Guidance

Sweden: Knowledge Base profile

Updated 12 April 2024

About: Sweden

This document contains useful information about Sweden which will assist HM Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the guidance has factual errors then email HM Passport Office’s Guidance team.

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Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 3.0
• published for Home Office staff on 9 April 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Sweden: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Sweden.

Strict naming laws are in place in Sweden. All names must be recorded in the Population Register, administered by the Swedish Tax Agency. The Swedish Tax Agency website gives information on how names are registered and how and when names can be changed.

Children in Sweden are usually given a:

• forename
• middle name(s)
• surname

Children born in Sweden must have their name registered within 3 months of their birth. Forenames can be rejected by the authorities; for example, if the name is considered offensive, would cause discomfort to the person who should have it, or cause offence to someone else. A forename must also not be perceived as a surname or be inappropriate as a given name for any other reason.

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in Sweden.

All name changes must be recorded in the Swedish Population Register, administered by the Tax Agency, and the person must:

• be resident in Sweden for this to happen; or,
• send a proxy, for example a solicitor, to make the name change for them in Sweden

When the person applies to change their name, they are not automatically issued with replacement identity documents to reflect the new name. They will be advised to apply for new documents when the name change has been completed.

Name alignment: double barrelled surnames following marriage

Sweden has recognised double barrelled surnames since 1 July 2016. Double barrelled surnames can be made up of two last names of the spouses and can be taken by one or both members of a married couple.

Before the legislation change on 1 July 2016, double barrelled surnames were not permitted. Married citizens could choose to take their married surname as a middle name. This may present differently on a Sweden passport to a British passport application, for example:

• Sweden passport shows:
  • forename: Ethel Mary
  • surname: Jones
• British passport application shows:
  • forename: Ethel
  • surname: Mary-Jones

Where the difference is due to legislation in place before 1 July 2016, the customer does not need to align their name.

Sweden: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Sweden.

Dual nationality is recognised in Sweden since 1 July 2001.

Where a Sweden national holds dual nationality, their non-Swedish nationality will not be registered with the Tax Agency. Non-Swedish dual nationals, resident in Sweden, will have all nationalities registered.

Sweden: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Sweden.

Legitimacy

Sweden does not recognise a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

If a child is born to:

• married parents, the husband is assumed to be the father of the child
• unmarried parents, paternity must be decided separately

Paternity is decided by the parents signing an acknowledgement of paternity document, at the Social Welfare Committee.

Where paternity is determined by a court judgement, the court will notify the Swedish Tax Agency.

Parental responsibility

Parental responsibility of a child in Sweden is determined by whether the parents are married or not at the time of the birth. If the parents are:

• married at the time of birth, they will both share joint legal responsibility of the child
• unmarried at the time of birth, the mother will have legal responsibility of the child only unless:
  • the parents marry after the child is born, (both parents will have legal responsibility of the child from the time of the marriage)
  • the father acknowledges paternity and the parents agree to joint legal responsibility of the child
  • the father obtains joint or sole legal responsibility through a court order

Joint legal responsibility does not end if the parents divorce, any disputed changes to legal responsibility must be settled in court.

In some cases, legal responsibility of the child may be transferred from the child’s birth parents (or one of them), to a specifically appointed guardian.

Sweden: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Sweden.

Adoption is legal in Sweden.

Following an adoption in Sweden, the adoption is recorded in the Population Register (administered by the Swedish Tax Agency) for the child, adoptive parents, and the biological parents. If the adoption was:

• decided by the Swedish court, the courts will notify the Swedish Tax Agency automatically
• completed overseas, and the family return to Sweden, the adoptive parents must notify the Swedish Tax Agency

Sweden: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Sweden.

Surrogacy is not fully regulated by Swedish law.

The closest legal procedure to surrogacy under Swedish law is when a person adopts the child from the surrogate mother.

Under this procedure, the surrogate mother has the right to keep the child before the adoption is complete. The biological father can claim a right to the child.

