Sverige·Destination guide · Northern Europe
Sweden
59.3293° N · Northern Europe · Schengen
Sweden still asks foreign guests for a personally signed registreringskort — then housing law, not a tourist tax, gates short stays.
Under Utlänningsförordningen (2006:97) 6 kap. 13 §, anyone running a hotel, pensionat or other commercial overnight letting must ensure that foreign guests (utlänningar) complete a personally signed registration card and prove identity with a valid ID document. Polismyndigheten’s PMFS 2015:6 sets the card fields and a three-month keep-and-produce duty. Separately, Lag (2024:1082) requires Polisen notification for larger hotel/pensionat operations (≥9 simultaneous guests or ≥5 guest rooms) from 1 January 2025 — a lighter anmälan track that replaced the old permit regime. Sweden has no national short-term rental register and no municipal tourist tax in force; the hard apartment gate is usually bostadsrättsförening or landlord consent for andrahandsuthyrning.
NextStay relevance · Sweden
5 / 5
Essential
Utlänningsförordningen 6 kap. 13 § requires commercial overnight providers to capture a personally signed registreringskort from foreign guests (ID verified, kept 3 months for Polisen) — while Sweden has no national STR register and no tourist tax in force.
At a glance · Sweden
Registreringskort
Foreign guests · signed
Retain
3 months · Polisen
Hotel anmälan
≥9 guests / ≥5 rooms
Tourist tax
None in force
Who this is for
What hosts and hotels actually need to know
Sweden’s lodging stack is lighter than Portugal’s RNAL/SIBA or Belgium’s federal night register — but it is not optional on identity. First, guest registration for foreigners: commercial overnight operators must capture a personally signed registreringskort, verify the travel document, and keep cards for three months for Polisen on request (Utlänningsförordningen 6 kap. 13 §; PMFS 2015:6). Swedish citizens sit outside that specific duty; other EU nationals are still utlänningar. There is no same-day national electronic guest-filing portal akin to SIBA. Second, hotel/pensionat market entry: from 1 January 2025, Lag (2024:1082) replaced the 1966 permit law with Polisen notification for units sized for at least nine guests or five guest rooms — smaller commercial stays may still fall under the registreringskort duty when they are yrkesmässig overnight letting. Third, short-term letting of apartments is not licensed by a national STR number: whole-home use of a bostadsrätt needs the association board’s consent (or hyresnämnden permission) under bostadsrättslagen 7 kap. 10–11 §§; a hyresrätt needs the landlord’s consent under jordabalken 12 kap. Skatteverket taxes private rental surplus after a 40 000 SEK schablonavdrag per dwelling and year. Fourth, there is no tourist or bed tax municipalities may levy today — riksdagen motions discuss one, but Kommunallagen does not currently empower a guest-night fee. Self check-in works when the signed foreign-guest card and ID check happen before access is released.
Front desk or digital, the immigration duty is unchanged: foreign guests personally sign a registreringskort, identity is verified, and cards stay inspection-ready for three months. Larger houses also sit under Lag (2024:1082) Polisen anmälan.
- 01Collect a personally signed registreringskort from every foreign guest and verify the ID document against the card fields
- 02Retain cards for three months from registration and produce them to Polismyndigheten without delay on request
- 03If the house takes ≥9 guests at once or has ≥5 guest rooms, file the Lag (2024:1082) anmälan with Polisen before opening (and report changes/cessation)
- 04There is no national tourist tax to remittance-track — focus compliance energy on identity capture and the hotel register anmälan
Chapter · Registreringskort
Foreign-guest registration cards
Utlänningsförordningen (2006:97) 6 kap. 13 § requires commercial overnight providers to have foreign guests personally sign a registreringskort and prove identity — detailed by Polismyndigheten in PMFS 2015:6.
Statute
“Den som driver hotell, pensionat eller annan yrkesmässig uthyrningsverksamhet för övernattning ska se till att utlänningar på ett egenhändigt undertecknat registreringskort lämnar uppgifter om sig. … Utlänningen ska styrka sin identitet med en giltig legitimationshandling.”
- 01
Who must collect cards
The duty applies to hotels, pensionat and other commercial (yrkesmässig) overnight letting — not only star-rated hotels. Tent, caravan and boat overnight commercial letting are also covered under PMFS 2015:6’s application guidance. Occasional private hosting that is not commercial overnight letting sits outside this wording; once you operate as a business letting nights, plan for the card duty.
