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Do foreigners in Sweden have to carry their residence cards?

Foreign residents in Sweden who are granted residence permits are issued with a residence card or 'uppehållstillstånd'. Who does this apply to and are they obliged to carry the card all the time?

Published: 2 February 2024 12:52 CET
Updated: 16 April 2024 14:22 CEST

Do foreigners in Sweden have to carry their residence cards?

Foreigners living in Sweden should always present their residence permit cards alongside their passports when crossing the Swedish border. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

What is an uppehållstillstånd?

Firstly, an uppehållstillstånd or residence permit is required for legal residence in Sweden for non-EU citizens, as well as EU citizens without EU right of residence.

Note that this is not the same as an uppehållskort, which is for non-EU citizens living with a non-Swedish EU citizen, nor is it the same as an intyg om permanent uppehållsrätt for EU citizens or uppehållsstatus for Brits here under the rules of the withdrawal agreement.

Card, status, or permit? The different types of permanent residence document in Sweden

Residence permits are granted to those wanting to work, study or live in Sweden, including those who came to the country as family members of other residents or as refugees.

The criteria you must fulfil to be granted a residence permit depend on the reason you are in Sweden and your personal situation.

If you are granted a residence permit for Sweden, you will be issued with a residence card or uppehållstillståndskort, as documentation of your residence rights.

The card itself is a plastic card the size of a credit card and displays your photo. It also includes a chip containing your biometric data. You will be required to attend an appointment to submit biometric details to the Migration Agency, either at one of its offices or at your closest Swedish embassy or consulate, if you’re applying from outside the country, after which the agency will be able to produce your residence card.

So, do I need to carry the card with me at all times?

Technically, no, but it’s best to always know where it is, as you will need to be able to show it when asked.

A press officer at Sweden’s Migration Agency told The Local that it’s a good idea to carry it with you at all times, although there’s no specific requirement for residence permit holders to do so.

“We can’t comment exactly on the situations in which other authorities, such as the police or healthcare services would need to see your residence permit card, but our general advice is that it’s a good idea to carry your residence card with you at all times, like any other form of ID, such as a driving licence, for example,” she said.

According to the Migration Agency’s website, you should always have it with you when in contact with Swedish authorities or healthcare, as it proves that you have the right to live in Sweden.

“According to the Aliens Act, foreigners in Sweden must show a passport or other document showing they have the right to live in Sweden, when asked by a police officer,” police press officer Irene Sokolow told The Local.

“[The foreigner] is responsible for proving their right to be in Sweden, as well as their identity and the day and time they arrived in Sweden, if relevant. They are, however, not required to carry their identity card or passport with them.”

One situation where you should have your card with you is when travelling over the Swedish border, where you should always present it to border police along with your passport. This ensures you’ll be registered correctly as a resident when exiting or re-entering the country, rather than as a tourist.

One reason why this is important is that non-EU residents can only visit Schengen for 90 days in every 180-day period without needing a residence permit or other visa, so if you’re falsely registered as entering Sweden as a visitor, this 90-day countdown will start.

If you’re then discovered living in Sweden past the 90-day deadline, your false registration as a tourist could lead to you being branded an overstayer, which could affect your chances of getting a residence permit in the future, as well as your chances of being allowed to enter other Schengen countries.

Where else might I be asked to show my card?

Sweden’s police are also able to carry out so-called inre utlänningskontroller, special controls to identify people living in Sweden illegally, if they have reason to believe the person in question does not have a permit or visa to live in Sweden.

These can take place anywhere within Sweden, including at workplaces suspected of hiring people without valid residence permits, so at least in theory, you could be stopped by police anywhere in the country and asked to show your residence permit if they have reason to believe you’re living here illegally.

“When an inre utlänningskontroll is carried out and the person in question does not have any such documents with them, the police can check their status with the Migration Agency,” Sokolow told The Local.

Legally, the police have the power to confiscate your passport or other ID document if you can’t prove you have the right to be in Sweden when asked, although this will be returned to you when you provide them with a valid residence permit card or when they receive other proof that you have the right to be in the country.

Member comments

Anonymous - 2 February 2024 at 17:49 CET

You don’t legally have to carry it but if you don’t and are asked to show it by police – which can happen any time and place – you will presumably be taken into custody until you can produce it.

“You can do this, but if you actually do this you could be arrested, so be lucky!” is not great advice from a government agency.

Or do I misunderstand?
Anonymous - 2 February 2024 at 17:51 CET

I’d love to know how many uppehållstillstånd are checked in inre utlänningskontroller versus how many had to be reissued because they were lost or stolen while being carried around outside the safety of the home.

I know where it’s safer to keep critically important residency documents, and it’s not in your wallet or handbag.

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How to grow your own fruits and vegetables in Sweden

Know your growing zone

Sweden is split into eight different growing zones, known as växtzoner in Swedish, with one being the mildest zone in the far south of the country and eight being the harshest, in the far north.

The easiest way to figure out which zone you live in is to search your address on a digital growing zone chart like this one from the Swedish Garden Association.

There are two “bonus” zones too, which you’re unlikely to see on plant labels: zone zero, which refers to extra mild conditions in zone one, like a sheltered south-facing garden or the climate inside an unheated greenhouse, and the fjällzon or zone nine, which is found in mountain regions.

Lots of fruit trees can handle snow, for example, but not all of them will survive the winters in harsher, colder zones.

“Apple trees or fruit trees will survive snow,” British gardener and cider maker John Taylor, known for presenting Swedish gardening show Trädgårdstider (Garden Times), told The Local.

“You can grow all kinds of apples, pears, plums, cherries, we can grow edible quince in southern Sweden, so there’s a bunch of fruit trees which will survive, but it depends what rootstock they’re on – that’s called grundstam in Swedish,” he explained.

