Reception Booklet

1. Welcome to
Sweden
Reception booklet for
AIESEC in Sweden

2. About Sweden
Sweden is home to the world’s 4th largest band, ABBA.
In Stockholm ”The Abba Museum” is a MUST experience, you can
sing with Abba and record music videos. Very important – NEVER
insult ABBA infront of a Swede. They are a national treasure.
Fika Time: Few people drink more coffee than the Swedes.
In Sweden, coffee drinking is fostered through a tradition
called fika – in which friends, family or colleagues meet for
coffee or tea, often with something sweet on the side. Most
Swedes will enjoy at least one fika a day as an opportunity to
bond.
Get in line. NOW! From the pharmacy and tax office to your local
grocery store’s meat counter, you’ll be forced to exercise
patience as you wait to be served in a numbered queue. Many
businesses have a ticketing system – usually a small hard-to-find
machine hung on a wall that dispenses number notes. Once you
grab your ticket, you’ll have to wait until your number shows up
on a screen before you can proceed to the counter
Food in tubes: You will squeeze food out of toothpaste tubes
To prepare you for your first visit to the cold foods section of a
grocery store, understand that in Sweden, tubes are also used
to package foods such as caviar, mayonnaise, mustard, and
other similar condiments. At some point, you’ll probably
squeeze some caviar from a tube onto half a boiled egg for
breakfast.
Lagom There is a societal code of conduct in Sweden which
really has no direct translation. Loosely translated, the word
lagom means ‘just enough’, ‘in moderation’, ‘appropriate’ and
other synonyms you can pull out of the dictionary. When used in
reference to societal behaviour, it means blending in
appropriately without extreme displays of emotion. It’s like
Goldilocks, really. Not too much, not too little – just right.

3. Arriving in Sweden
Your salary will be minimum 13.000 Swedish Krona before taxes, which will be around 10,500 after taxes.
You will receive your first salary on the 25th of the month you start working earliest(possibly even on the
25th of the next month).
Please find below a breakdown of costs for your first 4-6 weeks of living in Stockholm. Please make sure
you bring enough financial resources in cash, or have money at home that someone can send to you easily
through bank or a service like Western Union (NOTE: You can use this to roughly calculate how much living
here will cost you later.)
LIVING COSTS:
a) around SEK 150 for the airport shuttle(Flygbussarna)- one time cost upon arrival
b) approx SEK 800 for the monthly public transport card - this is the monthly price(you will need this every
month)
c) approximately SEK 200 for Swedish phone credits(you will most likely get a company phone from your
company, so you will not need this investment)
d) around SEK 3500-4500/month for the flat/room rent( this includes all costs - electricity, internet and
water)+ SEK 3500-4500 for deposit(this is around SEK 7000-9000 up front is to be paid to the landlord - this
is standard in Sweden, a deposit for renting is almost always needed)
e) approximately SEK 2500 for food monthly- this is really more than enough if you buy food at
supermarkets and cook yourself, could go up quite if you eat at restaurants often.
f) SEK 1000 monthly for social activities - pubs, museums etc
- the exchange rate between EUR and SEK is around 1:8,2, at the moment 1 EUR is around 8,2 SEK(in
exchange offices they always charge small commissions).
Money you should have ready

4. Visa Processes
AIESEC Sweden starts the Visa process when all the documentation needed by the Swedish Migration
Board is collected. The documentation needed is:
A copy of your passport. A passport copy shall show your identity and citizenship and the passport´s date of
expiry. Please make sure the passport copy is a SCAN, not a photo.
• Your EP Acceptance Note from the LC/MC that raised your form.
• Personal Details of the intern (Document template attached in this email)
• AIESEC Sweden will take care of the entire visa process from Sweden. When you have submitted the
documents mentioned above, we will start the process immediately.
The visa process in Sweden takes typically one and a half months from the time that the application was
faxed to the Migration Board. After the visa application is faxed to the Migration Board, AIESEC Sweden will
follow up with the Migration Board in order to see that the application was received properly, the registration
process at the Migration Board is up to one week.
After that, the Migration board will communicate when a decision is taken in your case. There will be no
information from the Migration Board regarding the process before a decision is taken in your case.
Usually the process will take six weeks.
For more info see: http://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Other-operators-english/Employers/Special-rules-
for-certain-occupations-and-citizens-of-certain-countries/Traineeship-through-AIESEC-IAESTE-and-
JUF.html
Non-EU Citizens
EU Citizens
If you’re an EU Citizen, you simply enter Sweden and register at the tax-office. Simple as cake..
Swiss Citizens
Swiss citizens do not need a work permit to work in Sweden, but should apply for a residence permit if they
will be staying for longer than three months.
Swiss citizens may begin working immediately and do not need to wait to receive the decision about the
residence permit. You need to give your employee the following You should give those who work for you a
certificate of employment. Use the form Anställningsintyg för medborgare i en EU/EES-stat och personer
med status som varaktigt bosatta i en annan EU-stat, no. 227021 (the form is only available in Swedish).