- 02
Foreign guests — including other EU citizens
The ordinance speaks of utlänningar: persons who are not Swedish citizens. Guests who are nationals of other EU Member States are in scope. Swedish citizens are outside this specific statutory card duty, though hotels routinely capture equivalent operational identity data for all arrivals.
- 03
Personal signature and ID check
The guest must personally sign the card (egenhändigt undertecknat). The provider must check that identity is proven with a valid legitimationshandling and that name and date of birth match the document. A passport photo upload without a signed card and verification step does not meet the ordinance wording. A qualifying e-signature captured before access can serve as the digital equivalent of the personal signature — the signature and ID check are the compliance gate.
- 04
Card fields, three-month retention, produce to Polisen
PMFS 2015:6 requires surname, given names, date of birth, home address, arrival date, departure date, type and number of the ID document shown, plus the guest’s signature and signature date. Cards are stored by the provider for three months from registration and must be produced without delay if Polismyndigheten requests them — keep-and-produce, not a same-day national upload portal.
Chapter · Hotel anmälan
Hotel & pensionat notification to Polisen
Lag (2024:1082) om hotell- och pensionatsrörelser — in force 1 January 2025 — replaced the 1966 permit system with a lighter Polisen notification for larger houses.
- 01
When anmälan is required
Anyone intending to run a hotel or pensionat operation sized to receive at least nine guests at once, or comprising at least five guest rooms, must notify Polismyndigheten in writing before starting. The statute defines a hotel/pensionat rörelse as professional activity providing temporary furnished housing. Care homes, certain unmanned cabins and basic camping cabins without water/sewage are carved out.
- 02
What changed in 2025
The previous Lag (1966:742) required a Polisen permit for the same size thresholds. From 1 January 2025 that permit was abolished: existing permitted houses are treated as already anmälda, and new operators file a short anmälan (business name, org/personal number, address, authorised representative, location). Changes and cessation must also be reported without unnecessary delay. Polisen may still ban an operation for public-order reasons and may enter for supervision.
- 03
Anmälan is not a guest journal
Lag (2024:1082) registers the business with Polisen — it does not replace the foreign-guest registreringskort under Utlänningsförordningen. Small commercial apartments below the nine-guest / five-room thresholds may avoid hotel anmälan yet still owe signed cards when they are yrkesmässig overnight letting of foreign guests.
Chapter · Housing consent
Bostadsrätt, hyresrätt & private rental tax
Sweden has no national STR registration number. The practical gate for apartment short stays is association or landlord consent — plus Skatteverket income rules.
- 01
Bostadsrätt — board consent for självständig upplåtelse
Under bostadsrättslagen (1991:614) 7 kap. 10 §, a member may let the flat to someone else for independent use (självständigt brukande) only with the board’s consent. If the board refuses, hyresnämnden may grant permission where the member has skäl and the association lacks a justified reason to refuse (7 kap. 11 §). From 1 July 2026, prior andrahandsuthyrningar are weighed only if they occurred to a significant extent. Whole-home platform nights while you are absent are typically treated as andrahandsuthyrning — consent is the baseline, not optional courtesy.
- 02
Hyresrätt — landlord consent, stricter forfeiture
A tenant who sublets a rental flat for independent use needs the landlord’s consent under jordabalken 12 kap. Unauthorised andrahandsuthyrning of a hyresrätt can forfeit the tenancy; post-2019 reforms tightened consequences compared with the bostadsrätt track (where rättelse opportunities still matter). Do not list a first-hand rental as a short stay without written landlord approval.
- 03
No national STR register yet
Unlike Ireland’s forthcoming Fáilte Ireland STL number or Portugal’s RNAL, Sweden does not operate a nationwide short-term rental registration scheme for platform nights. Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 standardises data sharing where Member States run registration systems — Sweden’s government factual memorandum on the proposal noted there was no such national register requirement. Watch Boverket / government follow-up, but do not invent a Swedish listing number today.
