Do you want to know how to make a doctor's appointment?
Or how to get a national registration number?
We know it is not easy if you have just moved here. You probably
have many practical questions about how things works. Here is a place where you can
ask about most things like that.
We can not promise that we can answer everything and sometimes it might take a few days but we'll do
our best.
Answered questions
In late May or early June 2003, my wife and I were in Stockholm´s Old
City, when a car drove past us at high speed down the narrow street filled
with pedestrians, hitting a number of people and killing at least two. I
do not read Swedish, and never found out more than that. But it was the
closest I have ever come to being killed, and I have wondered for the last
six years what happened. Can you share any information with me on who did
it, why, and other details of the event and afterwards?
-- Asked by Elliott
First of all, let us say that we am glad that you did not get hurt in the
incident and express our regrets that you had to experience this in
Stockholm. The event got a lot of media attention here.
The car was driven by a 50 year old man who believed that someone else had
taken control over his car.
He told the court that just before the car turned into the pedestrian
street, he saw a man with a remote control who had previously persued him.
The man in the car believed that the man with the remote control
controlled the car and was responsible for what happened.
Maybe not so surprisingly, the technical investigation of the car came to
the conclusion that there were no signs of any one outside the car
controlling it. It was, of course, just in the driver´s imagination
The two persons who were killed were a 54 year old woman and a 21 year old
man.
Since the driver was considered mentally ill, he did not get prison. Instead
he is treated in forensic psychiatry
He was also convicted to pay a record high damage on SEK 2.3 million to
split between the sixteen injured persons and the families of those who
died. With Swedish standards that is an very high damage.
Hi: I am planning on coming to Stockholm for a long term stay before summer begins. I will need to rent an apartment for six months or more. Is it difficult to find apartments to rent? Can you provide a lead as to where to begin this search? Thank you.
-- Asked by Greg
Hi
It is actually rather difficult if you don´t have a lot of money to spend. Stockholm News provides some info on where to begin the search here.
Hope you will enjoy your time in Sweden.
How much coffee do Swedes drink? What did you drink before coffee was introduced there? (I´ve just read Stieg Larsson´s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and every other page the characters are drinking coffee...)
-- Asked by David
Yes, they do indeed drink a lot of coffee in that book...
In 2007 Swedes drank in average 9.17 kilograms or 153 liters of coffee. (One liter is calculated as 60 gram coffee). The statistics where similar the years before.
Coffee came to Sweden in the late 17th century. It became very popular and common from the mid 19th century. Before that people drank schnapps and other strong liquor. (Note that they did not stop drinking that when coffee was introduced, they just got one more beverage)
The Swedish coffee culture is a story of its own. Read more about it here.
Source: www.kaffeinformation.se
I am an older person with an EU passport but no income. I live as Sambo with a Swedish National. After 3 years here, I have now aquired Swedish Permanent residency on the basis that I am here as his Sambo. My question is...If I seperate from my Swede Sambo, do I lose my Swedish permanent residency status. Thanks
-- Asked by Yvonne
IS MS STUDIES IN SWEDEN FREE AT PRESENT TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS?
-- Asked by Uday
Yes, with almost no exceptions higher education is free in Sweden. That also applies for foreign students. There has been a debate about whether students from countries outside of the European Union should be charged but so far that is not the case. More info about higher studies in Sweden is found on www.studyinsweden.se and www.studera.nu
My family visited Stockhlm in 1948 and my two brothers and I had our photographs taken by a local paper. The three your boys in shorts are now all in their seventies living in different parts of the world. I wonder if that photograph is still available in a newspaper archive?
-- Asked by Peter M. Walsh
All Swedish newspapers later than 1979 are available on microfilm at the National Library of Sweden, situated in Stockholm, or at the university libraries in Gothenburg, Lund, Umeå and Uppsala.
From the time before 1979 are some newspapers available on microfilm, but mostly those from larger cities and well established newspapers from rural areas.
Early newspaper who do not exist on microfilm can be read at the national library depot, but the National Library must be contacted in advance.
More information (and help) can be found at the website of the National Library of Sweden here.
I want to purchase a house or a flat in Sweden. I would like to know that does purchasing such property gets me a residence permit to live in sweden or not? And if not then would i have to get a trouist visa to visit my purchased property?
-- Asked by Farhan
Buying a house in itself dos not give a residence permit. What you have to do much depends on the country of your citizenship. Check with the migration board to get informatio about what the rules are for you.
Who is entitled to receive studiebidrag?
-- Asked by thais lessac
You have to study for at least three weeks, at least fifty percent of full time. You also have to attend a kind of education which makes you qualified for the benefit.
There is also an upper age limit, currently 54 years old, for the grant. If you have received money in the past they also check that you passed at least 75 percent of your courses. If you are not a Swedish citizen, special regulations applies, contact CSN for the exact rules regarding your education.
How do I make an appointment with a doctor?
