Moving to Sweden (EU citizen with non-EU wife)

[ajmm]

I am an Irish citizen, my wife (from Mexico) is here in Ireland with me, she has residency here in Ireland, work permit etc, she is completely legal.

We have both seen some jobs in Denmark/Sweden which interest us alot, but I just wanted to check the process of being able to move to Denmark/Sweden before contacting any potential employers.

I would just like to check the following information is correct please..

- me being an EU citizen, I can go and work in Denmark/sweden without any real difficulty
- my wife can accompany me to Denmark/sweden and she must register herself in the first 3 months
- her possibility to be registered is because I am an EU citizen and I am working (exercising EU rights)


If you can confirm these things please, and also,

- are any financial declarations necessary?
- her registration process, how long does that take normally? (here in Ireland I think it usually takes aprox 12 days)

Any help with these questions would be absolutely fantastic, than you very much

[Wanderer]

You must register as well, I think perhaps only UK and Eire don't require local registration for EEA citizens as well.

I can only speak for Denmark, having recently done it, Sweden will be same I'm sure.

1. You both need to register at the Citizens office, be prepared for long queues and restricted hours.

2. Both need to register at International House, as above, especially if there are students about come term start times.

3. Register for tax at SKAT office, I didn't have to do that, it was done for me by my agent.

At 2. you need to provide your proper address in DK, i.e. not hotel/hostel, and you will be allocated a CPR number (like a NINO) and a doctor.

Later in the post at you registered address you will receive your CPR card, NemID (like Gov Gateway) details, passwords and a block of access numbers for logging into your Government Digital Box (e-boks) where all official stuff goes through. You cannot exist without this.

All-in-all it's a logistical nightmare but you only have to do it once.

Some random things, DK/SE tax is around 50/60% for most decent earners, 89% is top rate in DK. Property/renting is expensive, I paid about £1200 pcm for one room in the two-bed flat in not the best area of Copenhagen. Amager district is cheaper but very ethnic which might bother some people.

Food not too bad if one sticks to Netto/Lidl. Irma, Fotex more expensive, bit like Marks and Spencer's.

Cars, don't even think about it, all cars are taxed by Danish Government at 180% on import, and all cars are imported. So even a bobby-basic hatchback is like like £30/35k. Get a bike.

[ajmm]

Hi Wanderer

Thanks alot for that, I really appreciate it.

I have to be honest, after reading some of those figures, I think any prospect of going over there is evaporating quite quickly.

Between the tax rates, high rent and the non-existant chance of even having a simple car....it sounds like an uphill struggle.

I have been on countless websites giving the costs of things,some of them reported lower costs, althought maybe they are outof date, is Sweden any cheaper?

[Wanderer]

Hi Wanderer

Thanks alot for that, I really appreciate it.

I have to be honest, after reading some of those figures, I think any prospect of going over there is evaporating quite quickly.

Between the tax rates, high rent and the non-existant chance of even having a simple car....it sounds like an uphill struggle.

I have been on countless websites giving the costs of things,some of them reported lower costs, althought maybe they are outof date, is Sweden any cheaper?

Well TBF certainly is Copenhagen a car is unnecessary, bikes and bike lanes abound and public transport is great. Rent is high in both DK and SE, possibly even higher in SE.

Basically, in general, you get paid a lot, taxed a lot, rent a place for a lot but the rest you can get by/shop around.

In the pub I used to frequent a pint was 8 quid, and a small but nice fish and chips was about £15. In general though I found most consumables if you shop around about the same as UK plus 10/20% more.

Cars are a crippler, you see so many Tesla Model S's because they weren't subject to import tax at all, but now the Danish Gov has cottoned on to that now, and have introduced the import duty on them which has caused a fuss. I test drove one, freakishly fast.....

I looked at an Alfa Romeo Giulia, the new one, top of the range with the 503 bhp engine, was stickered at £48k in UK pre-release, £150k in DK. For an Alfa!!

It's a great place to live though, if a little boring and plain...