- 04
Skatteverket — 40 000 SEK schablonavdrag
Private letting of a dwelling is reported as capital income. Skatteverket allows a schablonavdrag of up to 40 000 SEK per dwelling and year (shared by co-owners by share). Further deductions depend on housing type (e.g. portion of monthly fee for a bostadsrätt). Platforms may report data to Skatteverket — declare surplus correctly even when a platform already transmits figures.
Chapter · EU layer
EU law that sits underneath
Sweden is an EU and Schengen Member State. Guest cards implement the Schengen lodging-record purpose domestically; GDPR governs how you store them; Reg 2024/1028 matters mainly if Sweden later adds a registration system.
- 01
Schengen — Article 45 purpose, Swedish ordinance form
Article 45 of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement sets the lodging-provider guest-record purpose for Schengen states. Sweden implements that purpose through Utlänningsförordningen 6 kap. 13 § and PMFS 2015:6 (signed card, ID check, keep-and-produce) — not through a Portuguese-style same-day portal. Use the Swedish ordinance fields, not a generic EU checklist.
- 02
GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679)
Registreringskort fields, ID numbers and access logs are personal data. Collect what the legal basis requires, inform guests, secure storage for the three-month PMFS window (and any longer operational retention you justify), and avoid unnecessary passport image copies when the statute asks for verified data fields — not a document archive.
- 03
Short-term rental data — Regulation (EU) 2024/1028
From 20 May 2026 the EU framework for STR registration data and platform sharing applies where Member States operate registration procedures and require platforms to transmit activity data. Sweden has not layered a national STR registration number on top of that framework as of this review — so host duties remain the foreign-guest card, hotel anmälan where sized in, housing consent, and tax — not a missing licence code on Airbnb.
Remote arrival · Still the law
Self check-in under Swedish rules
Remote arrival is common in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. The compliance gate for foreign guests is the personally signed registreringskort plus ID verification — before door codes or lockbox instructions unlock.
Signed card and ID before access
Build the Utlänningsförordningen card fields and a personal signature into the check-in flow itself, and verify the legitimationshandling against name and date of birth before releasing access. A booking confirmation alone is not a registreringskort.
Keep-and-produce, not a portal clock
Unlike Portugal’s SIBA, Sweden does not run a same-day national electronic guest-filing portal for lodging. Capture, retain for three months, and produce to Polisen on request.
EU guests are still utlänningar
Other EU Member State nationals are foreign guests for ordinance purposes. Do not skip the card because free movement feels informal — the duty is nationality-based, not visa-based.
Housing consent is a separate prerequisite
A completed registreringskort does not substitute for bostadsrättsförening or landlord consent. Confirm andrahandsuthyrning status before automating remote arrival at scale on apartment stock.
City & tax layers
Guest-card and hotel-anmälan rules are national. Apartment short stays turn on each association’s or landlord’s consent practice. Sweden has no tourist tax in force — do not invent a Stockholm guest-night levy.
Stockholm — high-rise BRF scrutiny
01Stockholm — high-rise BRF scrutiny
Stockholm apartments are densely organised as bostadsrättsföreningar. Whole-home platform nights almost always need styrelsen samtycke under bostadsrättslagen 7 kap. 10 §; many associations refuse commercial short-lets as incompatible with residential purpose. Pair board consent with foreign-guest card capture before Arlanda late arrivals unlock. No Stockholms stad tourist tax applies.
Gothenburg — same national stack
02Gothenburg — same national stack
Göteborg applies the same Utlänningsförordningen card duty and Lag (2024:1082) hotel thresholds. West-coast apartment hosts should confirm BRF or landlord consent before advertising — there is no separate Gothenburg STR licence number and no municipal bed tax in force.
Malmö & tourist tax — none in force
03Malmö & tourist tax — none in force
Malmö sits on the same national guest-card and housing-consent stack, with Öresund traffic adding late arrivals that reward pre-completed foreign-guest cards. Riksdagen motions (including 2025/26:1245) ask the government to consider a tourist fee, and industry reports note Kommunallagen does not currently allow municipalities to levy a guest-night tax — collect nothing as tourist tax unless primary law changes.
This is the law · Here is the reference
Sources & references
Primary statutes, EU instruments and competent authorities. Open the link when your property is at stake.
- [01]Local lawUtlänningsförordning (2006:97) — 6 kap. 13 §
Primary ordinance: commercial overnight operators must obtain a personally signed registreringskort from foreign guests and verify identity with a valid ID document.
