Open a bank account

The ability to have access to a bank account covered by the State’s deposit guarantee scheme, and to basic payment services, is open to everyone. This applies regardless of your citizenship and whether or not you have a Swedish personal identity number.

You can read more about your rights to a bank account at the Swedish Bankers Association.

Guidance to open a Swedish bank account can also be found at the website of Euraxess

What do you need to bring to the bank?

  • Swedish identity card or Passport if you’re not registered in the Swedish population register.
  • Employment contract or equivalent document, which shows where income/equivalent comes from.
  • Contract proving residential address.

The following document from the Swedish Banker's Association show what rights the person has as a bank customer and what information he/she needs to bring to the bank when opening an account (PDF). The person is recommended to bring this document to the bank.

Can the bank deny you an account?

The bank may not open an account if:

  • The bank cannot identify you in a sufficiently secure manner.
  • The bank considers that the information you provide about why you want to open an account is not sufficient.
  • The bank by opening an account violates any rule of law or regulation.
  • The bank may also deny you an account if you have previously been dishonest towards the bank.

When you open a bank account you can get a debit card and Internet and telephone services linked to the account. The cheapest way to pay bills is through the banks’ payment services, which are available online.

Banks are generally open between 10:00 and 15:00, but some branch offices have more generous opening hours, especially on Thursdays. Please be aware that many banks in Sweden no longer handle cash.

If you want to keep your account in your current bank, we recommend you contact those that will manage your salary payments in good time and provide the information they need – to make sure that you receive your salary to your own account in your home country. Depending on your bank, there may be costs involved in this procedure, and Uppsala University will not cover those expenses. Please note that foreign checks usually take a long time to process, and you will have to pay processing fees. Once in Sweden, you will be able to use your international credit or debit card in any store, bank or cash machine/ATM.

FOLLOW UPPSALA UNIVERSITY ON

facebook
instagram
twitter
youtube
linkedin