure that you pick it up within 2 months. You do not need to make an appointment to collect your ID.
At this point the only step remaining is to start using your ID. It is valid for 5 years, at which point you will need to apply for a new card.
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