Country guide · Sweden
In Sweden, access to public care depends on your place of residence (Wohnsitz) and on registration in the population register.
At a glance
You clarify these points before you move to Sweden. Each row names its source; last updated 12 October 2026.
The regions must offer health and medical care to everyone living in the region.
If you plan to stay at least a year, you are usually entered in the population register and receive a personal identity number (Personnummer).
If you are registered in Sweden, you are entitled to medical and dental care on the same terms as other residents.
If you are employed or self-employed in Sweden, you can stay for more than three months without a residence permit, and the law does not name health insurance as a condition.
For people who do not work, the Swedish Aliens Act requires sufficient resources and comprehensive health insurance that is valid in Sweden.
The EHIC applies only to a temporary stay.
To tick off
In detail
In Sweden, the regions are obliged to offer good health and medical care to everyone living in the region; primary care must be organised so that residents can choose their provider and a fixed doctor contact.
The system therefore follows where you live, not an insurance policy you take out yourself. The regions set patient fees according to their own principles; for certain fees for outpatient care there is an annual maximum (high-cost protection).
In principle, the country where you work is responsible for health insurance, otherwise the country where you live; nationality does not count.
For Swedish social insurance, you count as resident in Sweden if you come to the country and are expected to stay longer than a year, unless there are special reasons against it. If you move to Sweden and plan to stay at least a year, you usually report the move to the tax agency (Skatteverket), are entered in the population register and receive a personal identity number (Personnummer); if you stay for a shorter time, you are not registered.
If you are registered in Sweden, according to the Försäkringskassan (Swedish Social Insurance Agency) you are entitled to medical and dental care on the same terms as other residents and pay the usual patient fee in the public system.
The Försäkringskassan has a task of its own. If you move to Sweden without children, you can report details to the Försäkringskassan, for example to apply for an EHIC or a benefit; the Försäkringskassan then checks whether you are insured in Sweden.
| Situation | What the sources say | What you clarify |
|---|---|---|
| Employees and self-employed | If you are employed or self-employed in Sweden, you can stay for more than three months without a residence permit, and the law does not name health insurance as a condition. | Ask Skatteverket whether the planned length of stay is enough for registration. |
| Seconded employees | If an employer from an EU state posts you to Sweden (secondment), you usually remain socially insured under the law of the sending state; the certificate for this is the A1. | Ask your employer whether an A1 is being applied for. |
| Investors without their own activity | Without work in Sweden, the route for people who do not work applies. For people who do not work, the Swedish Aliens Act requires sufficient resources and comprehensive health insurance that is valid in Sweden. Whether a shareholding counts as self-employment is assessed by Skatteverket case by case. | Ask Skatteverket how it classifies your situation. |
| Private means and pensioners | An EEA citizen who does not work may stay longer than three months if they have sufficient resources for themselves and their family and hold comprehensive health insurance that is valid in Sweden. If you receive a pension from another EU country, you apply for the S1 there and have it registered in your country of residence with the competent health insurance institution; it certifies your entitlement to care in the country of residence. | Ask your pension insurer and your Krankenkasse (German health insurance fund) whether an S1 is an option for you. |
| Families | Spouses and partners, children under 21 and dependent relatives of an EEA citizen receive a right of residence in Sweden that depends on the EEA citizen’s right of residence. | Ask your Krankenkasse (German health insurance fund) about family insurance and the S1. |
An EEA citizen who does not work may stay longer than three months if they have sufficient resources for themselves and their family and hold comprehensive health insurance that is valid in Sweden.
The law distinguishes between people who work in Sweden and people who only live there. Under the Swedish Aliens Act, an EEA citizen may stay longer than three months without a residence permit if they are employed or self-employed in Sweden or are looking for work and have a genuine chance of a job; the law does not name health insurance as a condition for these groups.
Before registration, the tax agency asks EU citizens for proof of the right of residence; if you support yourself, you show resources for at least a year, for example with a bank statement, a pension notice or an employment contract from abroad. Whether the tax agency also wants to see proof of insurance and what counts as comprehensive insurance, you clarify with it before the move.
| Situation | What the sources say | What you clarify |
|---|---|---|
| Work or self-employment | The law does not name health insurance as a condition for this right of residence. | Keep your employment contract or evidence of self-employment ready. |
| No gainful activity | For people who do not work, the Swedish Aliens Act requires sufficient resources and comprehensive health insurance that is valid in Sweden. Before registration, the tax agency asks for proof of the right of residence. | Ask Skatteverket which proof of insurance it would like to see. |
| With S1 | If you receive a pension from another EU country, you apply for the S1 there and have it registered in your country of residence with the competent health insurance institution; it certifies your entitlement to care in the country of residence. | Ask your pension insurance institution or your Krankenkasse (German health insurance fund) whether an S1 can be issued. |
| Option | What the sources say | What you clarify |
|---|---|---|
| Public care of the region | If you are registered in Sweden, you are entitled to medical and dental care on the same terms as other residents. | Ask the region and Skatteverket from when you are registered as a resident and how you cover the time until then. |
| Private or international policy | For people who do not work, the Swedish Aliens Act requires sufficient resources and comprehensive health insurance that is valid in Sweden. None of the sources read says whether a particular policy counts as comprehensive and valid in Sweden. | Have the insurer confirm in writing what the policy covers in Sweden, and ask Skatteverket whether it accepts the policy. |
| EHIC from Germany | The EHIC applies only to a temporary stay. | Use it for visits only; ask your Krankenkasse (German health insurance fund) about the route for a change of residence. |
How the rules have changed since the date of this page, you check against the sources on the day of your move. More on the policy under international health insurance.