- [02]AgencyPMFS 2015:6 — registreringskort for hotel guests
Polismyndigheten regulations: card fields, identity check against the document, three-month retention, produce to Polisen on request.
- [03]Local lawLag (2024:1082) om hotell- och pensionatsrörelser
From 1 January 2025: Polisen anmälan for hotel/pensionat operations with ≥9 simultaneous guests or ≥5 guest rooms; repeals the 1966 permit law.
- [04]AuthorityPolismyndigheten — Driva hotell och pensionat
Official e-service and guidance for hotel/pensionat anmälan, changes and cessation under Lag (2024:1082).
- [05]Local lawBostadsrättslag (1991:614) — 7 kap. 10–11 §§
Board consent required for andrahandsuthyrning for independent use; hyresnämnden may grant permission where the member has skäl and the association lacks justified grounds to refuse.
- [06]Local lawJordabalken (1970:994) — 12 kap. (hyreslagen)
Landlord consent framework for andrahandsuthyrning of rental flats; unauthorised subletting can forfeit the tenancy.
- [07]AuthoritySveriges Domstolar — Hyra ut bostadsrätt i andra hand
Plain-language authority guidance on board/hyresnämnden consent, forfeiture risk, and related private-rental reforms.
- [08]AuthoritySkatteverket — Hyra ut privatbostad
Official tax rules for private dwelling lets, including the 40 000 SEK schablonavdrag per dwelling and year.
- [09]GuidanceMotion 2025/26:1245 — Turistavgift
Parliamentary motion asking the government to consider investigating a tourist fee — cited to show debate exists while no enabling tourist-tax levy is in force.
- [10]GuidanceFakta-PM 2022/23:FPM25 — EU STR data proposal
Government factual memorandum: Sweden had no national short-term rental registration requirement when assessing the EU data-sharing framework.
- [11]EU lawConvention Implementing the Schengen Agreement — Art. 45
Schengen lodging-provider guest-record purpose implemented in Sweden via Utlänningsförordningen 6 kap. 13 §.
- [12]EU lawGDPR — Regulation (EU) 2016/679
Personal-data rules for identity, registreringskort and access processing — fully applicable in Sweden.
- [13]EU lawRegulation (EU) 2024/1028 — short-term rental data
EU framework for STR registration data and platform sharing where Member States operate registration systems (applicable from 20 May 2026).
- [14]AgencyEuropean Commission — STR transparency rules
Plain-language explanation of the May 2026 framework.
After the law · The product
Where NextStay fits
After the law is clear: we build the personally signed registreringskort into the check-in gate — so Swedish hosts can run remote-friendly arrivals without skipping foreign-guest identity duties.
01
Signature before the key
Online check-in collects and personally signs the registreringskort for foreign guests before door instructions unlock — matching Utlänningsförordningen 6 kap. 13 § and PMFS 2015:6 field checks.
02
Keep-and-produce ready records
Structured guest data stays organised for the three-month Polisen retention window — without pretending Sweden runs a same-day national filing portal.
03
Host visibility without desk chaos
Hotels and individual hosts see who has completed check-in, who is blocked, and when access can release — including late Arlanda, Landvetter and København/Kastrup–Malmö arrivals.
04
Destination guidance in the workspace
This Sweden dossier stays attached to the market — registreringskort, hotel anmälan, BRF/landlord consent, Skatteverket, and no tourist tax — not a generic Schengen footnote.
Cities in Sweden
Stockholm
Archipelago logistics plus dense bostadsrätt stock make signed foreign-guest cards and board-consent checks essential before keys go out — with no city tourist tax to collect.
Registreringskort · BRF consent · Self check-in gate
Gothenburg
West-coast apartments and harbour hotels run the same national card duty — confirm association or landlord consent before automating remote arrival.
Commercial overnight cards · Housing consent · Hotel anmälan size
Malmö
Öresund arrivals reward timed check-in with completed foreign-guest cards — same national stack, still no municipal tourist tax.
Late Öresund arrivals · Registreringskort · No tourist tax
NextStay provides operational tools and general regulatory information, not legal advice. Hosts remain responsible for confirming the rules that apply to their accommodation in Sweden. Research last verified .