Korridoren · US → SE
Moving to Sweden from the USA
Americans trade at-will employment for tillsvidare contracts, health insurance premiums for a 1,450 SEK yearly cap, and tipping math for prices that mean what they say. Here's the route, the paperwork, and what will genuinely surprise you.
Your starting position
Non-EU: you need a permit before the move — a job offer is the realistic key.
The route in
The main road is the work permit: a Swedish job offer paying at least 33,390 SEK/month (from June 2026), with the employer initiating the application. Tech, engineering and life sciences hire internationally the most. Alternatives: a master's program (then the 12-month job-seek permit), the sambo route if your partner lives here, or the self-employment permit for founders. Tourist entry is 90 visa-free days — useful for scouting, useless for staying.
What will actually surprise you
- Uncle Sam follows you
- The US taxes by citizenship: you'll file IRS returns (and likely FBAR) forever, even as a Swedish tax resident. The US–Sweden tax treaty and the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion prevent most double taxation — but get a cross-border accountant for year one.
- Your credit history resets to zero
- FICO doesn't travel. Sweden runs on personnummer-linked records instead — you start clean, which mostly helps, but expect a year before banks offer serious credit.
- The salary number reads lower
- Swedish gross salaries undercut US tech salaries on paper — then healthcare costs nearly nothing, childcare is capped at ~1,550 SEK, college is free, and five weeks of vacation are law. Compare lives, not W-2s.
- Nobody tips, everything closes
- Tipping is rounding up at most. And Sunday-evening grocery sprints aside, retail hours are humane because workers' hours are — the 24/7 convenience reflex takes about three months to fade.
Money, quickly
1 USD ≈ 9.3 SEK (mid-2026). Quick feel: a 45,000 SEK salary is ≈ $4,800/month gross; a 145 SEK lunch is ≈ $15.50. Salary can land in a US account via SEPA? No — but Wise bridges the gap until your Swedish account opens.
Driving
Your US license is valid for exactly one year after you register as a resident — then there's no exchange: Swedish theory and driving tests from scratch. Start the process in month one, not month eleven.
Taxes across the border
Tax residence begins around the six-month mark; the US–Sweden treaty allocates taxing rights and Sweden's foreign tax credit handles the rest. Swedish payroll withholding makes April surprisingly calm — the IRS filing is the homework that remains.
Common questions
Can an American just move to Sweden?
Not without a permit. Americans get 90 visa-free Schengen days as visitors; living here requires a work permit (job offer at 33,390+ SEK/month), studies, family ties, or a self-employment permit. The job offer is the standard key.
Do Americans pay double taxes in Sweden?
Generally no — the tax treaty, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and foreign tax credits eliminate most double taxation. But US filing obligations (1040, FBAR, possibly FATCA forms) continue for life; budget for a cross-border tax preparer.
Is healthcare really cheaper than US insurance?
Dramatically. Patient fees of 100–400 SEK per visit, capped at 1,450 SEK per year, no premiums, no networks, no surprise billing. The trade: occasional queues for non-urgent specialist care.
Moving from somewhere else?