BankID, bank account and ID card – how newcomers break the Swedish catch-22
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
The bank asks for Swedish ID, the ID card needs a personnummer, and every app seems to want BankID. It looks like a locked circle. It is not – there is an order that works, and a legal right to a bank account that many newcomers never hear about.
Sooner or later every newcomer meets the same loop. To open a bank account, the bank wants to know who you are. To get a Swedish ID card, you need a personnummer (personal identity number). BankID – the e-identification you use to log in to authorities, banks and services – is ordered through your bank. And Swish, the mobile payment app, needs Mobile BankID before you can send a single krona.
The loop has exits. Informationsverige, the county administrative boards’ information service for newcomers, recommends this order: personnummer, an ID card from Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency), a bank account, then an e-ID. This article follows it.
Why everything seems to need everything else
| What you want | What it needs | The way round it |
|---|---|---|
| Skatteverket ID card | A personnummer and proof of identity | An approved EU document, a person who vouches for you, or a residence permit card |
| Bank account | An identity check | Your passport, and the legal right to a basic account |
| BankID | A Swedish bank account | Freja+ or the e-ID on the ID card in the meantime |
| Swish, to send money | Mobile BankID | Without BankID you can still receive payments |
The first link is folkbokföring (population registration), covered in part 3 of this series. Once Skatteverket has registered you, you get your personnummer. According to the Swedish Institute (Svenska institutet), a personnummer can make banks open an account faster; with only a samordningsnummer (coordination number) you may wait longer, because routines differ between banks.
Step one: the Skatteverket ID card
To apply for Skatteverket’s ID card, you must be registered in Sweden, have a personnummer and be at least 13; under-18s need their guardians’ written consent. The fee must be paid before your appointment – not at the service office. Skatteverket says Swish or bank giro is easiest and that cash is possible, so if you have neither Swish nor a Swedish account yet, sort out the payment first.
Not every service office handles ID cards. You book an appointment at one of the offices run by Statens servicecenter that does. It has 124 service offices across the country.
| The ID card | What applies |
|---|---|
| Who can apply | Registered in Sweden, with a personnummer, aged 13 or over |
| Fee | 400 kronor, paid before the visit |
| Processing time | About two weeks, longer if more information is needed |
| Collection | In person at the service office, within two months – after that, contact Skatteverket by phone |
| Validity | Five years, with no reminder when it expires |
| Lost or stolen card | Block it on 010-331 10 10 |
Source: Skatteverket and Statens servicecenter, read 22 September 2026.
When your passport is not enough
At the appointment you prove who you are. Skatteverket accepts, among other documents, a valid EU passport issued from 1 September 2006 and a valid EU national ID card issued from 2 August 2021, if they meet the EU’s security requirements. If yours is not on the list, you can bring a residence permit card, which Skatteverket checks with Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency), or an intygsgivare – a person who vouches for you in person.
| Who can vouch for you | Condition |
|---|---|
| Spouse, registered partner, parent, guardian or grandparent | – |
| Sambo (cohabiting partner) | Lived together for at least six months |
| Child, grandchild, sibling or half-sibling | Aged 18 or over |
| Employer | For at least one year, with documents to show it |
| Official at a municipal or state authority, such as a social worker | A professional relationship with you, with documents to show it |
Source: Skatteverket, read 22 September 2026.
Step two: the bank account you have a right to
Here is what many newcomers never hear. Under the Payment Services Act (2010:751), every consumer who can show that they live in the EEA has the right to a betalkonto med grundläggande funktioner (payment account with basic features) at a Swedish bank. Lacking a personnummer is not, in itself, a valid reason to refuse you.
The bank must still check who you are. Under the rules on kundkännedom (customer due diligence), it verifies your identity and asks about the purpose of your transactions. Without Swedish ID, you can use your passport or another document showing your citizenship, according to Konsumenternas, the consumer guidance service for banking and insurance.
| Your right | What the rules say |
|---|---|
| Who has it | Every consumer who can show that they live in the EEA |
| No personnummer | Not in itself a special reason to refuse, according to the law’s preparatory works |
| Decision | Within 10 banking days of a complete application |
| Closing the account | Only in specific cases, such as no transactions for 24 months – with at least two months’ notice |
| If you are refused | Complain to the bank, then to ARN, Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (the National Board for Consumer Disputes) – its usual 3,000-kronor minimum does not apply |
Source: Konsumenternas, read 22 September 2026.
