Sunnyday99

Hi,
We are moving to Sweden in December 2013. There are a few questions we need your help.
- Schooling: We have a 7 yrs old daughter, how do I apply for school in Sweden for her? what's the process? will she need to attend Swedish lesson before be accepted by a primary school. The place we are moving to is in Gävle. What's the standard hours for a Swedish primary school? Any after school clubs in school? Can I apply for a school place before we arrive to Sweden?

- Housing: We heard that it is easy to rent in Sweden. So we plan to buy a property after we settle down. What's the buying process in Sweden? Need a solicitor? how to get mortgage?

- Living cost: what's it like comparing with the cost in the UK? any council tax in Sweden? What are water, eletricity and gas costs like?

- Removal: moving from UK to Sweden, any of you used any good removal companies?

-Do we get to open a Swedish bank account before we go?

Thanks a lot.

Gordon Barlow

The only help I can give you is to say that you have to have a "personal number" before you can open a Swedish bank a/c. The p-n comes with permission to reside. I have that info from my son in Stockholm. Can't answer any of your other questions, except to say that what is true for Gavle will not always be true throughout the nation.

skylarkpilot

Been here two years now. Fortunately my wife was Swedish and I am retired on an English occupational pension so we were all pretty sorted and not in a rush.
You will find that you cannot apply for anything much until you get here and get registered. Getting a person number is a requirement before anything else really happens. Bring your British bank card with you and leave enough money in your account to see you through for the interim. You cannot even get a store loyalty card without a person number, think Tesco club card.
If you are planning on staying permanently in Sweden make sure you contact the NHS in Newcastle before you leave. They can help you with stuff like the S1.
Once you're here and registered you will be eligible for a free SFI language course. It typically takes six months to a year to complete and does entail three days a week attendance at a proper school and some exams. The bright side is that if you complete SFI 'D' in under twelve months they give you a tax free 12000 kronor......£1200 in real money. Language will not be a barrier to your child/children going to school. There are a lot of expats in Sweden and most likely some of the other kids will have an English speaking parent. Gavle is only an hours drive from where I live in Falun. The people you need to deal with when you arrive are Forsakringskassan, they are pretty much in charge of health and a sort of national insurance system. Just make sure you get the right forms from them as they can be hideously inefficient.
Primary school hours vary a little but generally around 8.15am to 1pm. Almost all the schools have a fritids system which will take care of the kids until you can pick them up. About 5pm at the latest. This is about the only thing that's cheaper in Sweden as you pay a contribution and not the full cost. I believe we're currently paying about £70 a month for our daughter who is nine.
Buying a home is pretty straightforward although the banks can be very sticky about lending. Think UK forty years ago and you'll be about right. Homes here normally sell in a sort of bidding process handled by the estate agent. Viewing days are arranged and everyone who is even remotely interested traipses around and then lodges an interest with the agent in attendance. A few days later they ring around taking bids, last man standing wins.
As for services, water and electricity etc probably about the same as the UK currently. Not many places have gas though so most cookers run on electricity. Don't buy a cooker before you double check the voltage you require. Some homes have a 400v supply for large appliances like cookers. Heating varies. They do not really use the same systems as we do in the UK. Fjarrvarme, Bergvarme, pellets, oil are all subjects for another day but you can look them up on google. As for moving, I didn't have too much to bring so I did three trips on the return ferries with a car. Compared to a removals firm it was cheaper. The ferries are Harwich-Esbjerg then Fredrikshamn-Gothenburg. The drive from Gothenburg to Gavle would be about seven or eight hours. Your nearest Ryanair airport will be Vasteras and they are still pretty cheap if you book at the right moment. Last weeks trip to the UK cost me £25 return including fees and taxes.
As Gordon said above though.....Person number ! In Sweden you do not exist without one and it can take a couple of months to come through

Mike1001

I agree the personummer is a must!

MHayes

Be prepared to have some trouble with the personal number, it seems recently that the system dealing with it has been significantly less efficient. When I came to sweden 5 years ago it took a couple of weeks to get a personal number, now I have heard of several people having to wait months or even years to get one.

Bureaucracy in Sweden is usually a bit of a nightmare unless it involves money, then it's the most efficient system they have.