Healthcare in Sweden as a newcomer 2026: 1177, health centres, 112 and what you pay

Falling ill in a new country is hard, especially when you do not know where to turn. In Sweden you almost always start at a vårdcentral (health centre). If you are unsure, you can call 1177 day and night, and if life is in danger you call 112. But what care costs, and what you can do online, depends a lot on whether you are folkbokförd (registered in the population register). Here we go through where to turn, how to list at a health centre, what care costs in 2026, what applies before you are folkbokförd and to asylum seekers and undocumented people, and how to get an interpreter. We do not give medical advice. If you are worried about your symptoms, call 1177.

The regions are responsible for healthcare and set most of the fees. We checked the details on 1177.se and on the pages of SOS Alarm, Socialstyrelsen (the National Board of Health and Welfare), Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency), Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency), Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency) and TLV (the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency), and in the law texts at Riksdagen (the Swedish Parliament), on 11 October 2026.

Where should you turn?

The emergency department is for serious accidents and sudden severe illness. The most seriously ill are treated first. So with minor problems you usually wait a long time, and you may be referred to a health centre or an out-of-hours clinic. Sometimes it is quicker to get to the emergency department yourself, but do not drive yourself if you feel seriously ill.

Out-of-hours clinics take problems that cannot wait in the evenings and at weekends, and sometimes at night. You usually need to call first and book a time. In some parts of the country, the out-of-hours service is at a närakut or at the hospital’s emergency department.

Children and pregnancy. The barnavårdscentral (child health centre), BVC, is for all children up to 6, for things like health checks and vaccinations. If your child is ill, seek care at a health centre, or at an emergency department if it is serious. If you are pregnant, you go for check-ups at a barnmorskemottagning (midwifery clinic).

Which clinics exist, and what they are called, differs between parts of the country. You can find them in Hitta vård (find care) on 1177.se.

Call 112 when life is in danger

112 is Sweden’s emergency number. It is for acute emergencies, when life, property or the environment is in danger. Through 112 you reach the ambulance, rescue services and police, among others.

• Language. The person who answers speaks Swedish or English and can bring in an interpreter. SOS Alarm, which answers 112, has interpreters for about 200 languages. Outside weekday daytime, and at weekends, it can take longer to get an interpreter.
• Questions. You will be asked, among other things, what has happened, where it happened and which phone number you are calling from. SOS Alarm says the questions do not delay help, because it is organised during the call.
• No SIM card. You can call 112 in Sweden even without a SIM card in your phone.
• Not urgent? Call 1177 for healthcare advice, 114 14 for the police when it is not urgent, and 113 13 for information during major accidents and crises.

1177: healthcare advice day and night

1177 is a national phone number for healthcare advice, and you can call day and night. A nurse assesses your need for care, gives you advice and refers you to the right clinic when needed. Each region runs its own advice service. If the condition is life-threatening, always call 112 instead.

• English. In the phone menu, press 5 for information in English. In some regions you can speak English or other languages with the nurse.
• Personnummer. You are asked to key in the personnummer (personal identity number) of the person the call is about. If you do not have one, you can choose to stay on the line without entering anything.
• Foreign number. If your phone has a foreign number, or you are calling from another country, call +46 771-11 77 00.
• Cost. The call costs the same as an ordinary phone call.
• For someone else. If you call for someone else, that person should be next to you during the call.

Logging in to 1177.se

On 1177.se you can read about illnesses and care and find clinics without logging in. Choose your region at the top of the page to see what applies where you live.

To log in you need a Swedish personnummer and an e-ID: BankID or Freja+. Once logged in you can, for example, book, rebook and cancel appointments, renew prescriptions and read your medical records. Different clinics offer different services. The first time you log in, enter your email address and mobile number under Inställningar (settings), so that the clinic can reach you.

You cannot log in with a samordningsnummer (coordination number), a reservnummer (reserve number), a foreign e-ID or Mobilt SäkerhetsID. Until you have a personnummer and BankID or Freja+, you call the clinic or go there.

