2020-06 Emigrating to Sweden from the UK
We were able to emigrate to Sweden from the UK in July 2020 after roughly eight months of planning. It would be normal to do more preparation but the world was going crazy, both with COVID and Brexit. We would only qualify for the Non-EU emigration routes into Sweden, post-Brexit. This would be much more difficult for us and take years. We knew we might not qualify ever.
The main push factors had been wanting to afford a home. Bonus points if it was in a low-crime area and in the countryside. We had at 4-6 instances of confronting burglars, and the police arriving late or not attending. I also found the idea of a concrete box in the city a bit too much like a battery farm for chickens. We also had worries about how we would be able to afford retirement in the UK. At the time I thought that Brexit was going to make finances in the UK even harder in the long term.
The pull factors were significant. The Nordic countries are top-ranked on recognised measures of health and happiness. An emigration category was available to us that didn’t exist in other countries. Visiting for the first time was also a great experience.
Note that to emigrate to Sweden from the UK post-Brexit is no longer the same and is an article in itself. As a summary, if looking to repeat this I’d recommend studying to pass the CEFR B1 Swedish test as fast as possible. Apply to companies in Sweden. Prioritise those with the likely existing experience to complete the necessary paperwork.
Purchasing a House in Sweden – The First House Attempt
The first house purchase attempt had been tricky. After looking at lots of houses on hemnet.se we’d done lots of research. We booked a few days off work and paid to travel to Sweden and view some houses. We identified a house we liked out of those we visited. On returning home I started the difficult process of buying a house in Sweden as a foreigner. We encountered various mistruths and odd situations along the way.
In Sweden, an agent performs the house sale, acting as the estate agent and legal contact for both parties. The initial agent refused to accept an offer without a Swedish bank account. As a result, we got caught in a catch-22 circle. The local (not my current town) bank staff would not discuss opening an account with us unless we had a personnummer. This is a tax reference code, like a UK National Insurance number. To get a personnummer from the tax agency required we have a residential address. To get a residence needed a bank account, completing the circle of dependencies. In hindsight, all three requirements would turn out to be bendable or incorrect. It took a lot of effort to make progress.
After a lot of stress, I made a special trip to Sweden walking from bank to bank in Stockholm to present evidence. I finally made progress with setting up a Swedish bank account. We started the process of proving who we were, our legitimate need for banking and our source of funds.
Opening a Swedish Bank Account – in Hindsight
There’s a lot more to explain here and it seems to polarise people online. No matter what the banks state online about your right to open an account, two main factors are present:
The local bank staff: The degree of experience in dealing with non-Swedish nationals. Or, the staff members willingness to attempt a process they are unfamiliar with.
Your preparedness: Knowledge of what process the staff are looking to complete. But also your ability to immediately show that you have a wealth of evidence. Proof of ID, proof of a need for Swedish banking, proof of your finances, sources and flows.
Visiting the main bank office in Stockholm with all the needed evidence gave us the foot-in-the-door needed. I was a bit apprehensive when they then contacted the local branch. There was an odd period of communication silence at that phase. It had also been expensive to travel to Stockholm for a weekend at short notice. In hindsight, we were lucky to have done this before COVID hit.
Discussions between the bank headquarters and the local branch must have been interesting. Later there were many minor problems as the local branch enabled the account. The bank manager forgot to tell me he had completed the account opening, causing a 2-3 week delay. He replied to my emails hours before going on a 2 week holiday. The Swedish web account referenced the name of the UK branch. I wondered if it was all coincidence or if the manager was annoyed at being overruled.
Global Pandemic Hits
At this point when we thought we’d overcome the impossible, a global pandemic hit the world. We got a text message not to leave our home. The UK went into about 3 months of strict lockdown. During this time, we finally received notification that the bank account was ready. We had all funds prepared to move to the account. But then the house sale fell through. After a year on the market, the seller wanted to sell to their neighbour instead. We had to sit down and think.
When the lockdown lifted, we realised there wasn’t time to repeat the full process. Getting more time from work to visit properties would eat up the remaining time. Booking house surveys would also take time. Also, the ongoing COVID outbreak made such travel unwise and there was a financial cost to each step.
Buying a Swedish House Without Viewing
We had lived “off-grid” on a narrowboat for almost five years. As a result, we considered ourselves capable of dealing with potential home problems. We decided to submit an offer on a property we had seen online. No matter what was wrong with it, we would fix it. Staying in the UK and renting forever seemed a bigger risk. We investigated properties using internet resources. Hemnet.se and Google Streetview were the most useful together. We compared what necessities and desirable features we wanted versus the properties available.
At the same time, things were going downhill for us in the UK. Our flat rental company notified us the rent would increase. They wanted us to sign for another year. We also had to call the police on the flat below us because we couldn’t sleep with them partying until 03:30. Like every home in the UK I have encountered, the floors and walls were paper thin. There was no escape from the noise with lockdown in effect. We weren’t sleeping and were under a lot of stress.
Picking a Swedish Property
One of the properties we had shortlisted, but excluded on price was still available. The property was more expensive than our budget. It would make initial finances harder.
But there were lots of positives. The property looked newer inside which might mean less required repair and maintenance. It had a separate garage for storing a vehicle in winter. There was half an acre of land for a garden. It also had a ground source heat pump which would otherwise cost a lot to install. The upfront cost would eat into our safety margin but the property might be cheaper in the longer term.
We put in an offer, at the asking price. The offer was open for one week. We explained this was not a negotiating tactic but because we were up against a strict deadline. We would have to look at other properties soon. They came back the next day to say yes. The Swedish house-buying process is less complex than the UK process. We agreed to a date of the 1st of July with the handover of the keys. After exchanging documents, this was then binding. Once we had paid all fees and currency conversions, the total cost for the house was £41,500. That is about the cost of a deposit on an average house in the UK. It is an unbelievable number compared to the UK housing market.
The Escape From the UK
We planned the physical move. At that time, despite COVID, both Sweden and the UK allowed travel for residency reasons. We booked a box moving company. For a total price of £1300, they had a specific maximum weight (600kg) and volume (10m3) we could take up. We weighed every box and wrote down the contents of each box and packed everything as if it would get a rough ride. In the end, we had 585kg of boxes and used 3.2m3 of space.
We also had to be at the property to receive the boxes when they arrived. If we were not there on time to within a window of a few hours, the boxes would travel back to the UK at our expense. We would then have to pay again for a repeat attempt. To be there we needed to hire a car to get to the house. It was 5-6 hours drive and I’d never driven in Sweden before. We also needed to coordinate the handover with the existing homeowner. Altogether it was tricky and stressful.
On the day of moving, we had copies of all the different documents printed off. I kept one copy in each bag and one copy around our necks in travel wallets. We decided not to take the train due to the COVID risks at the time. There was also the risk we would miss the flight if the COVID disruption cancelled the train. We also had a lot to carry. I booked a taxi instead which was about the same price. It took us with the windows open, all the way to the airport. The flight had everyone double-spaced and masked. The passengers were silent the entire trip.
