Sweden Abolishes Skatteverket's ID Card on 1 March 2027 (Prop. 2026/27:10): New Police State e-ID Guide for Expats

On 27 October 2026, the Swedish Government formally tabled Proposition 2026/27:10 (Avveckling av Skatteverkets id-kortsverksamhet) in the Riksdag, proposing to repeal the law governing the Swedish Tax Agency's identity card and permanently shut down Skatteverkets id-kort operations effective 1 March 2027.

For every non-Swedish citizen moving to or living in Sweden, this is a landmark shift in the country's onboarding infrastructure. Since 1 June 2009, Skatteverket's ID card (identitetskort för folkbokförda i Sverige) has been the only state-issued Swedish physical identity card available to foreign nationals registered with a personnummer. Without it, newcomers cannot pass in-branch identity verification at major Swedish banks to activate Mobile BankID and Swish.

Why is the government abolishing Skatteverket's ID card, what replaces it on 1 December 2026 at the Swedish Police Authority (Polismyndigheten), and what happens to the hundreds of thousands of expats who currently hold a valid Skatteverket ID card? Here is our complete statutory analysis of Proposition 2026/27:10.

1. Why Is Sweden Abolishing Skatteverket's ID Card?

For the past 17 years, Sweden's physical identity document system has been split between two separate authorities based on citizenship:

• Swedish Citizens: Apply at the Swedish Police Authority (Polismyndigheten) for a Swedish passport (pass) or a National Identity Card (nationellt id-kort).
• Foreign Citizens Registered in Sweden (Folkbokförda utlänningar): Because non-citizens are not eligible for a Swedish passport or a Police nationellt id-kort, they have had to apply at Skatteverket (via Statens servicecenter offices) for a special domestic identity card under Lag (2015:899) om identitetskort för folkbokförda i Sverige.

As Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson sets out in Proposition 2026/27:10 (dossier Fi2026/01416), splitting identity document issuance across multiple state agencies created two major weaknesses:

1. Fragmented Identity Security: Having multiple agencies run parallel biometric capture and card-issuance systems made it harder to prevent identity fraud and forged documents across Swedish public administration. Consolidating all state physical identity cards and biometric verification under a single authority - Polismyndigheten - creates a unified national identity architecture.
2. Limited Digital Utility of Skatteverket's Existing e-ID: While the current Skatteverket ID card contains an electronic chip certificate issued by AB Svenska Pass at Trust Level 4 (tillitsnivå 4), that chip e-ID was never notified to the European Union for cross-border eIDAS recognition and is in practice used almost exclusively for logging into Skatteverket's own portal. Furthermore, Skatteverket's technical production equipment contract expires at the end of February 2027.

2. What Replaces It: The New Police State e-ID & Physical Card Carrier (1 December 2026)

The abolition of Skatteverket's ID card is directly linked to Sweden's new Act on State Electronic Identification (Lag 2026:1358 om statlig e-legitimation och elektronisk identifiering), which was passed by the Riksdag on 17 June 2026 (Prop. 2025/26:250, Bet. 2025/26:TU21) and enters into force on 1 December 2026.

Under Section 4.2 of Proposition 2026/27:10, here is how the replacement system at Polismyndigheten works for expats and foreign citizens starting 1 December 2026:

