Everything Sweden

How to get a Swedish ID Card

April 16, 2016

I’ve just been to Skatteverket to apply for my Swedish ID Card, 2 years after I moved here.

I had been avoiding it for a few months, but there are some advantages of getting yours sooner rather than later. Rather than a personnummer or residency permit, an ID Card is not an essential part of your time in Sweden, but can become very useful in everyday life, such as:

  • Being able to collect post from the post office without your passport
  • Opening a bank account (in some places)
  • Getting ID’d at Systembolaget/without pointing and explaining where the date of birth is

What is the Swedish ID Card?

The ID Card is just a standard identification card that you probably have from your home country and includes all of your essential information for Sweden. It shows:

  • Name
  • Date of Birth and Personnummer
  • A photo
  • Sex
  • Height

Here is an example of a Swedish ID Card from Wikipedia.

Swedish ID Card

How to get your Swedish ID Card

The process for getting an ID in Sweden is pretty simple compared to most other applications you may have done so far. To be eligible you need to match one of the following:

  • Be over the age of 13
  • Be registered in Sweden with a personnummer (for more details on getting this, read our previous guide)
  • Have an existing ID method (ideally a passport)
  • If you are under the age of 18, have guardians signature

ID Cards are managed and given out by Skatteverket, but before heading there you first need to pay for your ID card. A card costs 400kr and to pay for it, you just need to make a Plusgiro or Bankgiro payment from your bank to one of the following accounts (correct at time of writing - April 2016. Please check here under the title “Hur dubetalaransökningsavgiften” for the latest account numbers.)

Bankgiro - 389-0100 Plusgiro - 50 40 62-1

If you are paying from a foreign bank account, you can use the following details (again, check the previous link for the latest bank details in case they change):

  • IBAN (International Bank Account Number): SE30 9500 0099 6034 0504 0621
  • Swift/BIC: NDEASESS

Once you have paid, print the payment details from your bank and bring it with you to Skatteverket, with your passport and any other documents you need.

Skatteverket is open from 10am in most places and if you are in Stockholm, you need to head to their Kungsholmen office here.

You will need to get there early to avoid the queues! And by early I mean 9:30 at the latest. It can get very busy.

If you are heading to the Kungsholmen office, head to the right to the ID KORTstand and let the staff know that you are interested in applying for a Swedish ID Card. Show them your payment details and they will give you a number. Follow the signs and wait your turn to speak with a case worker. They will check your details, and forward you to the next section.

Here, they will measure your height and then send you to the photo section. Wait your turn, and then take a seat in front of the camera. A case worker will enter your details into the system, take a photo and then ask you to write a signature. This is for their records and also to confirm that you accept the terms and conditions of the e-identity technology they use in the cards.

Once you are finished here, you are done.

It takes around 2 weeks to have your card produced, and they will send you a letter when your card is ready to come and collect. You must go into Skatteverket personally to collect your card.

And that’s it. I hope this guide has been useful and please let me know in the comments if there is anything you would like to know about getting a Swedish ID Card. Like I say, this is not an essential thing to get (as far as I know) but a great thing to have if you plan to be here for the long term.

Apologies for the cover picture. That’s the best picture I could find.