5. Housing
When renting a flat you are entitiled to a written contract, a tenancy agreement, with the owner of the
building, or landlord, stating how much rent you will be expected to pay and what you will get for it. The
agreement may also contain provisions on the term of the lease and the period of notice, so read it carefully.
Rent is due one month in advance. Landlords are usually very particular about seeing their tenants pay on
time, i.e. no later than the last weekday of the month. (Saturdays are counted as weekdays).This means
that even if you are arrears by only a few days you may risk losing your flat. The easiest way to pay your
rent is to do it through your internet bank or at the post office (see below).
Before moving in
In most apartments there is a laundry room in the basement that is free of charge, however you have to
book it in advance. Generally you are allowed to smoke in your apartment, however you should check with
the landlord. If you are living in a student dormitory, smoking is not allowed. Normally smoking is not allowed
in public buildings. If there are no available internet connection in your apartment, you may contact your
AIESEC office for either installing a broadband into your flat or getting a wireless internet connection using a
USB modem. Examples of these services can be found at www.tele2.com and www.telia.com
When moving in, notify the landlord of any eventual damages or faults, either so s/he can fix the problem or
so you will not be held responsible for it upon moving out. If your appartment is very run down, get in contact
with the landlord, he is responsible to keep it all right. If you carry out work on your own in the apartment, be
careful, because if the job is not done professionally, you can be forced to pay damage compensation.
Keep in mind, that if you do not pay your rent on time, damage the apartment or get too many complaints
from your neighbours, you can be thrown out of the apartment.
As a tenant you are entitiled to join the Tenants‟ Association (Hyresgästföreningen), where you will be able
to get advice and legal assistance in matters regarding your tenancy (however, as an AIESEC trainee, you
will always be able to get help from your local committee you can benefit from) if for example your landlord
attempts to make you pay for excessive damage, the TA will be able to help you. For more information on
how to join, see their website: www.hyresgastforeningen.se (note the link “In English”).
Rights & Responsibilities
When moving in

6. Housing
If you have a standard tenancy agreement, you will be entitled to keep your flat as long as you pay the rent
on time, do not disturb your neighbours, and see to that the flat remains undamaged. If you are not renting
the flat directly from the landlord, or if your tenancy agreement is for a flat in a building scheduled for
demolition, you will not have the same rights. Even though you can not decide who should move in after
you, you may, if the landlord accepts it, exchange the apartment for another, but you must contact the
landlord first. If moving out, you have to leave notice at least three month (if it does not say something else
in your contract). Do this in written form and save a copy.
Upon moving out, you will be responsible for seeing that it is thoroughly cleaned. Ask the landlord for a list
of what he expects. If he thinks you have done a poor job, he might hire a cleaning company and bill you for
it.
You can rent out your apartment to a third part or rent your apartment from a third part, however, you still
have to have the landlords permission, and as a tenant, you will be responsible for the person subrenting it.
If you yourself are renting it from a third party, you will be dependent on the person who sublets you the
apartment. Make sure to check you have a written agreement!
If you live in a bigger city such as Stockholm or Gothenburg you should be prepared to commute to and
from your work. It is not unusual to travel 45-60 min to get to work. The housing situation in Sweden is
difficult but each local committee is of course trying their best to find good accommodations for all
incoming trainees!
What you can expect
Rights & Responsibilities
When moving out
Sweden is a very environmental-friendly country and you are normally expected to recycle and sort your
garbage. Generally you should put any paper-garbage in one sac (this is to be put outside your door and
picked up once a week, check with your landlord for exact instructions). Furthermore you are not supposed
to throw away batteries, light bulbs etc. These, along with any glass or sharp items, should be collected and
brought to an environmental station. You normally recognise these by a gathering of large green boxes
located all over town. Finally, cans and bottles like Coca-Cola etc can be recycled and should be returned to
the store and fed to special machines located inside every bigger food store. You will get many back on
these (varying from 50 öre (1/2 SEK) for a beer can up to 4 SEK for bigger bottles).
Good to know

