Overview
The personal identification number (personnummer) is a 4-digit number following your date of birth in the format: YYMMDD-XXXX.
It is obtained when you are registered in the Swedish population register. It is widely used for everyday purposes in Swedish society such as dealing with authorities, accessing health care, applying for a Swedish ID card, accessing banking services, joining an insurance plan, setting up memberships and subscriptions etc.
The personal identification number issued by the Tax Agency should not be confused with the temporary registration number, a 4-digit number following your date of birth containing the letter ‘T’, given to you by your University when you were admitted. Format of T-number: YYMMDD-TXXX
Who can apply?
International students who have a residence permit for at least 12 months or are admitted to studies for 13 months or more, can apply for a Swedish personal identification number from the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket).
You need a registration certificate in order to prove that you are enrolled as a student in Sweden. Consequently, you can not apply before you have registered as a student at the University to which you are admitted.
Students admitted to one or two semesters, i.e. students who have a residence permit valid for 12 months or less cannot apply for a personal identification number.
If you are eligible to apply for a personal identification number, please visit the Swedish Tax Agency website.
Documents and how to apply?
In order to be registered in the Swedish Population Register, you need to notify the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) that you are moving to Sweden. This can be done by visiting one of the Swedish Tax Agency service offices (servicekontor).
You may find service offices nearest to your place of residence on this website.
You need to bring the following documents when you visit one of the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) service offices:
- Passport or national ID card.
- Documents showing your civil status, e.g., marriage certificate. If you are unmarried, you do not need to show your civil status. The following civil statuses exist:
- unmarried
- married or a registered partner
- widow or widower
- divorced.
- Birth certificate, if you have children.
- A letter of admission showing that you will study for at least 12 months.
This means that one school year (two semesters) is not enough time in order to be registered in the Swedish Population Register.
- Document showing that you are registered, i.e., enrolled, on a recognized study programme in Sweden.
‘Recognized study programme’ means all upper-secondary study programmes (gymnasieutbildning) and university and university college studies (högskoleutbildning) that are government- or municipal-funded.
Studies at the elementary school level and Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) courses do not qualify as recognized study programmes.
It may be done by showing a Letter of Acceptance/Notification of Selection (download from www.universityadmissions.se).
For EU/EEA students: Registration Certificate/Proof of Enrolment (download from My studies)
- A self-signed assurance that you have sufficient funds for your support for the duration of your studies.
- For EU/EEA students: Document showing that you have comprehensive health insurance that is valid for residence in Sweden. For students, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is valid.
Please be informed that some of these documents you may already send to your university in order to be enrolled on the programme you are admitted in.
You may contact the Swedish Tax Agency via 0771-567 567.
What is registered?
When you are registered in the Swedish Population Register you will receive a Swedish personal identity number.
The Swedish Tax Agency will register the following information:
- which building and address do you live at
- where you were born and your citizenship
- your civil status and any relationship with your spouse, children or parent.
Legal duties after obtaining the personal number
When you have obtained your Swedish personal identification number it is your legal duty to report any changes to the Swedish Tax Agency. Changes such as moving to a new address (within Sweden) need to be notified within a week. Registering your new address is free of charge, and can easily be done on the website using the Tax Agency’s e-services.
Report a change of address at the Swedish Tax Agency website.
It is also your legal duty to inform the Swedish Tax Agency when leaving Sweden/moving abroad again, in order to be de-registered from the population register. This is called civil de-registration. To do this, download the form Notification Moving abroad SKV 7665 from the Swedish Tax Agency’s webpage.
Find out more about civil de-registration at the Swedish Tax Agency website.
Coordination Number
A coordination number is a uniform identification number for natural persons who are not or have not been registered in the Swedish population records. You are able to receive a Coordination Number (Samordningsnummer) if you are staying in Sweden for less than a year
The Tax Office can only allocate a coordination number at the request of authority for specific purposes (can be applicable for PhD students or researchers). Examples of such purposes are that a person has an income from work or receives a pension that is taxable in Sweden.
However, anyone who has a coordination number can use this in other activities, both public and private. The coordination number is permanent and unique, which means that the number follows the person and that no two coordination numbers are identical.
If the person is later registered in the population register, the coordination number is replaced by a personal identity number. If a person liable to pay tax is allocated a coordination number, this number – in the same way as for a personal identification number – must be stated in tax returns, income statements and other documents which are submitted to the Swedish Tax Agency. A person cannot obtain an official identity document with their coordination number.