Before you deregister (Abmeldung) in Germany, you clarify in writing what happens to your current insurance. The questions below apply to any destination country. They are questions, not legal advice: the answers are in your contract documents or come from the body you ask.
You clarify three Sweden topics in advance with your Krankenkasse (statutory health insurer): the EHIC, a possible S1 (form for your entitlement in the new country of residence) and the day your cover in Germany ends. The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is valid only for a temporary stay in another EU country; if you move your habitual residence, the EU Commission says you should register with form S1 and not use the EHIC.
If your family moves with you, you will find general information under health insurance for the family abroad.
Do not cancel any contract before it is clarified in writing what applies afterwards. We explain the connections on the pages Health insurance when emigrating and PKV and Anwartschaft. For families, there is more at Health insurance for the family abroad.
The EHIC applies only to a temporary stay. Ask your health insurer (Krankenkasse) about the route for a change of residence.
If you plan to stay at least a year, you are usually entered in the population register and receive a personal identity number (Personnummer).
If you are registered in Sweden, you are entitled to medical and dental care on the same terms as other residents. The report to the Försäkringskassan, by contrast, checks insurance for benefits. If you want to work in Sweden but are not in the population register, you must report this to the Försäkringskassan; if you stay at least a year, you must register with the tax agency.
For people who do not work, the Swedish Aliens Act requires sufficient resources and comprehensive health insurance that is valid in Sweden.
Before registration, the tax agency asks for proof of the right of residence.
FAQ
That depends on whether you work in Sweden: if you are employed or self-employed in Sweden, you can stay for more than three months without a residence permit, and the law does not name health insurance as a condition.
An EEA citizen who does not work may stay longer than three months if they have sufficient resources for themselves and their family and hold comprehensive health insurance that is valid in Sweden. This also applies to shareholdings without an activity of your own. Ask Skatteverket how it classifies your situation, and clarify with your Krankenkasse (statutory health insurer) what applies until the move.
If you are registered in Sweden, according to the Försäkringskassan (Swedish Social Insurance Agency) you are entitled to medical and dental care on the same terms as other residents and pay the usual patient fee in the public system.
If you move to Sweden and plan to stay at least a year, you usually report the move to the tax agency (Skatteverket), are entered in the population register and receive a personal identity number (Personnummer); if you stay for a shorter time, you are not registered. The page read names no waiting period of its own. How long registration takes and how you cover the time in between, you clarify with Skatteverket and your Krankenkasse (statutory health insurer).
The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) applies only during a temporary stay in another EU country; anyone who moves their habitual residence should, according to the EU Commission, register with form S1 and not use the EHIC.
Whether an S1 is an option for you and until when your card applies during a move, you clarify with your Krankenkasse (statutory health insurer). If you receive a pension from another EU country, you apply for the S1 there and have it registered in your country of residence with the competent health insurance institution; it certifies your entitlement to care in the country of residence.
An EEA citizen who does not work may stay longer than three months if they have sufficient resources for themselves and their family and hold comprehensive health insurance that is valid in Sweden.
If you receive a pension from another EU country, a different route may apply: you apply for the S1 there and have it registered in your country of residence with the competent health insurance institution; it certifies your entitlement to care in the country of residence. Whether German insurance counts as comprehensive, you clarify with Skatteverket.
Spouses and partners, children under 21 and dependent relatives of an EEA citizen receive a right of residence in Sweden that depends on the EEA citizen’s right of residence.
If you move to Sweden without children, you can report details to the Försäkringskassan, for example to apply for an EHIC or a benefit; the Försäkringskassan then checks whether you are insured in Sweden. With children under 16, according to its page, the Försäkringskassan contacts you after registration. Ask your Krankenkasse (statutory health insurer) how partners and children are insured until then.
This page is for you if you live in Germany and are planning your move to Sweden.
Tassilo Peter Seitz is a shareholder of Verus Vorsorge GmbH and advises in German and English (insurance broker licensed under Section 34d (1) of the German Trade Regulation Act (GewO)). How we work and how we are paid is explained on the page How we work, how we earn.
By Tassilo Peter Seitz, advising for Verus Vorsorge GmbH (insurance broker licensed under § 34d (1) GewO). This page provides general information and does not replace individual advice. What is binding is the law, the terms of your policy and the competent authorities.
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