The health centre and listing

A vårdcentral can also be called a hälsocentral, husläkarmottagning or familjeläkarmottagning. It is almost always where you should start when you are ill or have symptoms. There you can get help with things like acute illness and injuries, mental ill health and check-ups for chronic conditions. If you need another clinic, you get a remiss (referral), a message saying that you need an assessment, examination or treatment there.

The health centre is open in the daytime on weekdays. It is usually best to call first, and at many health centres you can book by logging in. If it is urgent, for example if you have a wound that is bleeding, you can go there directly.

Listing (att lista sig) means choosing to belong to a health centre:

• You can list at any health centre you like, anywhere in Sweden.
• In some regions you are listed automatically at the nearest health centre unless you choose one yourself.
• How you list varies between regions. You can often choose and switch by logging in to 1177.se, under “Välj/ändra vårdval” (choose or change your care choice).
• You can switch health centre at most twice a year, unless there are special reasons.
• At the health centre where you are listed, you should be able to choose a fast läkarkontakt, a regular doctor whom you mainly see.
• Even when you are listed, you can temporarily seek care at another health centre, for example if you fall ill while travelling.

Listing matters for the vårdgaranti (care guarantee). Under it, you should get contact with the health centre on the same day you seek care, and a medical assessment within three days. But it only applies at the health centre where you are listed, and only in the region where you are folkbokförd.

1177’s national pages do not say whether you can list with a samordningsnummer or reservnummer. Ask the health centre or your region. You can compare health centres and their reviews in Hitta vård.

What does care cost in 2026?

You usually pay a patientavgift (patient fee) when you get care. The regions largely set their own fees, but they are usually fairly similar. You pay the fee of the region where you get care, and it costs more at an emergency department than at a health centre, for example. You can find current fees on your region’s website or through 1177.se. It is a good idea to ask the clinic what the visit costs.

This applies across the country:

Outpatient care (öppenvård) is all care where you are not admitted to hospital, for example a visit to a health centre.

• Frikort. The twelve-month period starts at your first visit. Once you have paid SEK 1,450, or the lower amount your region has set, you get a frikort (exemption card). After that you pay nothing for outpatient visits for the rest of the period, and the frikort is valid in all regions. In most regions you can log in to 1177.se to see how much you have left to pay. If the region does not record visits electronically, you may need to keep the receipts yourself.
• Usually not included. Vaccinations, certificates and health checks, copies of your medical records and visits you did not turn up for are usually not included in the high-cost protection. If you miss a booked appointment without cancelling, you may have to pay anyway.
• Medicines. The high-cost protection for medicines applies automatically. You pay the full price until you have paid SEK 2,000, and after that it gets cheaper step by step.
• Children and young people. In most regions, children and young people pay nothing in outpatient care until their 20th birthday. Some regions have other age limits.
• Dental care has other fees and a different high-cost protection. It is free up to and including the year you turn 19.

The ceilings are set in the Hälso- och sjukvårdslag (Health and Medical Services Act) and are calculated from the prisbasbelopp (price base amount). A region may set a lower ceiling for the high-cost protection, but not a higher one. If you have questions about a fee, contact the clinic. Each region also has a patientnämnd (patients’ advisory committee) you can turn to, but it does not pay back money.

Before you are folkbokförd

Folkbokförd means that Skatteverket has registered you as living in Sweden. The first time, you get a personnummer. If you will live here for at least a year, in most cases you should be folkbokförd, but not if you will be here for less than a year. A samordningsnummer is a number for people who are not and have not been folkbokförda. So with only a samordningsnummer, you are not folkbokförd.

Registration decides much of what care costs:

• Folkbokförd. You get care on the same terms as others who live in Sweden and pay the ordinary patient fee, Försäkringskassan says.
• Residence permit, but not folkbokförd yet. According to 1177, you then pay the whole cost of care yourself. Migrationsverket says you pay more for care if you do not have a personnummer.
• From a country outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. According to 1177, you almost always have to pay the whole cost yourself, for both emergency and planned care.
• From an EU country, an EEA country or Switzerland. Show your European Health Insurance Card, the EU-kort (EHIC), from the country where you are insured. The card shows that you have the right to emergency, necessary care at the ordinary patient fee. Children need their own card, and without the card you may have to pay the whole cost. From a Nordic country, it is enough to show ID and give your home address.
• Working in Sweden but not folkbokförd? Register with Försäkringskassan. If you come from an EU country, an EEA country or Switzerland and have a temporary job here lasting less than twelve months, 1177 says you then get care at the same fees as people insured in Sweden.

