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Persons residing in Sweden need to register at the Swedish Population Register. All refugees and subsidiary protection status holders will therefore need to register BIP shall register at the Tax authority, bringing documents such as passports and marriage certificates to a Tax authority office. If all documents are submitted, the registration will be ready in about three weeks.[1]
When a child is born in Sweden, the maternity ward gathers information about the child and parents and sends a notification to the taxation authorities. If one of the parents is registered in the Registry, the taxation authorities will register the birth and give the child a unique personal identity number which gives access to the welfare system, inter alia.[2] If the parents are not registered, the taxation authorities will ask for additional information from the parents before registering the child. Thereafter, the Tax authority will notify the Migration Agency, which then informs the parents that they must apply for a residence permit for their child.[3]
To register an existing marriage that took place outside Sweden, the taxation authorities have to be notified and evidence of the marriage submitted. If the Tax authority deems the marriage to be valid in Sweden, it is registered in the population register. Marriages that take place in Sweden require that the couple first go through a procedure with the taxation authorities to prove that there are no impediments to marriage (hindersprövning, such as marriages with underaged persons, polygamy, or marriages between siblings). A certificate from the taxation office has to be shown before any marriage ceremony. The person effecting the marriage ceremony must testify that a marriage took place and fill in the requisite form.[4]
Without civil registration, a person will have problems with: opening a bank account; working in Sweden; obtaining medical treatment; registering for social insurance. Civil registration is not necessary in order to attend Swedish language courses for a person who has a right to reside in Sweden.[5]
If civil registration does not take place promptly and the beneficiary of international protection needs Health Care then there is a risk that the care giver may bill the patient for health care that is not urgent or cannot be postponed. In practice this has not been reported to be a problem.
Delayed registration with the social insurance office can also cause problems for access to health insurance and the right of a parent to be at home with a sick or newly-born child and get paid the appropriate rate.
Persons who are not residing in Sweden but need to have contact with Swedish authorities could be assigned a Coordination number by the Tax authority. For example, asylum seekers who are working in Sweden will need a Coordination number.[6] Coordination numbers are assigned upon requests from other public authorities or upon request from the concerned individual. In September 2023, changes in the registry system were made introducing three different types of coordination numbers, clarifying whether the identity has been assessed as confirmed, probable, or uncertain. For the highest level of coordination number, confirmed identity, the applicant must appear in person at the Tax authority, this may include registering fingerprints. Coordination number upon the request of the individual will only be assigned if the individual’s identity can be confirmed. In practice, passports, travel document (or EU identity card for EU citizens) can be accepted to confirm identity.
[1] Skatteverket, ‘Moving to Sweden’, available at: http://bit.ly/1U1ljcY.
[2] Migration Agency, ‘Children born in Sweden’, available at: http://bit.ly/2FbnVt1.
[3] Skatteverket, ‘New parents’, available at https://bit.ly/3f1ZAWM.
[4] Swedish Tax Authority, ‘Getting married in Sweden or abroad’, available at: https://bit.ly/3wkBLFA.
[5] Education Act (Skollag (2010:800) Ch. 22, Section 13 and Ch. 29, Section 2. See National Board of Trade, ‘Without a personal identity number in Sweden’, available at: http://bit.ly/2t2f0Fq.
[6] Skatteverket, ‘Coordination numbers’, available at: https://bit.ly/49DpbzD.