“There’s one rootstock called B9 that survives down to minus 40, because it’s from Russia, then there’s another called M106, and that probably doesn’t want to live in the depths of Norrland.”

Buy plants local to you

An easy way to make sure the plant you’re planning on buying is going to survive in your zone is by sourcing it from a local plant nursery or garden centre, as they won’t sell plants that can’t handle the local climate.

“There’s a nursery in the north of Sweden and Finland called Blomkvists, they sell lots of fruit varieties which will survive up there,” Taylor said. “You can grow pretty much anything you want up there, just as we can [in Skåne, southern Sweden], but it will be different varieties that taste different and will survive the frost.”

You won’t be able to grow Mediterranean fruits like lemons or oranges in Sweden unless you bring them inside during the winter, although you should be able to grow peaches or nectarines in most of the country.

“The further up in the country you go, the further north you are or the further away from the coast, the harsher the climate becomes, so you might need to have them on a south-facing wall or in a greenhouse,” Taylor said.

Think outside the box

Although the growing season in Sweden may be shorter than it is further south, there are still a number of crops from warmer climates that do surprisingly well.

“People don’t really grow cucumbers outside here, I don’t think they realise that you can actually grow them outside,” Taylor said. “Tomatoes, too. You don’t need a greenhouse, you just stick them in the ground, they’re basically a weed – you’ll get so many you won’t know what to do with them.”

Sweetcorn, for example, performs well in a Swedish climate, Taylor said, although Swedes more often grow it as a feed crop for pigs.

You can also test things by trying to build a microclimate so you can grow things that are one or even two growing zones away from yours. Usually this is done by providing shelter from the wind and the weather using fences, hedges or by planting near buildings, as well as providing protection during the winter.

And if you’re pushed for space, look into companion planting, where you can grow multiple plants which complement each other in the same space.

One example of this is the “three sisters”: corn, climbing beans (or peas), and squash. The corn provides a support for the beans or peas, which anchor the corn in high winds while fixing nitrogen in the soil, while the squash’s large leaves provide shade for the soil, preventing it from drying out.

Don’t be put off just because you don’t have any outside space

Thinking outside the box applies to balconies too.

“If you’re in a built-up area, you will get reflected light from other buildings, so even if you’re on an east-facing balcony, you should be able to grow a lot of stuff. North is a bit more tricky, but east and west are probably better than south as you’re not getting hammered by the sun all day,” Taylor said.

You should be able to grow things like tomatoes, cucumbers and flowers, but it’s important to get hold of good soil and replenish it each year, so your plants have enough nutrients.

“Anybody with a balcony can grow pretty much the same that you can in a garden, you just have to get the soil up there and you always have to fertilise, the soil becomes nutrient deficient after one season.”

“But if you’re prepared to get the soil up on your balcony you can grow anything, even fruit trees. They will be smaller and stunted, and won’t give as much fruit – I’ve done it myself – so don’t see it as an obstacle, see it as a possibility.”

Kale and tomatoes growing on a balcony. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Take inspiration from Swedish growers

Thinking outside the box doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore what all your Swedish neighbours are doing. If you’re not sure what to plant in your garden or what fruit and veg you should try to grow, take a look at what other people who live near you are growing.

You might also come across some crops you’ve never tried before which work well in a Swedish climate, like Alpine strawberries (smultron), honeyberries (blåbärstry), wild garlic (ramslök) or sea buckthorn (havtorn).

This doesn’t just apply to varieties, but also where you plant them in your garden. Some crops need full sun, some work best in shade, and others, like asparagus, can grow tall and cast a shadow over your garden.

“You want a south-facing location for all fruit, and berries – check out what your neighbours are doing,” Taylor said.

If you don’t want tall plants to cast a shadow over other crops, see if you can plant them at the northernmost edge of your garden, while making sure that sun and soil conditions are still optimal. Blueberries, for example, need acidic soil to thrive, meaning you will probably need to amend your soil if planting in the ground, or even plant them in containers.

Think about what you want to do with your harvest

This may seem obvious, but it’s important to plant what you like to eat, too. If you hate the aniseedy, licorice-y taste of fennel, why bother growing it?

You should also choose the variety of crop based on what you’re going to use it for. Do you want to make pickles with your cucumbers, or are you going to eat them on salads? Do you want cherry tomatoes for snacking on, or big beef tomatoes for making sauces?

“Think ‘what am I going to do with my harvest’,” Taylor said. “Am I going to juice it? Am I going to preserve it? Am I going to make cider with it, for example?”

Apples, for example, can range from sweet eating apples to tart cooking apples, so make sure you do your research before you commit to buying an apple tree. Most varieties exist in English-speaking countries, so you should be able to search the name of the variety online and find some information in a language you understand, if you don’t speak Swedish.

“Patience is a virtue,” he added. “A lot of fruit trees are going to take two or three years, or even more, to give a harvest. So you have to have patience.”

Learn to deal with the Swedish weather

Many areas of Sweden along the coast or in the south of the country can get windy, which you’ll have to learn to deal with.

“How to deal with the wind? You can’t,” Taylor said. “We cannot affect this, we are powerless.”

“What you have to do is plant them in areas where there’s less wind, usually behind large buildings.”

Some plants simply won’t survive the wind, so either you plant them close to buildings, protect them, or accept that you’re restricted in what you can grow.

Make sure to provide supports for crops which will grow tall, like sunflowers, peas, beans and sweetcorn, and tie these down well or bury them deep in the ground, so summer storms can’t blow them away.

Listen to the full interview with John Taylor in The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers. Out on Wednesday, May 8th.

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