Care that cannot wait. The region must offer care that you need immediately, even if you are not resident in the region. This is in the Health and Medical Services Act. Healthcare staff assess what care you need, and what it costs depends on your situation.

Medicines without a personnummer. Without a personnummer, the pharmacies’ high-cost database cannot register your purchases. Instead you get a receipt called a högkostnadsbevis (high-cost receipt). Keep the latest one and show it with your prescription next time, so that you get the right discount.

If you will live here for at least a year, notify Skatteverket of your move as soon as you can. The steps in the right order are in New in Sweden: your first steps, and how long it takes to get a personnummer is in How long does it take to get a personnummer in 2026?

Asylum seekers and undocumented people

If you are seeking asylum, or are in Sweden without a permit, special rules apply. Being in Sweden without a permit is also called being papperslös (undocumented). This is how 1177, Migrationsverket and Socialstyrelsen describe the care:

• Adults should get healthcare and dental care that cannot wait, and also maternity care, abortion care and contraception counselling. This applies to both asylum seekers and undocumented people. The doctor or dentist treating you decides what counts as care that cannot wait. The regions may offer more care than the law requires.
• Children under 18 should be offered healthcare and dental care on the same terms as other children living in the region.
• How to seek care. The same way as everyone else: at a health centre or in outpatient specialist care, for example a psychiatric clinic, in any region. You can always call 1177.
• The application card. As an asylum seeker, show your ansökningskort (application card) at the clinic and at the pharmacy. If you have not received the card yet, show your registreringsbevis (registration certificate). LMA cards have not been valid since 1 October 2026, and anyone who has one should exchange it for an ansökningskort. The ansökningskort cannot be used as ID.
• Reserve number. The first time you seek care, you get a reservnummer (reserve number) instead of a personnummer. Keep it. This also applies if you are undocumented.
• Health examination. As an asylum seeker, you are offered a free health examination as soon as possible after you have applied for asylum. If you are undocumented, you should be offered a free health examination when you seek care.
• Ukraine. If you come from Ukraine, you are offered the same care as asylum seekers if you register with Migrationsverket. Show your UT card (residence permit card) when you seek care.

This is what adults pay, according to 1177 and Migrationsverket:

If you go straight to a specialist without a referral from the health centre, it can cost more, and the fee for emergency hospital visits varies between regions. Medicines that are not part of the medicine benefits, such as cough medicine, cost the full price. If, as an asylum seeker, you have paid more than SEK 400 in six months for doctor’s visits, patient transport, prescription medicines and other treatment, you can apply for a särskilt bidrag (special grant) from Migrationsverket. Migrationsverket can then reimburse what is over SEK 400. Keep the receipts.

New in 2027. From 2 January 2027, adults who have applied for asylum and have an income or assets of their own must pay reasonable compensation to Migrationsverket for dental care that cannot wait. This is in the act on healthcare for asylum seekers, and Migrationsverket decides on the compensation.

Interpreters in healthcare

You can get an interpreter if you do not speak Swedish or find it hard to understand information in Swedish. This applies both in healthcare and in dental care. Under the Patientlag (Patient Act), the information you get must be adapted to things like your language background, and whoever gives it must make sure, as far as possible, that you have understood. This can mean that you need a language interpreter.

• Say so when you book, or in good time before the visit, and say which language you need.
• In healthcare, the interpreter costs nothing. In dental care you may sometimes have to pay for the interpreter, so ask when you book.
• Cancel in time if you cannot come, so that the interpreter can be cancelled too. In some regions you pay for the interpreter if you do not cancel.
• The interpreter is bound by confidentiality. Family and friends are not, and misunderstandings can happen when they interpret. That is why it is better to have someone who works as an interpreter. Children should not interpret in healthcare.
• In person, by phone or by video. The interpreter can be in the room, take part by speakerphone, or join by video. Usually the interpreter only translates what is said, not written text.
• Asylum seekers and undocumented people. For them, 1177 says that healthcare staff decide whether an interpreter is needed, and choose the interpreter.

