Guide: moving from Sweden

There is always a lot to plan ahead of a relocation. If you are moving between two countries, there is even more to prepare. There may well be more than yourself to think of when you move from Sweden – such as children of various ages, or a dog and a cat. Perhaps you are moving from Sweden to study or work, or you are perhaps retired and want to spend life closer to your family in another Nordic country.

When you move from Sweden, learning about schools, public transport, and places to shop in the new country is not enough. There are many other practical matters to remember when you move abroad, so we have drawn up a guide with information and tips to make your relocation a bit simpler.

Always remember to check what regulations apply in the country to which you are moving. And remember that you must always notify your relocation abroad to the Swedish tax authority, the social insurance authority, and the pension authority if you are a pensioner.

Residence permit

Nordic citizens do not need to apply for a residence permit in another Nordic country.

EU citizens also have the right to study, work or live in Sweden without applying for a residence permit. If you cannot support yourself, you must apply for a residence permit for the right to stay in the country to which you are moving.

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU or EEA, you must apply for a residence permit in the country to which you want to move. If you have a residence permit in one Nordic country, it does not apply in the other Nordic countries. You must therefore contact the immigration authority in the country in question and find out the regulations for applying for a work or residence permit in the country. You must also contact the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) for information about whether you may lose your work or residence permit in Sweden if you move from Sweden or start working in another country.

Registration in the Population Register

If you are moving from Sweden for more than a year, you must contact both the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) to register your move to another country.

If you move to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, or Åland, it is the regulations in the country to which you are moving that determine whether you are to be registered as an in-migrant in that country. In most countries, you must register if you want to be there for longer than six months.

You must take proof of identity, including documentation regarding your citizenship (passport or ID card), and give your personal identity number and your previous address in Sweden to the registration authority in your new home country.

You must also report the move to your tax office in Sweden no later than a week before departure. You are not deregistered from the Swedish Population Register until the other Nordic country has decided that you must be registered there.

If you are going be abroad for less than a year, you can continue to be listed as a resident in Sweden. Contact the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for information about this.

When you move between the Nordic countries, you are covered by an inter-Nordic registration agreement between the Nordic countries. Under the terms of this agreement, you may only be registered in one place in the Nordic region.

It is also important to notify that a child is moving abroad. If your family is moving abroad together, one of the child’s parents must notify a move for the whole family to the Swedish Tax Agency. If the child is moving abroad with just one of the parents, both parents must sign the notification relating to the child.

Registration of an address

The Swedish Tax Agency registers the address you notify when you move abroad and forwards it to Swedish authorities, municipalities, and regional agencies, and to SPAR, the Swedish state register of addresses). SPAR forwards the information to its customers, such as banks, insurance companies, and associations.

Three years after you have moved from Sweden, SPAR deletes the information about you. However, your address will still be available for authorities, municipalities, and regional agencies. Remember to inform the Swedish Tax Agency if you change address in your new country. You must inform the companies and organisations that you believe should know the address at which you can be reached if you move again in your new home country.

Mail

Remember to get your mail redirected abroad or readdressed to someone in your family, and remember to change your address at banks and other institutions.

Whether you must pay tax in Sweden or not depends on where the Swedish Tax Agency regards you as being resident for tax purposes. Your residence for tax purposes is the country in which live, pay tax, and report your income.

The Swedish Tax Agency assesses whether you have unlimited or limited tax liability in Sweden when you move abroad.

If you move abroad, but continue to work for a Swedish employer, or receive your pension from Sweden, you must pay Swedish tax on these incomes.

When you are moving from Sweden temporarily or permanently, you must report this to Försäkringskassan so that they can assess whether you will continue to be covered by social insurance in Sweden.

If you move permanently to another country, you will probably no longer be covered by social insurance in Sweden. However, this depends on which country you move to and how long you will be away.

Försäkringskassan has various forms you must complete, depending on whether you will be working abroad, studying abroad, or moving abroad as a child, a pensioner, or as an accompanying person.

Based on the information you provide, Forsäkringskassan decides whether you will continue to be covered by social insurance in Sweden or whether you will be covered by social insurance in your new country.

If your social insurance in Sweden ceases, you are not covered by social insurance in Sweden when you are on holiday in Sweden.

If you are pregnant, you should find out about the regulations on parental leave before you move. Contact Försäkringskassan to find out about what applies for you in your situation, and whether you can take your parental leave to another country.

Severe illness

If you have a severe illness, you should contact your doctor and get a prescription for necessary medicine for the first weeks in the new country

Pension

If you move abroad as a pensioner, in addition to notifying your relocation to the Swedish Tax Agency and Försäkringskassan, you should also notify your move to the Swedish Pensions Agency. They can give you information about what you should think of when you move from Sweden as a pensioner.