7. Work and Tax
In Sweden, you HAVE TO BE IN TIME FOR WORK. Even if you have been working late one day, this does
not make up for coming in late the next morning. In an ordinary company, your working colleagues would
never tell you that you arriving late offends them, but they will notice it and it might affect their view on your
performance. In order to avoid any problems, make sure you are always on time, in the morning as well as
for meetings.
When it comes to your working insurance, different rules and regulations apply to different companies and
contracts. Check with your company on what kind of insurance they have. For private insurance, check the
information below.
To be able to fullfil its extensive responsibilities, the public sector claims a commensurate share of the
country ́s aggregate resources by means of taxation.. Swedish taxes are therefore relatively high, but it
should be borne in mind that much of the revenue goes back to tax-payers in the form of transfer payments
and public services. Remember that you are tax liable from day 1 if you intend to work in Sweden for more
than six months.
Company:
In Sweden the company pays the social fees (arbetsgivaravgift)
The Social fees are either:
25 age or below: 15.42%
26 age or above: 31.42%
Trainee:
In Sweden the company pays the income tax (inkomstskatt) on behalf of the trainee at each monthly salary
payment. The tax declaration (skattedeklaration) is mailed out as a packet on the latest 15th of April each
year. There is either a refund if the company overestimated payment or further payment if the company
underestimated your income tax.
Tax situations:
The tax situation is based on city, church fee/or not, and amount of salary. There are general tax tables
easy to find at skatteverket.se. Generally the income tax is 25% - 30%, though sometimes a company
rounds up to 30%, if so a refund is issued earliest the middle of June.
There is a special case: When a trainee stays for less than 12 months, a SINK (sarsklid inkomstskatt for
utomlands bosatta) form is filed. In this situation since they do not qualify for a Personnummer, their tax rate
is set at 20%. You do not receive the same benefits as a personnummer. Details:
http://www.skatteverket.se/download/18.15532c7b1442f256bae93cd/1395143110555/44206.pdf
Aside from income taxes, there is an extensive system of employers’ contributions (social security charges
and fees) which cover pensions, health benefits, and other kinds of social insurance which the company
manages and pays.
V.A.T.
Value added tax is called "moms", and is raised at the rate of 25% on almost all goods and services. Food,
hotel services, restaurant services, and passenger transportation are taxed at 12%. Newspapers are taxed
at 6%. The price you pay is always the total including VAT.
The Tax Authority on the Internet: www.skatteverket.se.
TAxes
Working hours

8. Practicalities
If you have received a residence permit for more than a year, you can apply for a Swedish ID number
(personnummer). This is a ten digit number with 4 digits added to your date of birth. You need to get hold of
the necessary forms and fill them in. You need to attach copies of your passport and your residence permit.
You will receive a certificate from the Civil Registration Office within ten days after you have applied and the
ID number is used in contacts with the authorities, banks, medical centres etc.
AIESEC will help you open up a bank account.To open up an account you will need a copy of your passport,
lease and a transcript from employer. A lot of the banking in Sweden is self- service (by using internet,
phone and mail) Checks are not used commonly. Rent and other bills are paid over the internet or by
sending it through mail. Remember that if you prefer sending it by mail, send it 5 days in advance so that
bills are paid on time. It is possible to pay a bill at the bank but it costs 20-50 kronor per bill. Banking hours
for service are between 10 – 15, but selfservice banks are open until 24.00. When you sign up for an
account make sure you get access to the internet bank of that bank.
You can normally use your VISA card in Sweden, however, they will charge you a fee for the different
currency. Therefore it might be advisable to open up a bank account and apply for a cash card. With these
cards you can not pay in any regular stores, however, you can always withdraw money at any ATMs, and
there are plenty of them all over Sweden.
Bank accounts/VISA/Cash cards
Civil Registration