How to get started

1. Save 112 and 1177 in your phone. You call 112 when life is in danger. 1177 gives healthcare advice day and night. If your phone has a foreign number, call +46 771-11 77 00 instead of 1177.
2. Get folkbokförd as soon as you can. If you will live in Sweden for at least a year, in most cases you should be folkbokförd. Notify Skatteverket of your move. If you have a residence permit but are not yet folkbokförd, 1177 says you pay the whole cost of care yourself.
3. Choose a health centre and list there. You can choose any health centre in Sweden. How you list varies between regions, and you often do it by logging in to 1177.se.
4. Get BankID or Freja+. Once you have a Swedish personnummer, BankID or Freja+ lets you log in to 1177.se and, for example, book appointments and renew prescriptions.
5. Ask for an interpreter and bring ID. If you need an interpreter, say so when you book and say which language. Bring documents that show your identity if you have any, and your ansökningskort or EU card if you have one.

In our Healthcare tool you choose whether you are folkbokförd or not yet. Then you see the steps that apply to you, with links to 1177 and the agencies.

Summary

• Almost always start at a health centre. Call 1177 day and night if you are unsure, and 112 when life is in danger.
• You can list at any health centre you like. How it works varies between regions, and logging in to 1177.se requires a personnummer and BankID or Freja+.
• The regions set the fees, but across the country in 2026 you pay at most SEK 1,450 for outpatient visits and at most SEK 3,800 for medicines in 12 months.
• If you have a residence permit but are not yet folkbokförd, 1177 says you pay the whole cost yourself. Adult asylum seekers pay, for example, at most SEK 50 for a doctor’s visit at a health centre.
• You can get an interpreter. Say so when you book. In healthcare, the interpreter costs nothing.

Sources

• 1177: När du ringer 1177 (in Swedish)
• 1177: Sök vård på rätt mottagning (in Swedish)
• 1177: Så fungerar vården i Sverige, lättläst (in Swedish)
• SOS Alarm: 112, Sveriges nödnummer vid akut hjälp (in Swedish)
• 1177: Att logga in på 1177 (in Swedish)
• 1177: Välja vårdmottagning (in Swedish)
• 1177: Hur byter jag vårdcentral? (in Swedish)
• 1177: Vårdgaranti (in Swedish)
• 1177: Patientavgifter och högkostnadsskydd (in Swedish)
• 1177: Högkostnadsskydd för öppenvård (in Swedish)
• 1177: Läkemedel på recept, kostnader (in Swedish)
• TLV: Så fungerar högkostnadsskyddet (in Swedish)
• 1177: Vård i Sverige om du kommer från ett annat land (in Swedish)
• Skatteverket: Flytta till Sverige (in Swedish)
• Skatteverket: Samordningsnummer (in Swedish)
• Försäkringskassan: Flytta till Sverige (in Swedish)
• Försäkringskassan: Jobba i Sverige (in Swedish)
• Migrationsverket: Du har fått ja på din ansökan (in Swedish)
• 1177: Vård om du är asylsökande eller inte har tillstånd att vara i Sverige (in Swedish)
• Migrationsverket: Hälso- och sjukvård för asylsökande (in Swedish)
• Migrationsverket: Ansökningskort (in Swedish)
• Socialstyrelsen: Vilken vård ska en region erbjuda asylsökande och papperslösa? (in Swedish)
• 1177: Tolkning till ditt språk (in Swedish)
• 1177: Tolkning till ditt språk, lättläst (in Swedish)
• 1177: Vad kostar tandvård?, lättläst (in Swedish)
• 1177: Patientlagen (in Swedish)
• Riksdagen: Hälso- och sjukvårdslag (2017:30), 8 kap. 4 § och 17 kap. (in Swedish)
• Riksdagen: Patientlag (2014:821), 3 kap. 6 och 7 §§ (in Swedish)
• Riksdagen: Lag (2008:344) om hälso- och sjukvård åt asylsökande m.fl. (in Swedish)
• Riksdagen: Lag (2013:407) om hälso- och sjukvård till vissa utlänningar som vistas i Sverige utan nödvändiga tillstånd (in Swedish)