Good Expereince with Skatteverket, Goteborg

Its very rare to experience good and smooth interaction with government agencies of any country, Sweden being no different. However my personal experience with Skatteverket office in Goteborg changed a lot of my assumptions.

Extremely courteous staff approaching to help you with the process. Very organized and standard questionnaire that any educated professional can easily furnish. And best was the time taken. I was out in 40-minutes flat.

I would like to congratulate the whole team at Skatteverket's Goteborg office for excellent team work and coordination support.

I wish more of the government agencies across can live-up to the expectations of a common man.

Here is a simple step by step process any expat should follow for smooth induction into the Swedish system;

1. Register at Skatteverket (skatteverket.se)  to get your Swedish personal number and ID. Remember that to get a personnummer, you must have a visa that expires in more than 1 year (temporary) or a permanent Visa. There are also exceptions depending on which country you come from and which bilateral or multilateral agreements it has with Sweden.

2. Put your name on the apartment door or your mailbox, so that the postman can deliver letters to you. You are going to get your personal number at your residence address. Remember, without your personnummer, you will not be able to go to the hospital, register in schools, courses and you are going to be treated as a foreigner passing by Sweden.

3. Get registered in a school after you get the personnummer from Skatteverketet, so you can learn Sweden (for instance, at Komvux or Folkuniversitetet). Komvux is free for all dwellers. komvux.se But do not wait too long for a response to see if you are registered, go after it and keep on checking with the Kommun in your region so that you can start i.e. SFI (Svenska för invandrare - Swedish for immigrants).

There are also Swedish courses at the Universities. However, the latter is mainly open to students that are not going to stay in Sweden.

4. Register yorself at a bank of your choice with your personnnumer. It is always good to have an account here. The bank can also help you get a "legitimation" (ID card), so you do not need to carry your passport every time you need to identify yourself in Sweden. To register for an ID card, check with your bank, otherwise Skatteverket (skatteverketet.se) can also issue this type of card.

5. Register yourself at Försäkringskassan in your region (forsakringskassan.se). By doing that, you are going to be able to get more support, like insurance or more help concerning health. If you come to Sweden as a refugee, you can get help like grants for your studies since you got a VISA here, you can also get help from the government if you have children. On the other hand, if you come here because you have connection with someone that lives here, you will not have these benefits, unless you have children. Yet there are also more exceptions if you come from the European Union.

6. Register yourself at Arbetsförmedlingen (arbetsformedlingen.se) and also start searching for a job. Do not wait for someone else will get a job for you, but search yourself! Use your contacts and spread out the word that you need a job.

If you are an entrepreneur, you can also start your own company. There are some kinds of help to new companies in Sweden and if you have a good idea, you can fulfill your dream.

7. Become a member in some association, as integrationinsweden.se. This will help you learn more about Sweden and the Swedish culture.

8. Do not be afraid to meet people from different countries (as well as Swedish people). It is always good to learn about different cultures and understand how the Swedish culture works. It may take a while but do not give it up!

9. Register yourself at your embassy in Sweden (if there is some kind of registration), so that you can be aware of what happens and they can help you in case you are in a difficult situation.

Overall, stay alert. Keep copies of your official documents handy (digital as well as hard copy). Whenever to cross over to Norway, Denmark, Finland or anther European destination, always have your passport and VISA in original. This will save you a lot of trouble.

For people looking for Foreign exchange. Check xe.com before you walk-in to a nearby exchange counter. At 11.00 am the currency rates are updated as per the global exchange rate.

Swedes are really helpful and supportive in need but they also love their space. Know your limits and you can enjoy a beautiful time filled with loads of activity and fun while in Sweden.

Cheers and Best of Luck

Vijesh