Identity documents in Sweden
Encyclopedia
There are several identity document
s used in Sweden
. None are compulsory by law, meaning that there is no formal penalty for not possessing one. Certified identification cards are issued by the tax agency
. The police
issues passport
s and national identity cards, but only for Swedish citizens. A Swedish driver's license, issued by the transport agency, is also accepted as an identity document. Banks sometimes issue identity cards for established customers or their children.
In Sweden, no law has been introduced about compulsory identity documents. However there is no law forbidding an authority or company to demand to see one. For certain situations, the law says that safe identification is needed, without saying how it should done. In these cases a Swedish identity document is usually expected by authorities like the police.
Identity documents are needed in Sweden in certain commonly occurring situations, e.g. purchases using debit-
or credit card
s when not using a PIN
, or picking up a package at the postal service representatives, or for age checking when purchasing alcoholic beverage
s, or to get medical care and medicines. A valid Swedish identity document is also required for opening a bank account or other situations where the use of Swedish personal identity number
is required.
Authorities saw the need of checking identity of people in certain situations, to make sure which personal identity number the person in front of them had. For example handling payment for sick leave
, driver's licence tests or police arrests. For this usually the identity documents accepted by the banks were allowed, because there was no law regarding identity documents and how they were issued.
Around year 2005 banks strengthened their routine to issue identity cards, so only near relatives verifiable by the banks, in reality only parents or adult children, could guarantee the identity of some who had no valid identity document. This other person needed a valid Swedish identity document. The reason was the existence of identity fraud
, and that banks had to pay compensation to people affected. The cashier service
owned by the postal service followed this rule in 2007. There was no law about these rules or saying that banks or the cashier service had to issue these cards. As a consequence, everyone who did not have any Swedish parent or adult child could not get an identity document. Swedish citizens could get a passport, but not citizens of other countries resident in Sweden.
The government decided that they should take the responsibility to issue identity documents to people in Sweden. As a consequence of this, the Swedish Tax Agency started issuing certified identity cards in August 2009. During two and a half years, foreign citizens without a parent resident in Sweden could not get an identity document, if they had none.
Still in 2010 several thousands of people are unable to get identity documents.
and applications are filed at police stations which have a passport office. The national identity card can only be obtained by Swedish citizens. It is a valid identity document within the Schengen Area
, but according to Swedish law not to EU countries outside the Schengen Area (violating the EU directive on free movement
). The card is valid for five years.
The card is equipped with a contact chip prepared for being able to function as an electronic identity card
(eID) at a later date, and also a contactless RFID chip containing the card's printed data in a digital format along with the photograph in a JPEG
format along with a digital key to verify that the data contained is authentic and hasn't been tampered with. The data in the contactless card can only be accessed after using the printed codes on the back side of the card.
, that is, has a Swedish personal identity number
. The Swedish Tax Agency
issues identity cards for anyone fulfilling the requirement of being population registered in Sweden, and can provide an accepted means of identifying oneself. This last rule caused many problems for foreigners and even some Swedes between 2007 and 2010.
As of October 1, 2010 in order to get an Swedish ID card, the following are required:
If you fail to meet these requirements, you can also request a "balanced assessment". In this case, the Tax Agency will compare the information on your application with what is on file with other agencies and make a decision. A non-EU passport together with the identity investigation that was done in the immigration application process might be sufficient.
Processing time to receive a card is 2 business weeks from time of approval. Approval times ranges from instant to eight weeks, depending on your situation. Foreigners using a residency permit to verify their identity face longer wait times due to the fact that the immigration board does not collect digital captures of signatures, and in order to instantly approve an application, the employee taking the application must be able to match the signed signature to something on file.
Still the identity cards are not 100.0 % reliable, since there might still be people prepared to do false certicification. For example it has happened that parents with adult children have vouched for other people to be their child, who got id cards in the children's name, being able to get bank loans and credit cards etc.
Information at the time that the tax agency office took over the duties of issuing ID cards was also incomplete or vague regarding who could vouch for your identity, leading to confusion both among applicants and among employees.
s can issue identity cards for their customers, but has generally stopped doing that. Some businesses and government authorities issue certified identification cards to their employees, which are usually accepted as identity documents.
s are issued by the Swedish Transport Agency
and are generally accepted as identity documents in the same manner as the identification cards issued by the banks and postal service.