Take Anna, who has just moved from Portugal and received her personnummer. The same week she books an ID card appointment and applies for a basic account with her Portuguese passport. If the bank has not decided within 10 banking days, she can complain.
Step three: an e-ID before BankID
According to Informationsverige, Sweden has three e-legitimationer (electronic IDs): BankID, ordered from your bank; Freja+, through the Freja eID app; and AB Svenska Pass, which comes with Skatteverket’s ID card. Asked how to get an e-ID without a bank account, Konsumenternas points to the last two.
Freja+ can come earliest. According to Freja eID, foreign citizens living in Sweden with a styrkt (verified) samordningsnummer can get Freja+ by registering with their home country’s biometric passport, and at present all EU/EEA citizens are eligible. Once you have a personnummer, you register again with Swedish ID, such as a driving licence or Skatteverket’s ID card. Skatteverket’s moving e-service and Stockholm’s housing queue both accept Freja.
| BankID | Freja+ | AB Svenska Pass | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you get it | Through your bank’s app or internet bank | Through the Freja eID app | With Skatteverket’s ID card |
| Needs a Swedish bank account | Yes | No | No |
| Main catch | You need the account first | Re-register with Swedish ID once you have a personnummer | Needs a computer, a card reader and the SConnect software |
Step four: BankID, Swish and your phone
With the account open, you start the BankID order in your bank’s app or internet bank, according to the Swedish Institute. Swish comes last. To send money you need the Swish app and Mobile BankID; without BankID you can only receive. According to Swedbank, a foreign mobile number can be connected to Swish there, and under-18s need a guardian to do it. Check your own bank’s terms.
A Swedish number has its own rule: every prepaid SIM card must be registered with name, address and a personnummer, samordningsnummer or other identification number, according to PTS (the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority). Part 13 covers mobile plans. And keep the plastic ID card: Systembolaget currently does not accept digital ID cards.
What to do now
Skatteupplysningen, Skatteverket’s information line, answers on 0771-567 567 (+46 8 564 851 60 from abroad), weekdays 8–16. Statens servicecenter answers on 0771-451 000, weekdays 09.00–16.00.
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Get registered and receive your personnummer – see part 3 | As soon as you arrive |
| 2 | Get Freja+, if you have a verified samordningsnummer and a biometric passport | While you wait |
| 3 | Pay the 400-kronor fee and book an ID card appointment | When the personnummer arrives |
| 4 | Apply for a basic payment account with your passport | The same week |
| 5 | Collect the ID card in person | Within two months |
| 6 | Order BankID, then install Swish | When the account is open |
| 7 | Re-register Freja+ with Swedish ID | Once you have the ID card |
Source: Skatteverket, Statens servicecenter, Konsumenternas and Freja eID, read 22 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 22 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- Skatteverket – Så här ansöker du om och förnyar id-kort · skatteverket.se
- Skatteverket – Skatteverkets id-kort (översikt) · skatteverket.se
- Skatteverket – E-legitimation på id-kortet · skatteverket.se
- Konsumenternas.se – Rätt till betalkonto med grundläggande funktioner · konsumenternas.se
- Konsumenternas.se – Banker och försäkringsbolag måste uppnå kundkännedom · konsumenternas.se
- Informationsverige.se – När du har fått ditt personnummer · informationsverige.se
- Konsumenternas.se – Jag har inget bankkonto och kan därför inte få bank-id. Hur kan jag få en annan e-legitimation? · konsumenternas.se
- Freja eID – Vem kan ha Freja? · frejaeid.com
- Swedbank – Frågor och svar om Swish · swedbank.se
- Bostadsförmedlingen i Stockholm – Registrera dig hos Bostadsförmedlingen · bostad.stockholm.se
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.