Organising Your Move to Sweden: Timeline and Checklist

The decision has been made – you're moving to Sweden! Now comes the organisational part, and moving abroad involves a lot more than moving within your own country.

In this post you'll find a timeline, tips on removal companies and travel, the rules on customs and pets, and a checklist for your first weeks in Sweden.

The timeline: what to do when

6 to 3 months before

• Look for a flat or house in Sweden – at least for the first few months.
• Give notice on your current rental contract in good time.
• Get quotes from removal companies or book a van and ferry.
• If you have pets: book a vet appointment for the microchip, rabies vaccination and EU pet passport.
• Gather important documents: passports, birth and marriage certificates, diplomas, employment contract – translated if necessary.

3 to 1 month before

• Review your contracts: cancel what you no longer need (internet, electricity, subscriptions). Keep your home bank account, phone number and cover for the transition period for now – more on that below.
• Inform your health insurance and pension provider about your move and check how you are covered until you are registered in Sweden.
• Declutter! Everything you leave behind saves transport costs.
• Set up mail forwarding.

Around moving day

• Deregister your address if your country requires it. If you are moving from Germany, this is a legal obligation: you must deregister at the Bürgeramt within two weeks after moving out (section 17(2) of the Federal Registration Act), at the earliest one week before. You will often need the deregistration certificate later.
• With children: report the move to your family benefits office immediately (in Germany, the Familienkasse). If you are moving from Germany, you can cancel the broadcasting fee with the deregistration certificate.
• Hand over your old home with a handover report.
• Keep important documents and medicines in your hand luggage, not in the moving boxes.

After you arrive

• In Sweden, in this order: personnummer, ID card, bank account, BankID (details below).
• Only once all that works: cancel or switch your home bank account, phone contract and remaining insurance.

Removal company or DIY?

Both options have their merits:

• Removal company – convenient and insured, but significantly more expensive. Get at least three quotes and make sure the company has experience with international moves. Ask about groupage (your goods travel together with other loads) – it can be cheaper but takes longer.
• Do it yourself – cheaper with a van or trailer, but exhausting. Add up van hire, fuel, the ferry and possibly a one-way fee. Some rental companies don't allow trips abroad or one-way hire – check beforehand.
• Combination – furniture by freight, personal belongings in your own car.

Our tip: Give every box a number and a short list of contents. It makes unpacking easier and doubles as a packing list for insurance and customs.

Getting there: ferry or Öresund Bridge

If you are travelling by road from continental Europe, there are two main routes to Sweden:

• Direct ferries from Germany – for example Travemünde or Rostock to Trelleborg, Travemünde to Malmö or Kiel to Gothenburg. On overnight ferries you arrive rested, which is ideal with children or pets.
• Via Denmark – by ferry from Puttgarden to Rødby or overland through Jutland, then across the Öresund Bridge from Copenhagen to Malmö (toll road) or by ferry from Helsingør to Helsingborg.

Tolls apply for the Öresund Bridge and Denmark's Great Belt Bridge; vans and trailers often pay higher prices. The Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Germany and Denmark is still under construction.

Book ferries with a van or trailer early and state the correct vehicle dimensions – otherwise it can get expensive at the terminal.

Customs: moving goods within the EU

Good news: if you move to Sweden from another EU country, according to Tullverket (Swedish Customs) you pay neither customs duty nor VAT on your household goods and don't have to submit an import declaration.

• Alcohol and tobacco are the exception: there is no removal exemption for them. Only quantities for personal use in your travel luggage are duty-free – check beforehand if you want to bring a large wine collection.
• Weapons (including hunting weapons) require a permit.
• Medicines for personal use are allowed, but certain substances require documentation.

If you are moving from outside the EU, different rules apply – Tullverket has separate information on that.

What about the car?

If you import your car to Sweden, according to Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency) you may only drive it for a maximum of seven days from the date of import with a valid foreign registration and insurance. After that you need an origin check (ursprungskontroll), a registration inspection (registreringsbesiktning) and Swedish number plates – or a temporary registration (tillfällig registrering) in the meantime. Plan for this in good time.

Moving with a dog or cat

According to Jordbruksverket (the Swedish Board of Agriculture), these rules apply to dogs and cats from another EU country:

1. Microchip – must be implanted before the rabies vaccination and match the number in the passport.
2. Rabies vaccination – from the age of 12 weeks at the earliest. After the first vaccination you must wait 21 days before the animal may enter.
3. EU pet passport – with chip number, vaccination and vet details.
4. Declare at customs – either via the red channel or online in advance with Tullverket, in which case you may use the green channel.

Tapeworm treatment is not required for entry into Sweden. A maximum of five dogs or cats may travel with you per journey (otherwise trade rules apply). If you are coming from outside the EU, stricter rules may apply.

After arrival, you must register your dog within four weeks in Jordbruksverket's dog register. Cats must also be ID-marked and registered with Jordbruksverket in Sweden – online it costs 40 kronor per cat, according to Jordbruksverket.

Your first weeks in Sweden

If you plan to stay in Sweden for at least a year, you usually have to register with Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency, which also runs the population register). This is called folkbokföring.

1. Register with Skatteverket via the e-service "Flytta till Sverige" (Move to Sweden). As an EU citizen you need to show your right of residence, e.g. with an employment contract or proof of sufficient own means.
2. In-person appointment at a service office for an identity check – all family members come along, and don't forget your original passports.
3. Receive your personnummer – this often takes several weeks.
4. Apply for a Swedish ID card (id-kort) at Skatteverket using your personnummer.
5. Open a bank account – in our experience, in practice this only works once you have the Swedish ID card, not even with a German passport.
6. Set up BankID through your Swedish bank.
7. Register with Försäkringskassan (the Social Insurance Agency), e.g. for child benefit (barnbidrag).
8. Enrol your children in förskola (preschool) or school and sign up for SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) with your municipality.
9. Choose a vårdcentral (health centre) near you.

Until you have your personnummer, a lot of things are cumbersome. Always keep your passport, your European Health Insurance Card (if you have one) and your employment contract to hand.

Our tip: Personnummer, ID card, bank account and BankID build on each other. Until the chain is complete, you need your home bank account and your old phone number for TAN codes and two-factor logins. So only cancel them once everything works in Sweden.

The moving checklist at a glance

• Home in Sweden secured
• Rental contract and contracts you no longer need cancelled
• Removal company or van and ferry booked
• Pets: chip, rabies vaccination, EU pet passport, 21-day waiting period
• Documents and medicines in your hand luggage
• Deregistered in your home country (where required – from Germany within two weeks of moving out), certificate with you
• Family benefits office informed immediately (if you have children)
• Registered with Skatteverket and service office appointment booked
• Personnummer, ID card, bank account and BankID set up
• Only then: home bank account, phone contract and remaining insurance cancelled or switched
• Dog or cat registered with Jordbruksverket
• Car: origin check applied for

Our conclusion

Moving to Sweden is a big project, but with a good timeline it's perfectly manageable. Within the EU there are hardly any customs hurdles, but keep an eye on the deadlines for pets and your car. And once you arrive: the sooner you register with Skatteverket, the sooner you get your personnummer – the key to your ID card, bank account and BankID. Deregister in your home country on time around moving day, and wrap up everything else there only once everything works in Sweden.