Sweden Bureaucracy

The journey in Sweden could be worth a lifetime, especially for me. The main thing that you have to know is how the bureaucracy works in Sweden, whether from having a local bank, local phone number, and how to register and join many activities in Sweden. This aspect would affect how you do your daily activities because Sweden is a well-known country for its efficiency and integrated system with cashless transactions. So it is better to prepare yourself in involving how the bureaucracy work in Sweden to make your life more convenient during your period of stay...  

So, here it is the steps that directly I have to tackle after I arrive in Sweden :

1. Swedish Identification Number

Right after I arrived in Sweden, I already got busy registering myself to get The coordination number. Mostly everybody who will migrate permanently or Swedish citizens they have a Personal Number which is the type of their Identity number that will align with everything that you need to do while you are staying in Sweden from Healthcare, Insurance, Education, etc. so, This was the first important things to start to do. Since I arrived in Sweden as an Aupair, the government only gave me a Coordination Number because I was lived less than two years. If you have a residence permit for two years or more, you will get a high chance to get the personal number, and you will acquire a benefit from it just like any other Sweden Citizens. The process will take 1-3 months, depending on your background check and the completeness of the document, but you have to go to their office or download the form from the Skatteverket website to start your application.

2. Taxes

You will be getting used so well to knowing how it works at the time you arrive in Sweden with this taxes officer regulation or we called it a Skatteverket ;). They are mainly going to make synchronicity with your bank account and the bank account from your employer to cut off your salary. The range of the deduction could be vary depending on how much you earn your fees. In my case, they cut my salary around 8% if iam not mistaken in 2021. Skatteverket also has a responsibility to launch your Identification number in Sweden, So you will get your identification number at the same time while you register your taxes. ;) Interesting isn't it? hahaha. So there is no other way for you to live in Sweden without registering as a taxpayer. I have been visiting Skatteverket four times during my stayed in Sweden, because there are such certain things that I need to report to them, for example, my name spelling error, and at first, they cut my salary too much and to collected more information about will I get my taxes back after I left the country.

3.Bank

On the first point, I was mentioned, what kind of benefit you will have if you had a Personal Number from Sweden. It helps you a lot to have access to having your local bank like Swedbank, Nordea, Forex Bank, etc. My case was a slight bit tough because I don't have a personal number, as I mentioned before, and only had the coordinator number as my identification number, so it makes the local bank facing difficulties to help me to open up a bank account. Because in the regulation they are eager to have a personal number as proof for their requirements. To arrange to open up a new account, you can directly be going to the bank in your city. They also have a website where you can read about the entire requirements, and some of the banks also disclose their online service through the website. I was being an Outsider in the Swedish system before, but luckily that I found Revolut bank to help me tackle my financial problems from the gap for being an outsider in cashless system :)

4. Phone Number

I was didn't find any difficulties without a sim card at first because Sweden was providing you with free wifi access almost everywhere. Besides, we still have it though to complete some documents or to book something so they can directly call your local number. You will get it for free as my Host Parent told and help me to get through it, and to order the sim card you can get it either through any Pressbyran store or order it right away to any well-known communication provider website in Sweden such as Comviq, Telia, Three and Telenor for an option which meets your needs.

 

Sweden's Bureaucracy could be strange for you at first and so frustrated, but after all, they will go to help your life so much easier through their interconnection system. I wish you could be patient to get through it and enjoy your life as it is supposed to be in Sweden, then you can move freely. It will be worth it, in the end, though, as long as you don't have a coordination number like me and want to do many things on your own hehehe.