• Issuing Authority: Within Sweden, the Swedish Police Authority (Polismyndigheten) is the sole issuing authority (with designated Swedish embassies and career consulates handling issuance abroad). Note that the law also allows Polismyndigheten to enter into service agreements with other agencies under the Joint Public Service Act (Lag 2019:212 om viss gemensam offentlig service) for customer guidance and administration.
• Physical Card Carrier for Registered Foreign Nationals: When a registered foreign citizen (folkbokförd utlänning) applies for the new State e-ID at the Police from 1 December 2026, Polismyndigheten places the State e-ID on a dedicated physical identity card carrier (fysisk bärare). As confirmed by Polismyndigheten and the Ministry of Finance in Proposition 2026/27:10 (page 13), this physical card carrier is designed with a layout and security standard corresponding to the Swedish National ID Card and contains the exact same personal identity information about the holder as the current Skatteverket ID card.
• Highest Security Tier (DIGG Trust Level 4 / EU eIDAS "High"): Unlike the old AB Svenska Pass chip on Skatteverket's card, the new Police-issued statlig e-legitimation is built to meet the highest security tier under the EU eIDAS Regulation (Regulation EU 910/2014) and DIGG's Swedish Trust Framework (tillitsnivå 4), giving residents access to both Swedish digital public services and cross-border EU electronic identification.
• Diplomatic & International Organization Staff Included: Foreign diplomats and international staff who are exempt from folkbokföring under the Immunity and Privileges Act (Lag 1976:661) but have been assigned a special personnummer under Section 18b of the Population Registration Act (Folkbokföringslagen 1991:481) were previously barred from getting a Skatteverket ID card. Under the new law taking effect on 1 December 2026, they are now explicitly eligible for the State e-ID!

3. Complete Timeline of Key Dates for Expats (2026 to 2032)

Whether you are moving to Sweden this winter or already hold a Skatteverket ID card in your wallet, here is the exact statutory timeline established in Proposition 2026/27:10:

4. What Happens to Your Existing Skatteverket ID Card and BankID?

During the consultation round (remissrunda) on Proposition 2026/27:10, the Swedish Bankers' Association (Svenska Bankföreningen) raised a critical practical question for Sweden's hundreds of thousands of foreign residents: will Swedish banks still be able to verify the validity of existing Skatteverket ID cards between 2027 and 2032?

In Section 6.2.1 of the proposition (pages 15 to 16), the Government and Skatteverket provide three ironclad guarantees for current cardholders:

1. No Early Cancellation of Valid Cards: You do not need to rush out and replace your current Skatteverket ID card on 1 March 2027. Because cardholders paid the 400 SEK application fee for a 5-year high-security document under Section 8 of the Identity Card Ordinance (Förordning 2015:904), every Skatteverket ID card issued before 1 March 2027 remains legally valid until the exact expiration date printed on the front of the card.
2. Bank Verification & Lost-Card Blocking (Spärrkontroll) Guaranteed Until February 2032: Skatteverket has formally confirmed to the Government and Svenska Bankföreningen that it will maintain its 24/7 lost-card blocking registry and bank validity check (spärrkontroll) for the entire remaining 5-year lifecycle of all issued cards - meaning banks, pharmacies, and authorities can verify your Skatteverket ID card seamlessly right up to February 2032.
3. Revocation Rules Preserved: Under transitional rule 2(b) of the repeal statute, the provisions of the repealed 2015 Act continue to apply for revoking (återkallelse) lost, stolen, or compromised Skatteverket ID cards after 1 March 2027.

5. What About Expats With Only a Coordination Number (Samordningsnummer)?

One group of international residents should pay close attention to the two-stage distinction outlined in Section 4.2.1 and Section 4.3.2 of Proposition 2026/27:10: cross-border commuters, short-term researchers, and seasonal workers who stay in Sweden for less than 12 months and therefore receive a Coordination Number (samordningsnummer) rather than full folkbokföring with a personnummer.

• Stage 1 (From 1 December 2026): Just as samordningsnummer holders were excluded from getting a Skatteverket ID card under the 2015 Act, non-citizens with a samordningsnummer are not yet included in the initial 1 December 2026 launch of the State e-ID under Lag (2026:1358).
• Stage 2 (Proposed for 1 September 2029): However, under the Ministry of Justice's June 2026 legislative memorandum Promemorian Ett statligt identitetskort (detailed on pages 11 to 12 of Prop. 2026/27:10), the Government proposes introducing a unified State Identity Card (statligt identitetskort) on 1 September 2029 that will explicitly grant physical state ID cards and State e-IDs to foreign citizens who have verified their identity in person and hold an active (non-dormant) Coordination Number (samordningsnummer)!