Personnummer (Swedish personal identity number)

The personnummer is Sweden's lifelong identity number. Skatteverket says everyone registered in the Swedish Population Register (folkbokföring) receives one, and it stays the same even if you later move abroad. It has three parts: a six-digit birth date in year, month, day order, a three-digit birth number and a final control digit, for example 640823-XXXX for someone born on 23 August 1964. The second-last digit is odd for men and even for women, and the hyphen becomes a plus sign in the year a person turns 100.

Banks, employers, health care, pharmacies and most public services ask for it, and many Swedish digital services expect it.

Skatteverket says you should generally be registered if you plan to live in Sweden for one year or more, and should not be registered if you plan to stay for less than a year. If you are not an EU or EEA citizen you must also have a Swedish residence permit, such as a work permit from Migrationsverket.

If you do not qualify, the alternative is a coordination number (samordningsnummer), an identifier Skatteverket can assign to someone who has never been in the Population Register. Getting a personnummer later replaces the coordination number.

1. Arrive with your residence permit card, if you have one, and your passport.
2. Notify the move through Skatteverket's e-service Moving to Sweden (Flytta till Sverige). You can submit it no earlier than 14 days before you move, and each family member needs a separate notification.
3. Book an identity check at a state service centre and bring the original identity documents.
4. Wait for the decision, which Skatteverket sends by post.

Skatteverket says it takes about six weeks for a case to be assigned to an administrator, and cases are handled in order of receipt. Registration has no fee.

For legitimation, Socialstyrelsen does not need a personnummer when it assesses your education, so you can start from abroad. When you apply for the licence itself you need a personnummer or a coordination number. If you have neither, Socialstyrelsen asks Skatteverket to assign a coordination number, and you then complete an identity check at a Skatteverket office or a Swedish passport authority abroad. Socialstyrelsen also asks you to tell it when you get a number, so its HOSP register is updated.

For a nurse or doctor from outside the EU, the order is usually: Socialstyrelsen assesses your education from abroad, you get a job or training post and a work permit, you move and register with Skatteverket, and you receive your personnummer. You then use it for pay, tax and your later licence application. If your first permit or contract is shorter than a year, you may get a coordination number first and a personnummer only once you are registered as living in Sweden. Keep Socialstyrelsen informed when your number changes, so your file and the HOSP register match.

• Short contracts. A permit or contract for under a year usually means a coordination number, not a personnummer.
• Applying too early. The e-service only accepts a notification from 14 days before your move.
• Incomplete passport copies. Skatteverket asks for copies of every passport page that contains information.