Before you start

Personnummer and a personbevis from Skatteverket
Passport and residence permit card
Proof of your reason to be in Sweden — usually the employment contract
For a Danish salary: a Danish personal tax number, a NemKonto and MitID

Step-by-step

1
Get the personbevis first
Skatteverket's personbevis certificate is what a Swedish bank wants as proof of registration. Order it online once you are registered; it is free. Turning up without it wastes a branch appointment.
OnlineWho: YouAfter registration
2
Book a branch appointment rather than applying online
First accounts for foreign nationals are opened in person almost everywhere. Book ahead — branches run appointment-only and walk-ins are commonly turned away. Bring passport, personbevis, permit card and contract.
In personWho: YouWeek 2–4
3
Ask specifically for BankID at the same appointment
Mobile BankID is issued by your bank and is the single most useful thing you will get that day. Some banks issue it immediately, others impose a waiting period for new customers. Ask before you choose the bank.
In personWho: You
4
If you are paid from Denmark, set up the Danish side in parallel
Danish employers pay into a NemKonto — an ordinary bank account designated as your public payments account — and Danish digital services run on MitID. Neither is optional if the salary is Danish, and getting them requires a Danish personal tax number first. Øresunddirekt walks people through this sequence daily.
In personWho: You
5
Plan how you will convert DKK to SEK, because the default is expensive
A Danish salary paid into a Danish account and spent in Sweden crosses a currency boundary every month. Bank spreads on DKK/SEK are not trivial at commuter volumes. Compare a multi-currency provider against your bank's rate once, properly, rather than absorbing the difference indefinitely.
Mobile appWho: You
6
Set up e-invoices and autogiro for Swedish bills
Swedish bills arrive as e-invoices in your online bank rather than on paper. Set up autogiro for rent and utilities early; a missed payment referred to Kronofogden produces a record of non-payment that stays on file for three years.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Personbevis from Skatteverket
Passport
Residence permit card
Employment contract
Swedish phone number
For a Danish salary: Danish personal tax number, NemKonto details, MitID

Things most newcomers don’t know

An Öresund commuter runs two digital identities, and neither substitutes for the other.

BankID unlocks Swedish public services, 1177, Skatteverket, insurers and landlords; MitID unlocks Danish payroll, SKAT and Danish public services. You need both, they are issued by different systems on different sides of a border, and losing access to either one stops half your life. Renew both early and never let the underlying account lapse.

Source: Øresunddirekt; community-reported

The currency spread on a Danish salary is the quiet, permanent cost of commuting.

DKK and SEK are separate currencies with a real spread between them, and a commuter converts a full monthly salary across it, every month, for years. Nobody notices it in a single transaction and it is worth a meaningful sum annually. Compare properly once — bank rate against a specialist provider — and then stop thinking about it.

Source: community-reported

A single missed Swedish bill can leave a record of non-payment that follows you for three years.

Sweden's credit information system records betalningsanmärkningar from unpaid debts referred to Kronofogden, and for individuals they stay on file for three years. Landlords, mobile operators and lenders check. Newcomers get caught because Swedish bills arrive as e-invoices inside the online bank rather than on paper. Set up autogiro on day one.

Source: Kronofogden

Banks differ sharply on how they treat new arrivals, and it is worth shopping around before booking.

Under EU rules banks must offer a basic payment account to anyone lawfully resident, but the practical experience varies: some issue BankID at the first appointment, some impose a customer-history wait, and some handle residence permit cards far better than others. Ask two or three what they need before booking rather than accepting the first refusal as the Swedish position.

Source: Finansinspektionen

Common mistakes to avoid

Turning up at a branch without the personbevis and losing the appointment.
Assuming a Swedish account is enough when the salary is Danish — a NemKonto is how you get paid.
Letting BankID or MitID expire, or closing the account either is tied to.
Absorbing the bank's DKK/SEK spread every month without ever comparing it.
Missing an e-invoice and collecting a record of non-payment that lasts three years.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.