Starting a business in Sweden as a foreign citizen

Foreign citizens can own and run businesses in Sweden, but several registration steps are built around Swedish identity infrastructure. This page collects the constraints that matter and points to the authority pages that govern them. It is not legal advice; the governing sources are Bolagsverket and Verksamt.se.

The identity number question

Sole trader registration requires a Swedish personal identity number (personnummer) or a co-ordination number (samordningsnummer). This is stated as a requirement by Bolagsverket for registering an enskild firma, and the Tax Agency’s registrations are built on the same identity system. A co-ordination number is issued for people who have no Swedish personal identity number but need to interact with Swedish authorities.

Practical consequence: a person without either number resolves that first, typically through the population register process after moving to Sweden or through the Tax Agency’s co-ordination number process.

Swedish electronic identification and the e-services

Both Bolagsverket and the verksamt.se e-services require a Swedish electronic identification (for example BankID) for online filing, and the agencies state plainly that the information in the e-services is in Swedish only. Foreign founders without a Swedish e-ID use the PDF application forms instead. For a limited company this means form 816 e; for a sole trader, form 903 e.

Limited companies: residency requirements for officials

Board members and other officials of a Swedish limited company are subject to residency requirements. EU/EEA residency changes what is needed compared with residency outside the EU/EEA, and Bolagsverket handles exceptions through an application for exemption from the residence requirement (listed among its services with a separate fee). Foreign founders should read Bolagsverket’s “Residing abroad” pages for the limited company and sole trader structures before drafting the memorandum of association.

Structures without a Swedish personal number

• Limited company (aktiebolag): founders can be legal entities or natural persons, and the structure does not presuppose a personal number, but the official-residency rules and the paper-form route apply.
• Branch (filial): a foreign company can register a branch in Sweden, which is Bolagsverket’s route for foreign businesses operating through a permanent presence.
• Sole trader: requires the personal identity number or co-ordination number, so this structure is usually the last to become available to a newly arrived founder.

Taxes and continuing obligations

Registration with Skatteverket (F-tax, VAT) applies to foreign-founded businesses exactly as to Swedish ones; see how to apply for F-skatt and VAT for small businesses in Sweden. The full starting sequence is in how to start a business in Sweden: the English guide.