Moving to Sweden from the USA

Can Americans move to Sweden?

Yes, but not by simply moving here. US citizens are third-country nationals in Sweden and need a residence permit from Migrationsverket. As a rule the permit must be granted before you travel.

Two things surprise Americans most often, and neither is a Swedish rule. The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income, even when they live abroad. And a US driving licence cannot be exchanged for a Swedish one.

All the routes in, with the requirement and the money for each, are on moving to Sweden.

A 90-day visit is not a move

US citizens may enter the Schengen area without a visa and stay for 90 days in any 180-day period. Days in every Schengen country count, not only the days in Sweden.

• Your passport must have been issued less than ten years before you arrive and stay valid for at least three months after you leave the Schengen area.
• To stay longer than 90 days without working, you apply for a visitor's residence permit. It is for visiting and gives no right to work.
• A residence permit for work, studies or family does not count towards the 90 days.
• Since 10 April 2026 your fingerprints and photo are registered in the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) the first time you enter. The record is valid for three years.

ETIAS, the travel authorisation for visa-free visitors, is expected to start in the last quarter of 2026. It costs EUR 20 and is valid for three years or until your passport expires.

Coming as a tourist and applying for a work permit from inside Sweden does not work, even if you get a job offer during the visit. The exception is narrow: you must have travelled here specifically to meet the employer, the job must be in a shortage occupation and the salary must reach the salary floor.

The routes in if you are moving from the US

Five routes are realistic, and they are assessed the same way whichever non-EU country you come from. The difference is in what you can show.

• Work permit. An offer of employment from a Swedish employer, a salary of at least SEK 34,470 a month and insurance through the employer. Some shortage occupations have a lower floor of SEK 28,725. The fee is SEK 2,200.
• Looking for work. With a degree at advanced level you can get a permit for up to nine months, showing SEK 13,000 for every month you apply for plus health insurance. The fee is SEK 2,200.
• Studies. Admission to full-time studies, the tuition fee paid, and SEK 10,656 a month for applications made in 2026. The fee is SEK 1,500.
• Your own business. You must own at least 51 per cent of the company, show SEK 200,000 for yourself for two years, and have knowledge of Swedish or English.
• Family. If your partner, child or parent is in Sweden the relationship is what is examined, and the person here must meet the maintenance requirement and have adequate housing. The fee is SEK 2,000 for an adult.

Migrationsverket states one month for a work permit for highly qualified work and four months for other work, for complete applications. For family reunification, 75 per cent of recently decided cases took up to 14 months.

There is no permit for remote work for a US employer and no retirement visa. If you want to live here and work for yourself, the own-business permit is the only route open to you, and then Migrationsverket examines the company and your finances.

Tax and social security for Americans

This is the part of the move that costs the most if you find out about it late. The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live. Living in Sweden and paying Swedish tax does not remove your US filing duty.

• You still file a US return. Living abroad gives you an automatic two-month extension, to 15 June.
• The foreign earned income exclusion lets you exclude earned income up to USD 132,900 for tax year 2026, but only if you file.
• If your foreign accounts together held more than USD 10,000 at any point in the year, you must file an FBAR report with the US Treasury.
• The US and Sweden have a social security agreement, so you should not pay contributions in both countries for the same work, and periods you have earned in one country can be counted in the other.

One practical consequence is that some Swedish banks and fund companies are cautious with American customers because of the reporting rules. Expect more questions than an average customer gets, and bring every document.

How the bank part works in practice, and what to do if you are refused, is on opening a bank account in Sweden. Your own tax position is a question for Skatteverket and the IRS, or for a tax adviser. We describe the rules. We cannot judge your case.

Driving licence, belongings and pets

The driving licence is the most common unpleasant surprise. A US licence is valid in Sweden for one year, counted from the day you are entered in the population register. After that it stops being valid, and there is no way to exchange it for a Swedish one.

• Only licences from the United Kingdom, the Faroe Islands, Switzerland and Japan can be exchanged for a Swedish licence.
• If you need to drive after that first year, you take a Swedish licence the normal way, with a theory test and a driving test.
• Start early. Booking lessons and tests takes longer than most people expect.

Your household goods can come in free of customs duty and VAT. Tullverket requires that you have lived outside the EU for at least a year, that you have owned and used the items for at least six months, and that you intend to live in Sweden for at least a year. During the first year you may not sell or lend out what you were granted relief for.

If you bring a dog or a cat, Jordbruksverket's rules apply: a microchip fitted before the rabies vaccination, a valid vaccination, and an animal health certificate valid for ten days for the journey.

Daily life and money

The salary floor is a permit requirement, not a measure of what life costs. A single person in a big city needs roughly SEK 13,000 to 22,000 a month, and two adults with two children usually SEK 28,000 to 42,000.

• Healthcare, preschool and medicine are capped, so an illness cannot ruin a household.
• VAT is already in the shelf price: 25 per cent on most things and 12 per cent on food.
• Housing is the hard part. First-hand contracts usually come through a municipal housing queue, and in Stockholm that means many years. Most people start in the second-hand market.
• Almost everything in daily life runs digitally through BankID, which your Swedish bank issues once you are a customer there.

After the move you register with Skatteverket. A stay of twelve months or more means population registration and a personnummer. Shorter stays get a samordningsnummer (coordination number).

The costs city by city are on the cost of living in Sweden, and the whole order of things after you arrive is in New to Sweden. Further ahead come the conditions for a permanent residence permit and, since 6 June 2026, 8 years of hemvist (the time you have lived in Sweden) for citizenship.

Common questions about moving from the US