Daily Life & Practical Integration in Sweden

Personnummer — the key to Swedish life

The Swedish personnummer is a 10-digit personal identity number issued by Skatteverket (the Tax Agency) when you register as a resident. It encodes your date of birth and a control number, and it's required for almost everything: opening a bank account, getting healthcare, signing a rental contract, starting a job, registering a child in school, and getting BankID. Without it, daily life is much harder. Newcomers should register with Skatteverket as early as possible.

BankID and digital identity

BankID is Sweden's national digital identity system, run by the major banks. Once you have a personnummer and a Swedish bank account, you can install Mobile BankID on your phone. It is then used to log into your bank, your tax account, healthcare portals (1177.se), pension services, and even private services like booking platforms. Many things in Sweden simply cannot be done without it.

Money, payments, and Swish

Sweden is one of the most cashless societies in the world. Cards work everywhere, and the Swish app — linked to your bank account via BankID — lets you send money to friends, split a restaurant bill, or pay small businesses by phone number or QR code instantly. Some shops, cafés, and museums no longer accept cash at all. Tipping is not expected: service is included, though many people round up at restaurants if they wish.

Shops, pharmacies, and Systembolaget

Standard groceries are sold in supermarkets. The biggest chains are ICA, Coop, Willys, Hemköp, and the discounter Lidl. Most are open 7 days a week, often until 9 or 10 in the evening. Pharmacies are called apotek — the largest is Apoteket, plus private chains like Apotek Hjärtat and Kronans Apotek. Many medicines that are over-the-counter elsewhere require a prescription in Sweden.

Systembolaget is the state alcohol monopoly. Beer, wine, and spirits stronger than 3.5% can only be bought there. The minimum age in Systembolaget is 20 (in restaurants and bars it's 18). Stores have limited hours — typically closed Sundays and earlier on Saturdays — so most Swedes plan ahead.

Public transport and the post

Public transport (kollektivtrafik) is run regionally. In Stockholm, SL covers metro (tunnelbana), buses, commuter trains, and trams. In Göteborg it's Västtrafik; in Skåne it's Skånetrafiken; and so on. You buy a regional travel card or use the operator's app. The national rail operator is SJ.

PostNord handles letters and parcels, often delivered to local ombud (pickup points in supermarkets or kiosks) rather than to your door. To receive a parcel you usually need to bring photo ID and a notification slip or app code.

Recycling — sortera, sortera, sortera

Recycling is taken seriously. Households are expected to sortera (sort) waste into separate streams: papper (paper/cardboard), plast (plastic packaging), glas (clear and coloured glass separately), metall (metal), matavfall (food waste), and batterier (batteries) and electronics, which go to återvinningscentraler. Many drinks containers carry a pant deposit you get back at the supermarket. Apartment buildings usually have a sorting room (sopsortering) with separate bins.

Unwritten rules — homes, neighbours, weather

Some everyday norms surprise newcomers. Most Swedes take off their shoes when entering a home, including their own. Apartment buildings have quiet hours — usually around 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays — when you should avoid loud music, vacuuming, or banging. In winter, householders and property managers are responsible for clearing snow and ice from the path or pavement in front of the property. Punctuality matters: showing up exactly on time is the polite default for both work and social events.

What else is on the test?

Daily life and integration is just one of 20 topic areas covered on the medborgarskapsprovet. The other 19 cover democracy, laws, history, healthcare, education, work, taxes, housing, geography, and Swedish values. See the full topic list →