Yes, your toddler has to come to the identity check too. Every family member who moves with you must visit a service centre in person, so book one appointment for each of you, the two-year-old included. If your family plans to live in Sweden for at least a year and your child has a right to live here, your child gets a personnummer when the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) enters them in the population register, the same as you. A coordination number is for people who will stay less than a year.
Does my toddler have to come to the identity check?
Yes. You and the family members moving with you must visit a Swedish state service centre in person for an identity check after you arrive. When you book through the link on your receipt, book an appointment for every family member who is moving, and go as soon as you can.
Bring the original of your child’s passport or other identity document, and the child’s residence permit card if they have one. Each person needs their own documents with them. You hand everything to the administrator during the check and get it back straight afterwards. From 1 December 2026, anyone who comes to the identity check will have to let Skatteverket take fingerprints and a facial image if it asks. Skatteverket can waive the in-person requirement only if there are special reasons, so plan for the visit.
Will my child get a personnummer or a coordination number?
A personnummer, if your child is entitled to be registered as living in Sweden. Skatteverket assigns a personal identity number the first time a person is entered in the population register, and that applies to a two-year-old exactly as it does to you.
A person, including a child, counts as living in Sweden if they can be expected to regularly sleep here for at least one year.
A child who is not a Swedish citizen also needs, as a rule, a right to live in Sweden before they can be registered: a residence permit, or a right of residence for an EU or EEA citizen.
If you plan to live in Sweden for one year or more, you notify Skatteverket of the move instead of applying for a coordination number. A child who already has a coordination number and is later registered as living in Sweden has it replaced by a personnummer.
| Your family’s situation | What your child gets |
|---|---|
| You plan to live in Sweden for at least one year, and the child meets the same condition and has a right to live in Sweden | A personnummer, once Skatteverket decides to register the child |
| You plan to stay for less than one year, the child needs a Swedish identity number and has a connection to Sweden | A coordination number, after a joint application from the parents or guardians |
| The child already has a coordination number and is later registered as living in Sweden | A personnummer, which replaces the coordination number |
How do we notify Skatteverket of our toddler’s move?
You make a separate notification for each child under 18, in addition to your own. In the Moving to Sweden (Flytta till Sverige) e-service, you add a child through the button marked “Your Portal - Moving to Sweden” after you have sent in your own notification.
These steps apply to citizens of countries outside the EU and EEA.
- Notify jointly. The parents or guardians of a child under 18 must notify Skatteverket of the child’s move jointly. If one of you cannot come to the service centre, the parent who does come needs the right to represent the child, for example through written consent from the other parent.
- Prove who the child’s parents are. Bring a birth certificate, an extract from the civil register or a family registration document. If a court or authority has decided custody, bring that decision too. Without these documents, Skatteverket may need to see the residence permit decisions from the Swedish Migration Agency for you and your child.
- Give the address where the child sleeps. Include the four-digit apartment number if you live in an apartment. Skatteverket cannot register a c/o address.
- Book and attend the identity check for every family member, with the original documents.
- Wait for the decision by post. Skatteverket decides whether each person should be registered and sends a decision notice by post.
For an EU or EEA citizen who has moved here to work, Skatteverket also asks for documents showing who the child’s registered guardians are, and every guardian must sign the child’s notification. A guardian who cannot come to the service centre gives written consent instead. Nordic and Swedish citizens have their own pages on the Moving to Sweden overview, so check the one that matches your family.
How long until my child has a personnummer?
There is no fixed date. After you report a move to Sweden, it takes about six weeks before the case is assigned to an administrator, and the decision comes after that. Cases are handled in the order they arrive, and none is given priority. The time is longer if Skatteverket needs more information from you.
What can stop my child from being registered?
Skatteverket has to be able to reach you. If it cannot, it cannot process the notification, and your child may not be registered or receive a personnummer. Put the family name on your postbox or door, and answer letters, emails and calls from Skatteverket quickly.
If you move from a hotel or other temporary address before you are registered, notify Skatteverket of the new address and the date you moved, through its tax information service or at a service centre.
Can my child get a coordination number instead?
Only if you plan to stay in Sweden for less than a year. A child who needs a coordination number and has a connection to Sweden can get one, but the parents or guardians have to apply jointly, through the Coordination number e-service or on form SKV 7540. Before Skatteverket can issue a coordination number, the person’s identity has to be checked in person at a service centre, unless there are special reasons. Skatteverket says an individual application can take up to five weeks to reach an administrator.
What comes next for child benefit, health checks and preschool?
Our first-weeks checklist for moving to Sweden with a toddler shows the order to take things in. Swedish child benefit is paid only after Försäkringskassan, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, has confirmed that you and your child are insured here. Our guide to the BVC child health checkups explains what the visits cover.
If your child is entitled to a preschool place, the municipality must offer one within four months of your application. From the autumn of the year your child turns three, the municipality must also offer a place without an application in two cases. One is a child born abroad who has lived in Sweden for five years or less. The other is a child whose guardians were born abroad and have lived here for five years or less. The municipality does not have to make that offer to a child who is not registered as living in Sweden. Our guide to how preschool works in Sweden walks through the application.
Last fact-checked: 8 November 2026. Last updated: 10 November 2026