9. Insurance
Check what insurance policies your work has as well.
WHAT IS THIS: This is your way to register into the Swedish health/insurance system
WHY DO I NEED THIS: If you are not insured at home (home country that is), or are here for more than a
year – it is worth getting this. All trainees have to be insured!! (AIESEC takes no responsibility for your
injuries! Tread carefully on that ice!) And plus this is FREE.
If you are from Europe you might not need this, instead, make sure you get a paper called E112 that lets
any doctor or medical center know that you are an EU citizen. Being an EU citizen means you have the
same rights to get compensation as the Swedish people have.
HOW DO I GET THIS: Shortly after you have received your personbevis, you will receive a mail in the post
asking you to register. Find your local friendly Swede to translate the document and you are a-for-away!!
Listed below are some important facts regarding the Swedish Social Security System.
For further information, please see the folder "Social Security" or try the Internet address
www .fk.se
Please note that the qualifying period of full coverage varies according to whether you are a citizen of an
EU country/a country covered by the EEA Agreement, or come from a country outside the EU.
E101 & E128
If you come from a country outside the EU you and your family will be registered with the Swedish Social
Security Office ("Försäkringskassan"). But as a member of the European Union you will not be registered.
Instead your E101 and E128 forms entitle you and your family to the same health care as Swedish
citizens. In accordance with the E101 agreement, a pension plan is also upheld and paid for by your
home company according to local regulations. Your home company (where you have your permanent
employment) initiates the E101 and the E128, which are issued by the Social Security Office in your
home country.
The Swedish Social Security System General facts
Försäkringskassan

10. Health Services
For general information and medical advice, please consult www.vardguiden.nu or phone 320 100. Calling
this number will help you to know exactly to which hospital or medical center you should go to. If you are
seriously injured, you should call 112 for an ambulance or call directly to the emergency clinicat the hospital.
Generally if you do not speak Swedish you are eligible to get an interpret without any additional costs. Just
make sure you state that you need this when booking an appointment. If you have been waiting more than
30 miuntes for a pre-booked appointment, you have the right to get the patien fee (120 SEK) back if you ask
for it while there.
The hospital you should visit depends on where you live in Stockholm and the problem for which you
need treatment. There are, however, special children‟s Hospitals such as ”Astrid Lindgrens barnsjukhus",
"Danderyds Barnakut" and ”Sachsska Sjukhuset”. A normal visit to a doctor would cost you 120 SEK.
There is a 24 hour service with specialist doctors, however this will cost you 240 SEK as with any
specialist doctor.
Hospitals
General Information
Medical Centers (Vårdcentraler)
Every area in Stockholm has its own Medical Center. The Medical Center has special telephone hours for
making doctor‟s appointments and some of them are open on nights and weekends for emergencies. Be
aware of the difficulties in getting an appointment. Visiting a medical center normally costs you 120 SEK.
It is advisable to go to a medical center if you do not have an urgent problem. Call them and make an
appointment. (www.vardcentral.se)
Medicine and Other Pharmaceutical Preparations
The Swedish Social Insurance pays part of the cost of prescribed medicine. You yourself pay a
customer‟s charge. You pay non-prescribed medicine in full.

11. Health Services
When visiting a doctor or buying medicine on prescription you should ask to have the payment recorded on
a Charge Limitation Card (Högkostnadskort).
There is one card for recording doctor‟s visits and one for recording prescribed medicine. These are
obtained from the doctor, physiotherapist, or at the pharmacy. The charge limitations are SEK 900 for
doctor‟s visits and SEK 1800 for medicine. When you have reached these amounts, you can ask for a Free
Card (Frikort). There is one Free Card for medicine and one for doctor‟s visits.The Free Card entitles you to
free health care / medicine for the remainder of the twelve months period, starting with your first charge
recorded on the Charge Limitation Card.
If you need to book a dental appointment you can do so by calling Folktandvården, the state- owned
dental care system at 020-687 55 00. They have phonehours from 8.30 am till 5 pm Monday till Friday.
(check also www.ftv.sll.se) In the case of an emergency, there are emergency dental care cnters, check
below for local information.
Dental expenses are partially subsidized by social security. The amount on the bill is what you must
cover.
Dental care
Charge Limitation Card and Free Card
Ladies
Shortly after you are registered you will receive a form from your local health clinic. This is to encourage
you to go for Cervical Smears (to make sure you don‟t have cancer). If you have been sexually active you
should have these done every three years. So if you have never been for one of these I suggest you find
a very nice and friendly Swede and ask them to help you with that form! Another free service thanks to
the Swedish health system.

