Social assistance in Sweden

If you are staying in Sweden legitimately and cannot support yourself, you may be entitled to a benefit from your municipality. This benefit is called social assistance (ekonomiskt bistånd). Social assistance was previously called ‘social allowance’ (socialbidrag), and in everyday language, Swedes still call it that or ‘subsistence allowance’ (försörjningsstöd).

Do you have financial problems?

If you are facing financial challenges, caused by unemployment, sickness or debt problems, you may be entitled to social assistance in Sweden. This benefit is available to Danes, Finns, Icelanders, and Norwegians who are staying in Sweden legitimately, and are finding it difficult to support themselves and their families.

What is social assistance in Sweden?

You can apply for social assistance, which is short-term financial support, from the social services (socialtjänsten) in your municipality. The assistance is paid monthly by your Swedish municipality when you cannot support yourself.

Social assistance consists of two parts – livelihood support (försörjningsstöd) and financial support (bistand) for day-to-day expenses.

The subsistence allowance covers fixed expenses such as housing, electricity and insurance, and everyday expenses for food, clothes and footwear, leisure and hobbies, hygiene, newspapers, and telephone.

The financial support covers costs that arise from time to time, such as expenditure relating to glasses, dental care, medical treatment and medicine, moving expenses, and funeral costs. These are evaluated individually, in relation to what is considered reasonable, based on your life situation

Conditions for Swedish social assistance

In Sweden, everyone is obliged to support themselves and their family. This means that you must have a genuine financial need before you can receive social assistance, and you must first exhaust all other options to support yourself.

Social assistance is designed to be short-term financial support, to help you restore your ability to support yourself. This responsibility for your own situation is emphasised in the Swedish Social Services Act.

• You must be available to the labour market, unless you are sick and can present a doctor’s certificate about reduced work capability.
• You must apply for all other relevant benefits, such as sickness benefit, parental benefit, and housing allowance from Försäkringskassan.
• You must use your savings or sell assets to contribute to your upkeep.
• You and your partner must help each other financially if you live together.

Before the social services can award you social assistance, you must do what you can in relation to your capability to support yourself. Your municipality can help you with precise information about what applies in your situation.

When you apply for social assistance, the social services assess whether you are entitled to the benefit. Your application is assessed in relation to your financial situation and whether you satisfy the personal requirements set by the social services.

The social services may request proof that the information you give is accurate, for example by showing a rental contract or a bank statement.

How do you apply for social assistance?

Social assistance is available to everyone in Sweden. Contact your Swedish municipality to apply, and you will be given help and advice by a social worker. There is no fixed time frame for case processing, but the application will be processed as quickly as possible.

You can use the National Board of Health and Welfare’s calculation tool to see whether your finances are over or below the level to qualify for social assistance. However, the results do not guarantee that you qualify for social assistance.

If your application is rejected, completely or partly, you can register a complaint with the Administrative Court (Förvaltningsrätten) in Sweden. You can also contact the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO) in Sweden if you are dissatisfied with how the case processing was handled.

If you are a Nordic citizen and staying in Sweden temporarily and legitimately, you are treated in the same way as the country’s own citizens when it comes to social assistance and social services.

If you have acute need for social assistance and social services during a legitimate and temporary stay in Sweden, you may be entitled to appropriate assistance in accordance with Swedish legislation and regulations.

You can only be sent back to your home country on the grounds of receiving social assistance if the support is necessary for your livelihood over a longer period and comprises most of your income. If you have a special connection with Sweden, for example through family relations, or if you have been legitimately resident in Sweden for at least three years, you cannot be sent back because of the need for social assistance.

Social assistance must give individuals and their families a reasonable standard of living in Sweden. Every year, the Swedish Government sets a national standard (riksnorm) for expenses for food, clothes, health and hygiene, leisure, child insurance, disposable articles, newspapers, telephone charges, and individual expenses for housing, electricity, work-related travel, home insurance, trade union fees, and prescription medicine. This standard forms the basis for the level of social assistance.

The national standard considers factors such as household size, age of children and young people, and whether the adult in the household is a single parent or a co-inhabitant. The amount of social assistance is the same for all municipalities, and is based on this national standard.

If you have any questions about social assistance and your possibilities for receiving this support, contact your municipality in Sweden.

You can read about social assistance in Sweden on the websites of your municipality and the National Board of Health and Welfare.