If you have worked and paid tax in Sweden, you are always entitled to your income-based pension even if you move to another country.

You should find out about customs regulations for Iceland and Norway if you are moving to one of these countries and will be taking furniture and other removal goods, as these two countries are not members of the EU.

Most people take their dog or cat with them when they move to another country. However, there are things to consider when you move a pet from one Nordic country to another. You should therefore always check the import regulations for the country to which you are moving.

Your pet must always have a passport, which you can buy from your vet. Your dog or cat must always have a rabies vaccination, and this must be registered in the pet passport. In addition, you dog or cat must be marked with a chip.

Removal firms

Many removal firms can help with administration when you are moving abroad, and also help with all applicable export, import, and customs regulations if you are moving to a country that is not a member of the EU.

If you are moving to an EU country, the removal fees can be reduced by using the “RUT” subsidy (Rotarbete och rutarbete). When you commission an enterprise for “RUT” work, you are eligible for a tax deduction for part of the labour cost. It is only the labour cost that is subsidised, and the enterprise can deduct a maximum of 50% of the labour cost from the invoice.

Give notice on a rental contract

If you have a rented apartment, you must give notice on your rental contract in writing. You will find information about the period of notice in your rental contract.

Remember that you are responsible for the apartment throughout the period of tenancy. If you move before the period of tenancy has expired, make sure your rental contract is discontinued.

Handover of apartment

Irrespective of whether you are vacating a rental apartment or a tenant-owned apartment (bostadsrätt), you and the new tenant/owner must make arrangements about handing over the keys, extra equipment, and any instruction books.

Schools and preschools

If you are moving to another country with children, you should find a school or pre-school in your new area and register your child.

Authorisation

You should investigate whether you need to apply for authorisation or some other form of permit for the sector in which you want to work in your new country. The application process can take a long time, so you should be out in good time.

Trade union

If you are a member of a trade union in Sweden, it is a good idea to contact the central office before you move to another Nordic country. They can give you relevant information and tell you which trade union you should join in the country to which you are moving.

Unemployment insurance fund (A-kassa) and unemployment benefit

If you are moving from Sweden to another Nordic country, you can take your saved unemployment benefit rights with you.

If you have been a member of a Swedish unemployment insurance fund (a-kassa), you can transfer the Swedish insurance and work periods to the unemployment insurance scheme in another Nordic country.

The period during which you have been insured in a Swedish unemployment insurance fund is considered in the assessment of when you are entitled to unemployment benefit in the other Nordic country. If you want to have your insurance and work periods included in unemployment insurance in Norway or Iceland, you must have a certificate showing these periods. The unemployment insurance fund issues the certificate (PD U1). Contact your unemployment insurance fund for more information.

If you choose to take your car with you when you move from Sweden, you must register it in your new home country. Contact the transport authority and the customs authority in the country to which you are moving to find out more about importing a car.

Bank

When you are moving from Sweden, it is a good idea to contact your bank and close your accounts, change the address for your accounts, or pay off loans.

It can also be beneficial to have a letter or a form of recommendation from the bank to present when you start to make transactions in a bank in the new country.

Personal economy

When you move from one country to another, you should ensure that you can support yourself for the first weeks or months. You should be aware that you often have to pay a deposit for a rental property in the other Nordic countries, and that it sometimes takes time to process applications for housing benefit or child allowance.

If you receive benefits from the national insurance system, contact Försäkringskassan before you move.

Private insurance

When you move, it can be a good idea to look over your private insurance policies. If you have sold a property, you must have it insured until the date of access. You can get more information about this from your insurance company.

You should also contact your insurance company to find out what applies in the case of a move abroad, and to get information about the period of notice.

Citizenship

You do not lose your Swedish citizenship if you move to another country and are no longer registered in the Swedish Population Register. You also retain your Swedish personal identity number.

The right to vote

You retain your right to vote in parliamentary and EU elections in Sweden when you move to another Nordic country.

If you are a Swedish citizen and your 18th birthday is no later than the election day, you are automatically listed on the electoral roll. You remain on the electoral roll for ten years from the date you moved from Sweden.

A new ten-year period begins if you notify that you wish to remain on the electoral roll or report a new address in another country.

If you move to a new address in the other country while you are abroad, you must inform the Swedish Tax Agency.

Subscriptions

Go through your subscriptions and terminate them or move them to your new address. Remember to terminate your subscription with your electricity supplier, so that you do not pay for someone else’s electricity use. Remember to terminate any other subscriptions, such as telephone, broadband, gym, and newspapers.

Important documents

You should take with you certificates and documents from your children’s school or other educational institutions, birth certificates, vaccination cards, testimonials, degree certificates, and marriage certificate to your new home country.