I was able to bring in the New Year in Sweden.  They had a light show on their castle building downtown.  It’s called a castle but don’t imagine the Neuschwanstein castle because it looks more like a palace to me.  I imagine its the more responsible option to do a light show versus fireworks.

Here are a couple of links to view some not so great videos I took of the show: Video 1 and Video 2.  Before the light show, they had some performances and what I’m sure were fun and hopeful words for the new year.  Naturally, it was all in Swedish.  They sang such Swedish fare as River Deep Mountain High by none other than Ike and Tina and Firework by Katy Perry.

Now for the journey update!  And by journey, I mean immigration process.  I don’t have anything to compare it to because I don’t often find myself moving to foreign countries regularly.  That being said, it is a little weird.  I have read and been told that the process has become a little more work over the last few years due to the refugee crisis happening.

• Step 1:  Apply for permit (Work permit in my case)
  • Mine went through surprisingly quick but I think that may be normal as the Swedish government does put more effort into getting work permits approved.
• Step 2:  Get a resident permit
  • This is to show that you legally reside in Sweden and won’t get deported after 90 days of living there.  The 90 day rule luckily applies to US citizens.
  • Mine took about a week after I went and had my photo taken and fingerprints scanned.
• Step 3:  Get a personnummer (Equivalent to a US SSN)
  • You need to have a resident permit card before you can get a personnummer.  I was under the impression that once you had the permit, getting a personnummer would be supplied immediately after you applied for one.  WRONG.  It takes 4-8 weeks after applying to get on sent to you via mail.
  • Personnummer:  This is the lifeline here in Sweden.  You can’t really do a thing without it.  Can’t get a retail loyalty card, can’t create accounts online, and can’t secure an apartment.
  • So, if you are reading this and plan on moving to Sweden then you need to plan on having a long term temporary residence secured before moving.  4 – 6 months worth to be safe.
  • I did not know this and that made me nervous especially when there is a housing shortage in the larger cities.  Linköping just happens to be one of them because of refugees and the very very large university.
• Step 4: Get a bank account (Need a Swedish one for the job)
  • Everything here is almost cashless and all jobs require direct deposit into a Swedish account.
  • I like getting paid so naturally I went to get one.  I read all you need is ID, proof of employment, personnummer, and resident permit.  Not anymore.  Now you need to get a Swedish ID instead.
    • Step 3.5: Get a Swedish ID
      • In order to get an ID you need to transfer an application fee to their bank.  I quickly learned Western Union is not an option because they require a first and last name on all transfers.  This is a government account and is void of both.  So, I reached out to one of my banks and they flat out said no.  The other said it would be roughly $50 to transfer essentially $44.  I’ll pass.  After going to the bank where the government account resides and being turned away, I was informed about a place similar to Western Union but handles cash transfers and foreign persons like myself.  They are called Forex bank and it was cheap, quick, and glorious. (Btw this process of elimination took about a week of daily inquiry and no one knowing what to do)
      • So, I headed over directly after transferring the money and did everything I needed for my ID.  Now in the US, you sit and wait about 5 minutes and they hand it to you.  Here, it will be another 2-3 weeks to receive a paper in the mail that lets you know that you can pick it up at the office.  I don’t quite understand the reason for this but it just makes it way more difficult than it needs to be.

As you can tell, I’m still without a Swedish bank account.  It may not be an issue when you are just visiting but it is super annoying when actually living here.  I have to sign for everything which is not common and they want ID when it happens.  All I usually have with me is my SC DL and that is basically greek to them.  It’s a painful process and I can’t wait until I get my ID so all of this can be over with.

PRETTY PICTURE OF THE POOP FACTORY TO END THE BLOG