Relocation for doctoral students
Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH) wants to give you an overview over the many practicalities associated with your stay as a doctoral student.
In Sweden, all universities are government agencies. As a state employee, you work in the public sector, in the service of the citizens of Sweden via the Riksdag (Swedish parliament) and the Swedish Government. Your activities are governed by public law, which includes benefits as well as responsibilities and requirements.
As a doctoral student at SKH, you will have to move to Sweden. Moving to Sweden is a bureaucratic process which is summarized in this step-by-step guide to relocation. Some of these steps might take up to several weeks or months. As your employer, we cannot influence this process, since it is governed by other authorities’ rules and procedures.
It is your personal responsibility to follow and perform the steps outlined below. You, as an individual, must apply for a residence permit and are responsible for ensuring that the permit is granted, and for applying for an extension when necessary.
Content
3. Personal Identity/Social Security Number (personnummer)
4. Notification of Preliminary Income Tax
5. Report your personal identity number
7. Open a bank account / Bank-ID
9. Extension of residence permit
Before coming to Sweden
1. Employment contract
Sign your employment contract and email it to Stockholm University of the Arts by replying to the email that you received with the contract attached. For the following steps and processes, it is important that both you and the University have signed the contract.
Fill in and email the form Account for payment of wages.pdf together with your contract. Your first salary will then be paid into your own account.
For EU/EEA citizens, skip to point 3
2. Residence permit
Apply for a “Residence permit for doctoral studies” for 4 years from the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket). Without this permit, you cannot start your doctoral studies in Sweden. You need to have private health insurance in order to apply for a residence permit.
Read more about the permit on the Swedish Migration Agency's website. On that page you will find more information about accompanying family members as well. If you have accompanying family members, the Swedish Migration Agency might contact you with inquiries about your family situation.
You have received a letter of support together with your contract which you must attach to your application for a residence permit.
After your arrival in Sweden
3. Personal Identity/Social Security Number (personnummer)
Your personal identity number is the most important number for your life in Sweden. Not only does your legal status and inclusion in the benefits of Sweden’s welfare state rest on this number, you also need it for accessing banking services, taking out insurance, setting up memberships or subscriptions, etc. This number is required to set up your user account at SKH, which gives you access to all internal systems, a key card, etc. The personal identity number is the Swedish national identification number issued by the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket). Be prepared to use this number on a daily basis.
A Swedish address is required in the registration process, and you cannot use the University’s address for this. Please take a look at the document “General Information and Useful Internet Links” concerning housing.
Register in person and as soon as possible at a local office of the Swedish Tax Agency. Make sure you have all the necessary documents (originals) with you.
Read more on the Swedish Tax Agency's website.
The office of the Swedish Tax Agency closest to Stockholm University of the Arts is Stockholm, Odenplan service office.
You can prepare your visit by using the e-service (the language can be changed in the upper right corner).
4. Notification of Preliminary Income Tax
Register for an A-skattsedel in order to pay normal income tax (about 30%) with the Swedish Tax Agency. You can do this when you register for your personal identity number. Prepare by filling in this form on the Swedish Tax Agency's website.
You enter the following information under “Employer” in the form:
| Name | Stockholm University of the Arts | Corporate ID | 202100-6560 |
| Address | Box 24045 | Phone Number | 08-49 400 000 |
| Postal Code and City | 104 50 Stockholm | Phone Number/Email-Address | Enter the email address of your Head of Department |
| Contact | Your Head of Department |
After you have received the notification of preliminary income tax (A-skattsedel), email it to HR/lön (HR/salary): lon@uniarts.se.
Before this notification is in the system, you pay around 40% tax according to Swedish tax law. This is done automatically and SKH cannot influence or change this. Usually, you will be refunded the difference between this rate and the normal income tax rate with your tax return in the following year.
As soon as you have received your personal identity number
5. Report your personal identity number
Report your personal identity number to HR/lön (HR/salary) via email lon@uniarts.se including a copy of the decision from the Swedish Tax Agency. Report your personal identity number to your Head of Department in order to open your user account at SKH.
6. ID Card
Apply for an ID card at the Swedish Tax Agency as soon as you have received your personal identity number. Note that you need to make an appointment in person.
More information on how to apply and costs are available here at the Swedish Tax Agency's website.
The ID card is proof of your identity at banks, for doctors’ appointments, at pharmacies or when collecting post/parcels or using your credit card. It is a prerequisite for opening a Swedish bank account.
7. Open a bank account / Bank-ID
Sweden today is a nearly cashless society and most things are paid for by bank/credit or debit card. To avoid international banking fees, you should open an account at any bank with a Swedish banking license. This process might be easier when going to a bank office in person. Here is a list of the bigger banks in Sweden:
https://danskebank.se/privat/bli-kund/forms/blikund/blikunden
https://www.handelsbanken.se/en/
https://seb.se/privat/bli-kund/new-in-sweden
https://www.swedbank.se/en/
https://www.nordea.se/privat/bli-bankkund/become-a-customer.html
Make sure you get online banking organized when you open your account. Online banking includes having a Bank-ID or mobile Bank-ID, which is a condition for Swedish mobile banking applications (like Swish). A Bank-ID will simplify your life a lot, because it enables you to prove your identity online and to sign transactions, documents, tax returns, etc.
Most banks require an ID card, and copies of your passport, residence visa and employment contract to open an account. Inform yourself on the bank’s website about what documents you need to bring to the bank.
Since the rules against money laundering are very strict in Sweden, the bank is allowed to refuse to open a bank account in your name without a Swedish ID card. If you can open a Swedish bank account without a Swedish ID card (perhaps at Swedbank or SEB), mobile banking and a debit card will not be included in the services offered. These can be added later when you have a Swedish ID card.
Inform HR/lön (HR/salary) about your Swedish bank account by filling in the form Account for payment of wages.pdf and emailing it to lon@uniarts.se.
If you change your bank account during your doctoral studies, you will have to do this process yourself online.
8. Health Insurance
Sweden’s social insurance system is publicly funded through taxes and administered by Försäkringskassan (the Social Insurance Agency). It includes social insurance benefits for families with children, people with a disability or illness, and the elderly. Some benefits are work-based while others are residence-based. The amount of a benefit is often based on your annual income, referred to as SGI (sjukpenninggrundande inkomst = income qualifying for sickness allowance). Therefore, you must submit information about your annual income when applying for sickness benefits or parental allowance.
More information can be found here on Försäkringskassan's website.
To register in the Swedish social insurance system, you can either apply online with your personal identity number and Bank-ID or you can fill in this form and send it by ordinary post.
This process can take up to 6 months, so it is obligatory to have your own health insurance during that time.
For travel in Europe, please order a European Health Insurance Card at Försäkringskassan's website (free of charge).
For business travel outside Europe, ask HR well in advance for an insurance document from Kammarkollegiet (the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency). Note that it is a physical sheet of paper that you have to get from the HR Department.
9. Extension of residence permit
Your residence permit for doctoral studies expires after 1, 2 or 4 years. It is your responsibility to remember to apply for an extension of your residence permit for doctoral studies. A valid residence permit is required to extend your contract as a doctoral student at SKH.