12. Post & Bills
Post offices are in the same buildings as and handled by grocerie stores such as ICA and Vi. You
can see if the store handle the Post office services by looking after this sign . Postal services are usualy
receiving and sending packages. Opening hours differ but are usually very good and are the same as the
gorcerie stores opening hours and closing hours.
Mailboxes are yellow or blue in Sweden. Blue ones are used for the Stockholm area only, when sending to a
zip code starting with 1. For all other mail, use yellow mailbox. Letters are delivered the next day within
Sweden but for global and international mail it might take up to a week.
Mailboxes are emptied between 16.00 and 18.00, but a last minute mailbox is located at the central train
station, and is emptied at 21.00.
Generally AIESEC will help you open up a bank account. To open up an account you will need a copy of
your passport, lease and a transcript from employer. A lot of the banking in Sweden is self-service (by
using internet, phone and mail) Checks are not used commonly. Rent and other bills are paid over the
internet or by sending it through mail. Remember that if you prefer sending it by mail, send it 5 days in
advance so that bills are paid on time. It is possible to pay a bill at the bank (bankgiro) but it costs 20-50
kronor per bill. Banking hours for service are between 10 – 15, but selfservice banks are open until 24.00.
The easiest and cheapest way to pay your bills if you do not have internetbanking is to go to your local
postoffice and pay it there (postgiro). The fee is normally 20-30 SEK.
Paying Bills
Post Office
Posting things home
When posting things home, you will discover that you can only buy big packages and envelopes prepaid
at the postoffiec, that is they already have stamps on them. You should instead try to buy the envelopes
and packages at the food store or in the Pressbyrån. If you have a scale at home, you can pick up
information at the postoffiec on how much it will cost to send your packeages home. Stamps can be
bought at the regular food stores or at Pressbyrå. If you do not have this, you have to go back to the post
office and ask them to weigh your package and buy the stamps there.

13. Everydday Life
Food and Groceries are rather expensive in Sweden, and it might be a good idea to try to buy bigger packs
of food at one time. There are quite a lot of diaries in Sweden, and it is important you learn to distinguish
between them. Here is a quick guide:
Mjölk – Milk (we have four different kinds of milk that differ in fat-percentage, check packages) Filmjölk/Fil –
Sour milk, used instead on yoghurt
Grädde – Cream
Ost – Cheese
Smör – Butter
Basically any products labelled “Ekologiskt” are ecological and therefore a bit more expensive than normal
products.
Kött means meat, and here is a quick guide on those: Köttfärs – Minced meat
Fläsk – Pork
Biff – Steak
Nötkött – Beef Fisk – Fish
Swedish people are quite healthy people, and almost all belong to a gym. Some companies even have
discount deals for gyms. Check with your company on what is applicable in your case.
Gym fees vary from 2 000 till 150 000 a year. Most of these require that you are here for at least one
year. Either try to get a gym card immediately when you arrive or get a membership at e.g.
www.sthlm.friskissvettis.se (for Stockholm). Friskis & Svettis is the cheapest gym option in Sweden. A
more expensive version represented in every town is www.satssportsclub.com .
Gyms/Workout
Food
Swedish lessons
o If you want to learn Swedish either persuade your company to send you or
o Go to Folksuniversitet and enrol in a course will cost a lot around 4000SEK.
Check out www.folkuniversitetet.se for more information
o You can also try Medborgarskolan at www.medborgarskolan.se
o Talk to your fellow AIESECers and check if they have Swedish courses for the enrolled students.

14. Välkommen till Sverige
We are happy to have you here
The illustations are
from Astrid
Lindgrens stories