-- Asked by gittanalden
Contact a vårdcentral, Disctrict Health Care Centre. In Stockholm you can now decide by yourself which vårdcentral to go to, here is a site where you can search for the one that suits you. The site is however in Swedish so you can also call vårdguiden at +46 (8)-320 100
I´m looking for an apartment for 1 month in Stockholm. But, I´m not having any luck finding anything. An ideal location would be near the Karlberg Station on the J35 line. Any advice, suggestions, information is appreciated.
-- Asked by Chuck
It can be difficult, but of course not impossible, to get accomodation in Stockholm. The Karlberg area is very popular and your best chance if you are already in the city would be to put upp notes in the area or otherwise ask someone in Stockholm to do it for you.
Stockholm News provides some useful links and writes a little more about how to get accomodation on this link
Hello, I have a frd who told me he is from sweden, when he send msg to me, its +4479XXXXXXXX, but the sountry code of sweden isn´t it +46? Is he live in Sweden?
-- Asked by Nicole
You are right that the country code for Sweden is +46. According to the International Telecommunications Union, phone numbers who starts with +44 are from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Hello , I am an uruguayan citizen , married to a swedish woman and we
have two daughters. They are living in Sweden and we have been married
for almost 6 years. I am working abroad and I come to Sweden every 3
months for a visit. I never applied for residence, and soon I will
retire and it is my intention to live with my family in Sweden. Can I
apply for residence during one of my visits, or do I have to do it
abroad?
-- Asked by Sergio
Hi, Sergio
According to the Swedish migration board, you need first to apply for a permanent residents permit in Sweden. You have to do that from the Swedish embassy in Uruguay or in the country where you live. Since you are married to a Swedish woman you can after three years in Sweden apply for a citizenship.
You can find more info on the homepage of the Migration board.
Regards
Sweden Ombudsman
I want to send my son for ms studies in biotechnology in uppsala university.will he be allowed to do part time jobs? are they available there at all?
-- Asked by Uday
Dear Uday
You do not write what citizenship your son has. But if he has a residence permit or a student visa, he can work. If he is a citizen of the European union he does not need any permission at all to work. More information is found on the homepage of the Swedish Migration Board.
About the availability it depends on what kind of jobs he wants. Many jobs naturally requires knowledge in Swedish. But there is possible to find jobs that doesn´t. Jobs in stockholm is one such site. (Despite their name they do show jobs in other Swedish cities as well). For part time jobs, there might be an idea to watch out at the university noteboard or visit the local employment agency. There are also several staffing companies. Academic work has a special site in English for international students.
Who was the king of Sweden in l890?
-- Asked by loisgries@yahoo.com
Oscar II was king of Sweden and Norway in 1890. Oscar was crowned in 1872 taking over after his brother Karl XIV and was king of Sweden until 1907. Before the time as king he was a naval officer and his marriage with Sofia of Nassau brought Sweden closer to Germany. During his reign Oscar tried to bring back the status of the Royal crown but this was hopeless while the changes were already on their way. His main defeat was the dissolution of the union with Norway in 1905. After this his health went worse and he passed away in 1907. His oldest son Gustav V became the new king of Sweden.
Regards
Sweden Ombudsman
Hello, I am trying to advertise my business to the people living in Sweden. Do you have an suggestions? My advertising budget is very limited at this time. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
-- Asked by Melinda
Since your budget is limited and your business is selling clothes over the internet is probably internet marketing the best choice for you. You are perhaps already aware of the larger affiliate networks where you geographically can define where your ads will be shown. There are also some market actors who are particularly well established in Sweden. Those are for example affiliator.se and getupdated.se. Another option is adicate.com where you can advert hourly in everything from Swedish media websites to popular blogs. For advertising uniquely in blogs there is also tailsweep.com where you can see for yourself both the rank of the blogs and on what subjects they write about. Direct contact (PR) with a high ranked blog, whose main subjects are fashion and clothes, is another alternative. Or why not advertise in Stockholm News? Send a mail to mats.ohlen@stockholmnews.com for prices.
I am moving to Sweden within the next year from the USA,can i import a car. I have a British pasport
-- Asked by John Walker
Yes you can. If your car is newer than one year you must however pay ten percent custom and 25 percent value added tax. So it is rather expensive. You also have to register with the Swedish Road Administration. But since the regulations change, contact Swedish costumes beforehand and ask them for updated specific details.
Regards,
Sweden Ombudsman
I live in United Arab Emirates. our local time is 9.14am. what time is it in Stockholm now?
-- Asked by Kanthi Gunasekara
Dear, Kanthi
The time difference between Sweden and The United Arab Emirates is three hours. So at 9.14 am this morning the time was 6.14 am in Sweden. A site where you can find out what time it is in different countries is found here.
Regards
Sweden Ombudsman
If I am staying a year in Sweden as a visiting student, must i contact some authorities to get a kind of residence permit or can I just lay low?
-- Asked by Amer
Hi, Amer
It depends on where you come from. It might also be different depending on if you are an exchange student or a ´free mover´ who apply directly to a Swedish university. Since I do not know where you come from it is difficult to tell what kind of permission you need. I think you should contact the Swedish embassy in your country. A list of Swedish embassies world wide is found here. General info about studying in Sweden is found on a site ran by the Swedish institute.
Regards,
Sweden Ombudsman