Swedish passport
s issued since 1998 are accepted as identity documents. The blue passports issued up until 1998 are not accepted as identity documents due to insufficient security features. Passports issued since October 1, 2005 are of a biometric variety
and valid for five years. Passports are issued by the Police
and applications are filed at police stations which have a passport office.
The passports issued since October 1, 2005 contain an RFID chip containing the passport's printed data in a digital format along with the photograph in a JPEG
format along with a digital key to verify the that the data contained is authentic and hasn't been tampered with. The data in the chip can only be accessed after using the printed codes on the lower part of the passport's person page. Fingerprints are stored since June 28, 2009.
When staying in Sweden (as opposed to crossing the border) a passport is needed for foreign citizens, except for EU/EEA citizens. EU/EEA citizens, however, need to be able to prove their citizenship through a passport or national identity card
When trying to obtain services requiring an identity document, foreign passports and other identification documents are often not accepted in Sweden. This especially happens in situations requiring the Swedish personal identity number
(like in banks) as such documents do not contain said number. The security level of foreign-issued documents may also be considered insufficient. While banks have systems to verify if a particular identity document has been stolen, this only works for Swedish ones. The Schengen Information System
has such info for EU/EEA passports, but only authorities can use it and not banks or post offices.
Since 2009, EU/EEA passports have been accepted as identification documents in Sweden owing to EU legislation.
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
s used in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. None are compulsory by law, meaning that there is no formal penalty for not possessing one. Certified identification cards are issued by the tax agency
Swedish Tax Agency
The Swedish Tax Agency is a government agency in Sweden responsible for national tax collection and administering the population registration....
. The police
Swedish Police Service
The Swedish Police Service is a collection of Government agencies concerned with police matters in Sweden. The Swedish Police Service consists of 28,500 employees of which 39 per cent are women. The staff consists of 20,000 police officers of which 25 per cent are women and 8,500 civilian staff of...
issues passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
s and national identity cards, but only for Swedish citizens. A Swedish driver's license, issued by the transport agency, is also accepted as an identity document. Banks sometimes issue identity cards for established customers or their children.
In Sweden, no law has been introduced about compulsory identity documents. However there is no law forbidding an authority or company to demand to see one. For certain situations, the law says that safe identification is needed, without saying how it should done. In these cases a Swedish identity document is usually expected by authorities like the police.
Identity documents are needed in Sweden in certain commonly occurring situations, e.g. purchases using debit-
Debit card
A debit card is a plastic card that provides the cardholder electronic access to his or her bank account/s at a financial institution...
or credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s when not using a PIN
Personal identification number
A personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
, or picking up a package at the postal service representatives, or for age checking when purchasing alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
s, or to get medical care and medicines. A valid Swedish identity document is also required for opening a bank account or other situations where the use of Swedish personal identity number
Personal identity number (Sweden)
The personal identity number is the Swedish national identification number. When it was introduced in 1947 it was probably the first of its kind covering the total resident population of a country...
is required.
History
Historically in Sweden, it was the banks and the Swedish postal service that first saw a need that people should have identity documents. They issued identity documents for anyone. To prove the identity for this relative simple routines were used, like having bank account documents, driver’s licence or passport, being recognised by the bank staff or bringing a friend with an identity document. These routines were used for decades from the 1960s until the 21st century although the security routines were strengthened during the time. Swedish passports were banned an identity document during several years because they were relatively easy to forge, and allowed again after they were made more secure in 1998. The driver's licences had enough security to be accepted by the banks.Authorities saw the need of checking identity of people in certain situations, to make sure which personal identity number the person in front of them had. For example handling payment for sick leave
Sick leave
Sick leave is time off from work that workers can use during periods of temporary illness to stay home and address their health and safety needs without losing pay. Some workplaces offer paid sick time as a matter of workplace policy, and in few jurisdictions it is codified into law...
, driver's licence tests or police arrests. For this usually the identity documents accepted by the banks were allowed, because there was no law regarding identity documents and how they were issued.
Around year 2005 banks strengthened their routine to issue identity cards, so only near relatives verifiable by the banks, in reality only parents or adult children, could guarantee the identity of some who had no valid identity document. This other person needed a valid Swedish identity document. The reason was the existence of identity fraud
Identity fraud
Identity fraud may occur when someone steals personal information, opens credit card accounts in the victim's name without permission, and charges merchandise to those accounts. Conversely, identity fraud does not occur when a credit card is simply stolen. Stealing one’s credit card may be consumer...
