The first time you meet BankID, you will be at a government website that asks you to "identify yourself", and you will not know what to tap. By the end of the first year, you will have used it to file your taxes, pick up a parcel, sign a lease, check your medical record and pay a friend. Sweden runs on it.
This guide explains BankID in Sweden for newcomers: why it takes time to get, what works in the meantime, and how not to be cheated.
What is BankID in Sweden and why does everyone use it?
BankID is an electronic identification (e-legitimation) issued by Swedish banks. It exists as the Mobilt BankID app on your phone, on a card, or on a computer. It lets you log in to authorities, banks, healthcare services and many companies, and it works as a legally binding electronic signature.
Almost every digital step in a Swedish move assumes you have one. The Tax Agency's online services, the Social Insurance Agency, the pension agency, your region's health portal on 1177.se, many landlords: all expect it. That is why newcomers feel locked out.
Why is BankID in Sweden hard to get at first?
Because of a circle. You get BankID from a participating bank. The bank usually wants a personnummer and a bank account. You get a personnummer by registering, which takes weeks. And many banks hesitate to open an account for someone without the number. Read bank account in Sweden for how to break it.
Can you get BankID on a coordination number (samordningsnummer) alone? The answer from the authorities is that each bank decides. Ask your bank directly; do not assume a no, and do not assume a yes.
What can you use before you have BankID?
Freja+ (Freja eID Plus). A private e-ID app. You activate it by scanning your passport or at an approved agent. It accepts a personnummer or a coordination number, provided you are registered and can prove your identity. The Tax Agency presents it as an option for newcomers who do not yet have an e-ID.
The Tax Agency's ID card with a chip. If you are registered and are 13 or older, you can ask for an ID card at the Tax Agency (400 SEK in 2026, paid in advance, around two weeks). It works as an e-ID on a card, with a card reader. From 1 December 2026, new ID card applications move to the police; the Tax Agency stops taking them at that date.
Paper and phone. Without an e-ID you can still use paper forms, the phone, or the help of staff at a government service centre. For starting a company, for example, the Tax Agency has the paper form SKV 4620. For declaring tax, the pre-filled return arrives with a personal code on the paper copy, which lets you approve without changes.
Stuck in the circle between number, bank and e-ID? Moovy can lay out the order that works for your case, the documents to bring to each counter and what to say to the bank, in plain English with a Swedish version of any email you need to send.
What is Sverige-id?
Sverige-id is a state e-ID being prepared by the police, at the highest level of security. According to the police, it opens on 1 December 2026. A foreigner who is registered in the population register can get it, from the year they turn nine, linked to an identity card with no travel function. Booking is by phone only, at 114 14, from 1 November, and only certain police stations process the applications: Stockholm (Farsta), Södertälje, Gothenburg, Malmö, Örebro, Karlstad, Gävle and Umeå are among those named. You accept the terms on site, and the mobile app is the only carrier.
It is an alternative worth watching for people who cannot or do not want to go through a bank. Check the police website for the final details when it opens.
What is Swish, and does it need BankID?
Swish is the Swedish phone-to-phone payment app, linked to your Swedish bank account and phone number. You activate it from your bank, which means you need the account first. In practice, splitting a bill with friends, paying a market stall or buying second-hand goods all happen on Swish. Ask your bank how to activate it.
How do you avoid BankID fraud?
The rule is short: only approve what you started yourself.
- A caller says they are from your bank and asks you to approve a login to "stop a fraud". They are the fraud.
- A buyer for something you advertised asks you to "confirm your identity" with BankID. Do not.
- A seller asks you to pay by Swish before you see the item. The police warn: never pay before you have visited and signed, and do not approve a Swish or BankID payment at someone else's request.
If you have approved something by mistake, call your bank at once and report it to the police on 114 14.
What if you leave a service half-finished?
Many online forms let you save a draft. When you cannot log in, go to a government service centre. The staff speak Swedish and English, can help with the online services and can arrange an interpreter. You usually have the right to an interpreter at authorities, municipalities and healthcare, so ask when you book.
What changes by nationality?
EU and EEA citizens, Swiss citizens and British citizens all face the same dependency on a personnummer and a bank, once they are registered. Nordic citizens should check service by service: other Nordic e-IDs are not interchangeable with BankID.
How do you order BankID once your bank account is open?
The order is short. First, open the account at a participating bank with your personnummer and your ID. Second, ask the bank to issue BankID; some banks do it at the counter, others let you order it in the banking app and confirm your identity afterwards. Third, follow the bank's instructions to load the ID in the Mobilt BankID app on your phone. From then on, you confirm each login and signature in the app.
Check three things the first week. Make sure the phone number tied to your account is one you will keep, because changing it later can mean repeating identification. And write down the bank's helpline, so that if you lose the phone you can block your BankID at once. A lost ID that is not blocked can be misused, and the law treats a BankID signature as a binding electronic signature.
BankID in Sweden is yours alone. It is never lent, never shared with a partner "for convenience", and never used from a computer a stranger controls. Authorities and banks warn that the most common fraud is a person who persuades you to approve a login or a payment you did not start. If you ever doubt a request, close the app and call the organisation on a number you have found yourself.
Finally, think ahead about the long term. If you leave Sweden, BankID stops being useful, so keep a copy of the documents you signed with it, such as your lease, your tax return and your employment contract.
What is the realistic timeline?
Arrive, notify your move, attend the identity check, receive your personnummer in a few weeks, open the account, order BankID. Between the first and the last of these steps you will use your home bank for payments, the service centre for forms, and Freja+ for what it opens. It is slower than it should be, and entirely normal.
Once you have BankID, you will realise why Sweden insists on it: it makes the rest of the country's bureaucracy surprisingly painless. Read moving to Sweden: the step-by-step guide to see where it fits in the sequence.