Foreign Identity Documents
A passport is always needed to be able to pass border checks when travelling to or from Sweden, except when travelling from another Schengen country.
When staying in Sweden (as opposed to crossing the border) having a passport is needed for foreign citizens, except for EU/EEA citizens. EU/EEA citizens, however, need to be able to prove their citizenship through a passport or national identity card
When trying to obtain services requiring an identity document, foreign passports and other identification documents are often not accepted in Sweden. This especially happens in situations requiring the Swedish personal identity number (like in banks) as such documents do not contain said number. The security level of foreign-issued documents may also be considered insufficient. While banks have systems to verify if a particular identity document has been stolen, this only works for Swedish ones. The Schengen Information System has such info for EU/EEA passports, but only authorities can use it and not banks or post offices.
Since 2009, EU/EEA passports have been accepted as identification documents in Sweden owing to EU legislation. Banks still (2011), for theft check and Swedish personal identity number verification reasons, often still reject foreign EU passports, and recommend getting a Swedish id card issued by the tax authority
Read more about this topic: Identity Documents In Sweden
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