, and that banks had to pay compensation to people affected. The cashier service
Svensk Kassaservice
Svensk Kassaservice is a former subsidiary of Posten AB - the Swedish postal service. Svensk Kassaservice provided a retail cashier service of processing simple transactions such as paying bills, withdrawing and depositing money from/to bank accounts of several Swedish banks...
owned by the postal service followed this rule in 2007. There was no law about these rules or saying that banks or the cashier service had to issue these cards. As a consequence, everyone who did not have any Swedish parent or adult child could not get an identity document. Swedish citizens could get a passport, but not citizens of other countries resident in Sweden.
The government decided that they should take the responsibility to issue identity documents to people in Sweden. As a consequence of this, the Swedish Tax Agency started issuing certified identity cards in August 2009. During two and a half years, foreign citizens without a parent resident in Sweden could not get an identity document, if they had none.
Still in 2010 several thousands of people are unable to get identity documents.
National identity card
The national identity card is issued by the PoliceSwedish Police Service
The Swedish Police Service is a collection of Government agencies concerned with police matters in Sweden. The Swedish Police Service consists of 28,500 employees of which 39 per cent are women. The staff consists of 20,000 police officers of which 25 per cent are women and 8,500 civilian staff of...
and applications are filed at police stations which have a passport office. The national identity card can only be obtained by Swedish citizens. It is a valid identity document within the Schengen Area
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
, but according to Swedish law not to EU countries outside the Schengen Area (violating the EU directive on free movement
Directive 2004/38/EC on the right to move and reside freely
The Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States...
). The card is valid for five years.
The card is equipped with a contact chip prepared for being able to function as an electronic identity card
Electronic identity card
The electronic identity card or EIC is a government-issued document for online and offline identification. Belgium, Italy as well as other countries are currently issuing EICs which will replace conventional identity cards in most European countries in the future...
(eID) at a later date, and also a contactless RFID chip containing the card's printed data in a digital format along with the photograph in a JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
format along with a digital key to verify that the data contained is authentic and hasn't been tampered with. The data in the contactless card can only be accessed after using the printed codes on the back side of the card.
Certified identification cards
Certified identification cards can be obtained by anyone who is population registered in SwedenPopulation registration in Sweden
Population registration in Sweden is the civil registration of vital events of the inhabitants of Sweden. The data is kept in the population registry and is administered by the Swedish Tax Agency...
, that is, has a Swedish personal identity number
Personal identity number (Sweden)
The personal identity number is the Swedish national identification number. When it was introduced in 1947 it was probably the first of its kind covering the total resident population of a country...
. The Swedish Tax Agency
Swedish Tax Agency
The Swedish Tax Agency is a government agency in Sweden responsible for national tax collection and administering the population registration....
issues identity cards for anyone fulfilling the requirement of being population registered in Sweden, and can provide an accepted means of identifying oneself. This last rule caused many problems for foreigners and even some Swedes between 2007 and 2010.
As of October 1, 2010 in order to get an Swedish ID card, the following are required:
- A Swedish Personal Identity NumberPersonal identity number (Sweden)The personal identity number is the Swedish national identification number. When it was introduced in 1947 it was probably the first of its kind covering the total resident population of a country...
. - 400 SEK paid to the Swedish Tax Agency via a Swedish bank, prior to your application.
- To verify your identity with EITHER an approved ID document, limited to:
-
- A Swedish issued ID card (either from a government agency, such as a Swedish national ID or Driver's licence, or another that conforms to the SIS security standard, such as ID cards issued by banks),
- A Swedish passport issued on or after September 1, 2006 (Red cover with embedded biometrics),
- An EU passport issued on or after September 1, 2006 (Red cover with embedded biometrics),
- A passport issued by Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland on or after 1 September 2006,
- OR, a Residence Permit
- OR, someone to vouch for your identity in person at the time of application, limited to:
- Parents/Guardians, Foster Parents, Grandparents, AND if over 18 years of age then, Siblings, Half-Siblings, Children, and Grandchildren,
- Employers of at least 1 year,
- "Trustees or administrators",
- Public officials from a local or state authority with whom you have a professional relationship, such as a social welfare secretary, a refugee administrator (or similar), an institution superintendent, or an international advisor at a state university. There has been trouble that such officials have denied doing that claiming they could not 100% guarantee the identity or did not have the time needed to visit the tax office with every applicant.
- Your photo taken and your height measured at the Tax Agency office when you apply.
