Preparing the arrival of international employees

Before a decision to employ is finalised, the candidate must apply for a work permit, residence permit or visa. Information on the permits needed, and a guide to the application process, are available at Work permit and residence permit.

Coordination numbers from the Swedish Tax Agency

An employee needs either a coordination number or a Swedish personal identity number to be able to receive their salary.

The rules for coordination numbers changed in September 2023. The changes have been implemented so that a person applying for a coordination number must confirm their identity by visiting a Tax Agency service centre in person whenever possible.

There are three identity levels for coordination numbers:

• Confirmed (The applicant has confirmed their identity by attending a Tax Agency service centre).
  
  
• Probable (A public authority has requested a coordination number on behalf of a person, and the person has not confirmed their identity by attending a Tax Agency office).
  
  
• Uncertain (only applies for certain public authorities and not universities).

The Tax Agency has stated that processing times for coordination numbers are the same as for personal identity numbers – two to four weeks. Therefore, if possible, it is always recommended to apply for a personal identity number straight away.

The process

• If the new employee is living abroad and will not arrive in Sweden for some time, the department needs to request the coordination number. This applies, for example, when there are long processing times for receiving a residence permit from the Swedish Migration Agency. The department must obtain a copy of the employee’s passport and select the ‘Probable’ identity level on the application form. The department must state that the new employee is currently abroad under the section for more information.
  
  The new employee will get an appointment to visit the Tax Agency’s service centre in person in approximately three weeks. When they don’t attend the appointment (because of being abroad) the Tax Agency will assess whether they can be allocated a ‘probable’ level coordination number. The processing time is approximately two to four weeks.
  
  Once the new employee has arrived in Sweden, they will need to visit the Tax Agency service centre and apply for a personal identity number, if they will be staying in Sweden for more than 12 months.

• Do not request a coordination number on behalf of the employee if they will be arriving in Sweden soon. Instead, the employee will need to visit the Tax Agency service centre upon arrival in Sweden and apply for a personal identity number straight away. The department then registers the employee’s personal identity number in Primula once it has been allocated so their salary can be paid out.

The Tax Agency is reviewing its procedures and looking in to if it could be possible to waive in-person visit to the Tax Agency service centre if the applicant is not in Sweden. They are also working on translating the information letter to applicant into other languages.

Under the ‘Forms and instructions’ heading below you will find a link for requesting a coordination number from the Tax Agency. There are also instructions. Remember to apply for an A-tax registration certificate.

If the employee will be living in Sweden for less than six months, or their period of employment will be less than six months, the department will need to apply for the coordination number using the special income tax for foreign residents (SINK) application.

The Swedish Migration Agency will request a coordination number for third-country citizens who will be working in Sweden for a maximum of twelve months.

Forms and instructions

- Blankett rekvisition av samordningsnummer
- Instruktion rekvisition av samordningsnummer (only in Swedish)

Registering an international bank account with Swedbank

If the new employee will be staying in Sweden for less than a year, can be difficult to open a Swedish bank account. If the person has an existing international bank account this can instead be used to register with Swedbank for salary payment.  The registration procedure at Swedbank can take several weeks, so make sure the form is submitted in good time before the employment starts.

The new employee will need to fill in the form for international bank accounts, see Forms below. The person then need to visit a branch of Swedbank or Sparbank to hand in the form and register the international bank account.

For information about how to open a Swedish bank account, see Open a bank account.

Forms

Form for international bank accounts

It is important to support the new employee in their search for accommodation, e.g. by suggesting where they can start looking before arriving in Sweden.

SLU’s accommodation is earmarked for students and cannot be allocated to international staff. The recruiting department can issue a certificate that the new employee can show potential landlords, and give them contact details for someone at the department who can confirm that they are employed by SLU, something which may make it easier for them to secure accommodation before arriving.

If the employee intends to settle somewhere where finding accommodation is difficult, such as the Uppsala area, an option can be to advise them to get a sublet, and to look for a more permanent solution once they have arrived.

Umeå

Umeå kommun
Bostaden 
Blocket 
Kvalster 
Bostadsportal 
Hyra Bostad
Hyresvärdslistan 

Uppsala 

Uppsala Bostadsförmedling 
Blocket 
Kvalster 
Heimstaden 
Bostadsportal
Studentboet 
Hyra Bostad 
Hyresvärdslistan
Eklundshofs fastigheter  

Alnarp - Malmö

Boplats Syd 
Ikano Bostad 
Blocket 
Kvalster 
Bostadsportal 
Hyra Bostad 
Hyresvärdslistan 

Alnarp - Lund

Lunds Kommuns Fastighets AB
Blocket 
Kvalster 
Bostadsportal 
Hyra Bostad 
Hyresvärdslistan 

Skara

Centrumbostäder 
Blocket 
Kvalster 
Bostadsportal
Hyra Bostad
Hyresvärdslistan

For certain key staff, it is possible to apply for tax relief for work in Sweden for a maximum of five years. The department should explore this possibility by submitting an application to the Taxation of Research Workers Board. Such an application can be prepared well ahead of time, but should only be completed and submitted once the researcher has arrived in Sweden, and no later than three months after they have taken up employment.

You can find more information on applying for tax relief on the staff web. The Swedish Tax Agency also has information on tax relief, in Swedish and English.

Employers who employ a non-EU/EEA national must notify the Swedish Tax Agency of this by submitting the form Notification employment of a foreigner no later than the 12^th in the month after the employment started.

The department is responsible for notifying the Tax Agency. This only has to be done once, you do not need to submit a new notification if, e.g., a time-limited appointment is extended. 

More information is available at the Swedish Tax Agency.