Hej everyone!

Before I moved to Sweden, I did some research on what I could arrange before actually moving and what I had to do in Sweden. It all starts with the personal number (“personnummer” in Swedish) and I’ll tell you more about this later. When you go to parties, want to buy things second hand, etc. you almost always find a Swish sign and sometimes Swish is the only way to pay. In order to get Swish, you have to get a Swedish bank account first. For me it’s also easier to pay rent with the Swedish bank account, since I have to pay extra money every time I make a transfer from my Dutch bank account with a foreign currency.

Let me make the process of getting a bank account clear for you, since it might be a little bit confusing sometimes.

1) Get your personal number
First of all, you need to have a personal number. You can get this by visiting Skatteverket. Be sure to bring all the documentation that is needed, such as your registration certificate, housing contract, health insurance card (EHIC) and your passport. Here you can find more information about the personal number. It can take up to three months before you get your personal number, if all the provided documentation is right, but I got mine after two weeks. So it really depends on how busy it is and if you gave all the right information.

2) Get a Swedish ID-card
After getting your personal number, it is time to get your Swedish ID card, which is issued by Skatteverket as well. Most of the time, the appointment time slots are very limited and they fill up really quickly, so it is a good idea to check the website regularly. On Wednesdays, they release new time slots. It is important that you pay the fee for the ID-card a few days before your appointment, it is 400 SEK. On the day and time of your appointment you have to go to Skatteverket, they will take a picture of you there and start the process of the ID-card. After approximately two weeks, you get a text message saying that the ID card is ready for pick up.

3) Visit a bank
Most of my friends have a bank account at either Swedbank or Nordea. I opened my bank account at Swedbank, and for this you don’t need to make an appointment. Just go to their branch in the city and tell them you want to open a bank account. It can take a while though, I think I waited around two and a half hours before it was my turn. For Nordea, I belief that you have to make an appointment. You have to take some documentation with you, but it really differs per bank and per employee what you have to show. For me, I only had to show my work contract and registration certificate and specify if I would make any international transfers and if these would be under or above a certain amount. However, I heard from friends that they might ask for bank statements, so it really depends. They all arrange it there, and then you get your bank card in a few days via post.

The only thing left is to activate the card, choose a pin code and activate Swish. This all is very well explained (in English) when you log in on the bank website. You can read more about Swish in this blog post from Emily.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, please let me know :).
// Milou

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