If you fail to meet these requirements, you can also request a "balanced assessment". In this case, the Tax Agency will compare the information on your application with what is on file with other agencies and make a decision. A non-EU passport together with the identity investigation that was done in the immigration application process might be sufficient.
Processing time to receive a card is 2 business weeks from time of approval. Approval times ranges from instant to eight weeks, depending on your situation. Foreigners using a residency permit to verify their identity face longer wait times due to the fact that the immigration board does not collect digital captures of signatures, and in order to instantly approve an application, the employee taking the application must be able to match the signed signature to something on file.
Still the identity cards are not 100.0 % reliable, since there might still be people prepared to do false certicification. For example it has happened that parents with adult children have vouched for other people to be their child, who got id cards in the children's name, being able to get bank loans and credit cards etc.
Changes as of October 1, 2010
As of October 1, 2010, the Swedish Tax Agency started allowing residency permits to be used to verify your identity. Before this, foreign students from outside the EU at Swedish universities were denied ID cards on the basis that their passports were not valid ID documents and that they were unable to provide an appropriate person to vouch. Due to the high time cost (wait times at Swedish Tax Agency offices can range from 15 minutes to several hours) and high volume, universities were generally unable to assist, despite the technical allowance in the law that allows a "international advisor at a state university" to attest for a student.Information at the time that the tax agency office took over the duties of issuing ID cards was also incomplete or vague regarding who could vouch for your identity, leading to confusion both among applicants and among employees.
Other ID Cards
Most of the Swedish bankBank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s can issue identity cards for their customers, but has generally stopped doing that. Some businesses and government authorities issue certified identification cards to their employees, which are usually accepted as identity documents.
Driver's license
Driver's licenseDriver's license
A driver's license/licence , or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. Most U.S...
s are issued by the Swedish Transport Agency
Swedish Transport Agency
-External links:**...
and are generally accepted as identity documents in the same manner as the identification cards issued by the banks and postal service.
Passport
The burgundy-colourBurgundy (color)
Burgundy is a shade of purplish red associated with the Burgundy wine of the same name, which in turn is named after the Burgundy region of France. The color burgundy is similar to other shades of dark red such as maroon...
Swedish passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
s issued since 1998 are accepted as identity documents. The blue passports issued up until 1998 are not accepted as identity documents due to insufficient security features. Passports issued since October 1, 2005 are of a biometric variety
Biometric passport
A biometric passport, also known as an e-passport or ePassport, is a combined paper and electronic passport that contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of travelers...
and valid for five years. Passports are issued by the Police
Swedish Police Service
The Swedish Police Service is a collection of Government agencies concerned with police matters in Sweden. The Swedish Police Service consists of 28,500 employees of which 39 per cent are women. The staff consists of 20,000 police officers of which 25 per cent are women and 8,500 civilian staff of...
and applications are filed at police stations which have a passport office.
The passports issued since October 1, 2005 contain an RFID chip containing the passport's printed data in a digital format along with the photograph in a JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
format along with a digital key to verify the that the data contained is authentic and hasn't been tampered with. The data in the chip can only be accessed after using the printed codes on the lower part of the passport's person page. Fingerprints are stored since June 28, 2009.
Foreign identity documents
A passport is always needed to be able to pass border checks when travelling to or from Sweden, except when travelling from another Schengen country.When staying in Sweden (as opposed to crossing the border) a passport is needed for foreign citizens, except for EU/EEA citizens. EU/EEA citizens, however, need to be able to prove their citizenship through a passport or national identity card
When trying to obtain services requiring an identity document, foreign passports and other identification documents are often not accepted in Sweden. This especially happens in situations requiring the Swedish personal identity number
Personal identity number (Sweden)
The personal identity number is the Swedish national identification number. When it was introduced in 1947 it was probably the first of its kind covering the total resident population of a country...
(like in banks) as such documents do not contain said number. The security level of foreign-issued documents may also be considered insufficient. While banks have systems to verify if a particular identity document has been stolen, this only works for Swedish ones. The Schengen Information System
Schengen Information System
The Schengen Information System , is a governmental database used by European countries to maintain and distribute information on individuals and pieces of property of interest. The intended uses of this system are for national security, border control and law enforcement purposes...
has such info for EU/EEA passports, but only authorities can use it and not banks or post offices.
Since 2009, EU/EEA passports have been accepted as identification documents in Sweden owing to EU legislation.