tricks of the trade

09/12/2017

When I got of the plane and finally set foot in Stockholm after 17 months of the residence permit decision process, I was ecstatic to say the least. Soon, however, I remembered that there were still lots of steps I needed to do to complete the moving here process. With having few people to talk to about how best to complete the process and what to expect, I wanted to be able to help others with my process and helpful hints. See below:

First... I set up the earliest appointment with the Migrationsverket on their website here to provide them with my finger prints and photograph. The website also mentions what is needed to bring with you during your appointment as it will differ per circumstance. I traveled by train to Gothenburg for a day trip, and the process there was very quick! I was pleasantly surprised, and I received my card in less than a week.

When I received my card, I was able to register with Skatteverket, aka tax agency, and receive my personal number. For this process, you don't need to set up an appointment, but you may have to wait in a long line for quite a bit of time. There are several locations, however, I found that the location in Solna was a quick line for a rainy Thursday around noon. Take a look here at what documents are needed to take with you.

Next up - change my last name in the States. This involves contacting the US Embassy and update your passport and social security number. This process depends on what county you are a citizen of. If the US Embassy, then they are easy to work with and are pretty good about the response time to emails. If you don't yet have your Swedish ID card, like in my case, you will need to provide them with a return shipping label issued to someone that does, as PostNord is very strict with the pick up of individual's registered mail. See here for the needed documents to get a new passport. The US Embassy only take calls on Tuesdays between 9am-11am so hopefully you have questions on a Monday before!

Following this, for me it was now time to get my Swedish ID card. There is only one Skatteverket location in Stockholm where you can get this done, which means VERY LONG LINES. I went on a Monday at 12:30pm and left the building at 3:05pm. Be prepared to wait. You will need your passport and I recommend bringing your residence permit card as well. When the ID card is ready, they will mail you a notice and you do have to go back to the same location to pick it up, which means waiting in line again.

If you are looking to take Swedish language classes, you will need to sign up with SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) within the area that you live. There are many locations and educators. To sign up, you can do so online here, but you must be registered in Stockholm and have your personal number. They will contact you within 2 weeks regarding your class schedule.

I hope this helps with the first steps in others journey of moving abroad to Sweden!

*Helpful tips from the professionals on moving to Sweden at Skatteverket available HERE.