Sweden has a well-organized administrative system, in which the personal number and coordination number play an important role. These numbers are essential for arranging matters such as taxes, health care and work. But also for opening a Swedish bank account, registering a (holiday) home in your name at the land registry and disconnecting utilities such as electricity, waste collection etc. such a number comes in handy.
What is a Swedish Personal Number (Personnummer)?
The personal number (in Swedish: personnummer) is a unique identification number that is assigned to people who reside permanently or for a long period of time in Sweden. The number is comparable to the Dutch citizen service number (BSN) and in general a ‘social security number’, but is used much more widely in Sweden. The personal number is necessary for many aspects of daily life: from access to health care and opening a bank account, to contracts for utilities such as electricity, internet and registering with the tax authorities.
The personal number consists of a total of 10 digits, of which the first six digits form your date of birth in the format YYMMDD. The last four digits make the number unique, and your gender is also indicated. Men get an odd last digit and women an even digit. This number is permanent and remains linked to your identity for life. This also applies if you emigrate to Sweden and then move back at a later time. You then deregister with the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) and are deregistered from the Swedish population register (folkbokföring). You will lose your resident status, but your personal number will remain active in the system.
What is a Swedish Coordination Number? (Samordningsnummer)?
For people who are temporarily staying in Sweden, there is an alternative: the coordination number (in Swedish: samordningsnummer). This number is similar to the personal number and is also issued by Skatteverket, but is specifically intended for people who are temporarily staying in Sweden but who need to be administratively registered. For example, if you are going to do an internship in Sweden for a few months, work in Sweden temporarily or if you own a holiday home. With the coordination number, you are not an official resident of Sweden, but you can arrange all kinds of practical matters.
The coordination number, like the personal number, is made up of a date of birth, but with an important difference: the day of birth is increased by 60. This makes it clear that it is a temporary number. The number is therefore also limited in its use. The number is mainly used for administrative purposes, such as registering a house in the land registry, connecting utilities such as electricity and paying taxes if you have income from Sweden. However, it does not provide access to social services such as health care.
Difference between personal number and samordningsnummer and when do you choose which number?
The main difference between a Swedish personal number and a coordination number is the purpose and duration of your stay. The personal number is intended for people who live in Sweden permanently or plan to stay for more than a year, for example for work or study. This number gives full access to Swedish society, including social security, health care and other services. The coordination number, on the other hand, is for people who stay in Sweden temporarily and for a short period, but still need to be administratively registered. This can be useful for shorter work assignments, internships, or if you own a holiday home in Sweden. The choice between the two numbers therefore depends on how long you are staying in Sweden and what your plans are.
How do you apply for a personal number or samordningsnummer?
The procedure for applying for a personalnummer starts at the Swedish Tax Agency: Skatteverket. You must visit one of their offices in person and bring documents that prove your identity and residence status. To do this, print out the application form and make sure you have the required documents (such as a valid passport, employment contract, etc.) and bring them with you. Also make sure you have proof that you are permanently emigrating to Sweden and/or staying in Sweden for at least 12 months. For a shorter stay, it is not possible to apply for a personal number. After your application has been approved, it will take at least a few weeks before you receive your number.
Applying for a samordningsnummer is similar, although it also depends on your situation. For example, if you are staying in Sweden for a short period (no longer than 12 months) for work, your employer or client will sometimes apply for a samordningsnummer for you. If you own a holiday home, you must apply yourself. To do this, fill in the application form and take it, together with your passport and proof of the reason for the application (for example the purchase contract for your home), to one of the Skatteverket offices. After your application has been approved, you will usually receive your agreement number within a few weeks.
Our experience with applying for a Swedish Social Security Number
We do not live in Sweden and will not stay there for longer than 12 months. However, we did buy a holiday home in Sweden and a samordningsnummer was required for this. This was mainly related to applying for a Swedish bank account. You do not necessarily need this to be able to buy a house in Sweden, but the previous occupant still had a mortgage on the house, which meant that we had to transfer the purchase price to her bank. They would only accept money if they were certain that the money had been obtained legally and came from another Swedish bank account. This was to prevent fraud, money laundering, etc.
Now, as an EU citizen, you do not necessarily need a samordningsnummer to be able to open a Swedish bank account, but it does make everything a lot easier and, above all, it goes a lot faster. The same applies to so many other things that you want to arrange when buying a house. Think of registering the house in your name at the land registry and contracts for all kinds of utilities. Think of electricity, internet or having waste collected. Every company almost always starts with the question: what is your personal number? (and otherwise, your coordination number). Without that number it is not always possible to arrange these kinds of things.
In short: have you bought a house or something else for which you need a personal or coordination number? Then apply for it as soon as possible to ensure that you can arrange certain things on time or without any hassle. Download the form mentioned above, make sure that you have all the documents (don’t forget the proof of the reason for the application, for example the purchase contract of your house) in order and take them with you to your appointment at Skatteverket. We had everything in order right away and had a coordination number 2.5 weeks later.