Sweden: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Sweden.

Transgender citizens are recognised in Sweden.

Sweden: civil partnerships and marriage

This section tells HM Passport Office staff about civil partnerships and marriage in Sweden

From 1 May 2009, couples who previously registered a partnership in Sweden under the Partnership Act can convert the partnership to a marriage by:

• joint notification to the Swedish Tax Agency
• getting married before a wedding officiant

Partnerships can no longer be entered into in Sweden from the 1 May 2009 as the previous Partnership Act expired and the Marriage Code became gender neutral. This means that two people of the same sex can get married.

The transition from partnership to marriage does not affect the couples’ rights and obligations. A marriage has the same legal meaning as a partnership. If the couple choose not to convert their partnership, they will continue to be registered partners.

Sweden: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Sweden.

Birth, death and marriage documents are all issued to citizens in Sweden, these documents are an extract from the Tax Register. These documents can be produced in both English and Swedish.

The Swedish Population Register contains records of all citizens in Sweden. This register includes, for example:

• any births taken place in the country
• details of any citizens who have moved into the country from abroad
• any deaths recorded in the country

A citizen will have a record in the Population Register until either:

• death
• they move abroad

Following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, HM Passport Office cannot accept Multilingual Standard Forms (MSFs) issued by member states. An MSF will:

• contain a reference to the convention signed at Vienna on September 8 1976, this may be on the reverse of the document
• be marked as a Formul A (birth certificate), normally in the top right corner on the front of the document in the language of the country where the document was issued
  • there will also be marriage certificates and death certificates that will have a different Formul version that is also not acceptable

These documents are an extract of a civil registration record translated into the language needed and not a full, original certificate.

Birth certificates

Sweden does not issue birth certificates in a certificate form (for example, a birth certificate issued in the UK). The equivalent document is an extract from the Swedish Population Register.

All births must be registered in Sweden. The hospital where the child is born (or the midwife or doctor), will notify the Population Register of the birth. From this point, the parents have three months to register the child’s name.

Extracts can be ordered to show:

• full names
• date of birth
• date of death
• civil status
• date of marriage
• date of divorce
• place of birth
• family members details

Where the Swedish authorities do not have a confirmed location for the child’s place of birth, they will use the area where the child’s mother is registered as living.

Where a child is born outside of Sweden to a mother who is still registered to a Swedish address on the date of the birth, the child will have the same place of birth as their mother registered in the Swedish Population Register. Due to this, Sweden passports can be issued with a Swedish place of birth.

For the purposes of a British passport application, HM Passport Office can issue the customer with a British passport with their actual place of birth as shown on their birth certificate, with an observation linking to their Sweden passport, as long as the reason for the difference is due to the above practices.

Sweden also issues:

• moderskapsintyg, (a document issued by the hospital and confirms the mother’s name, date/time of birth and the name of the hospital)
• förlossningsjournal (a report from the birth)
• letter issued by the hospital confirming the date and place of birth of the child, and the mother’s name.
• födelseanmälan (an extract from the population register archives)
• Faderskapsbekräftelse (an official ‘declaration of paternity’ document, usually supported with a moderskapsintyg and an extract from the tax register (personnbevis))

For HM Passport Office purposes, an extract from the Swedish Population Register must be provided.

Marriage certificates

During a wedding ceremony, the couple will be issued with a handwritten card known as a ‘Vigselbevis’. This document is issued in place of a marriage certificate.

The church or registry where the marriage took place will inform the Population Register to record the marriage details.

For British nationality status and passport purposes, when applying for a British passport the customer must provide a ‘Personbevis’ (extract from the Population Register) to confirm the marriage is registered in the Population Register. 

Death certificates

All deaths in Sweden are recorded in the Swedish Population Register. The hospital, doctor or police automatically register these deaths.

A customer can request a ‘Personbevis’ (extract from the Population Register) to confirm the death has been registered if needed.