Moving to Sweden
Visas and residency, citizenship, tax, company and banking, cost of living and the places to live in Sweden, in one place.
Navid lived hereThinking about moving to Sweden?
In Sweden, I lived in Stockholm.
Here's how long you can stay, the ways to live there for good, what you'd pay in tax and what everyday life costs, each figure from an official source.
In this guide, I'll show you:
- How long you can stay, by passport
- How long citizenship takes
- How tax works, with the rates
- What it costs, and the internet and safety
- The best places to live
- The basics: capital, currency and languages
Pick your passport at the top of the page, and the stay rule shows for you.
Key takeaways
Sweden at a glance
How long can you stay in Sweden?
It depends on the passport you hold.
Here's the rule for the most common ones:
- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- –
- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
- Rule
- Visa needed
- Stay
- –
For any other passport, pick yours at the top, or see every country on the visa-free countries map.
Sweden is in the Schengen area.
Days here count toward your 90 in any 180 across all of Schengen; count them with the Schengen calculator.
Citizenship in Sweden
Naturalization takes about 8 years of residence.
Dual citizenship is allowed, so you can keep your passport.
Work out your own timeline with the second passport calculator.
Tax in Sweden
Sweden taxes its tax residents on their income from anywhere.
See where it sits among every country on the territorial tax map.
The main rates:
- Lowest income tax band – 7%
- Top income tax rate – 48%
- Corporate tax – 21%
- VAT or sales tax – 25%
- Capital gains tax – 30%
New residents can use Tax relief for foreign experts.
See how it works in tax breaks for new residents.
Where you're a tax resident usually comes down to days.
Count yours with the 183-day rule calculator.
Company and banking
Compare the banks and cards that work for people abroad in the bank account finder.
Move money for less with the money transfer comparison.
Setting up a company here?
See the fees and yearly costs in company formation compared.
Many people who live abroad run a US LLC instead; check yours with the US LLC for non-residents checker.
Cost of living in Sweden
Everyday prices in Sweden are about 87% of US prices.
That's the World Bank's price level for 2025: its purchasing power conversion factor divided by the exchange rate.
It's close to US prices, or above them.
A night's stay in a whole place, by Inside Airbnb's median:
- Stockholm – $229
Convert what things cost with the currency converter.
Is Sweden safe?
The US State Department rates Sweden Level 2 ("Exercise increased caution", updated 2026-05-18), the same level it gives France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. Levels 1 and 2 are both everyday travel; the US only asks you to reconsider a trip at Level 3. Some advisories are stricter for parts of a country, so read the full advisory before you go.
For a second view, the UK has no warning against travel.
See every country's level on the travel advisory map.
Internet in Sweden
In M-Lab's open speed tests across Sweden over the last 12 months, half came in above 92 Mbps download.
The fastest quarter of lines came in above 238 Mbps, closer to a good fiber connection (1,676,166 tests).
By place:
- Stockholm – 89 Mbps typical
Test your own line when you arrive with my internet speed test.
The best places to live in Sweden
- Stockholm – I lived here
Compare them with places everywhere in digital nomad locations.
Sweden: the basics
| What | Sweden |
|---|---|
| Capital | Stockholm |
| Currency | Swedish krona (SEK) |
| Languages | Swedish, Northern Sami, Southern Sami |
| Population | about 10.2 million |
From GeoNames' country data (CC BY 4.0).
More tools for Sweden
- Passport index and compare passports
- Time zone overlap calculator for calls with home
- eSIM finder for data when you land
- Card fees abroad calculator before you spend
Sweden FAQs
Visa-free, for 90 days.
Pick another passport at the top of the page to see its rule.
It depends on your passport.
Pick yours at the top of the page to see the days, and whether you need a visa first.
Not that I've found in official sources as of 2026-09-29.
The digital nomad visa finder lists every country that has one.
About 8 years of residence.
Yes.
Check that your own country allows it too.
Sweden taxes its tax residents on their income from anywhere.
Check the details with a tax adviser before you move.
Everyday prices are about 87% of US prices, by the World Bank's price level for 2025.
Rent in the biggest cities can be higher than that suggests.
The US State Department rates it Level 2.
Levels 1 and 2 are everyday travel; read the full advisory for any regions it warns about.
Half of M-Lab's tests there came in above 92 Mbps download over the last 12 months.
The fastest quarter of lines passed 238 Mbps.
The places I cover there are Stockholm.
Each has its own guide with the weather by month, internet and costs.
The Swedish krona (SEK).
The main languages are Swedish, Northern Sami and Southern Sami.
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Places to live in Sweden
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