Living with protected identity
If you are granted protected identity, it will lead to major changes to your everyday life. Since access to your personal data will be restricted, it will be harder for you to use services provided by government agencies, organisations and businesses. It can also be difficult to know which information not to share.
Here’s how your everyday life will be affected
You need to inform government agencies and businesses that you have protected identity so that they can process your personal data in the correct way. It’s also a good idea to talk to your workplace or school, your healthcare provider, and other important contacts about how they manage your personal data.
Loans
It’s difficult for businesses and banks to conduct credit checks on individuals with protected identity. This can make it difficult for you to sign up for a subscription, get a loan or be invoiced for your purchases. However, you can usually request a credit report yourself, and provide it to the business that needs it. You can also request an extract from the debt collection register from Swedish Enforcement Authority (“Kronofogden”).
If you’ve been subjected to economic abuse, you can find out more about this on the Enforcement Authority’s website:
Your address
If you choose to share your address, you must:
- inform the recipient that you have protected identity
- ask how they will process your personal data
- find out whether they have specific measures in place for processing your personal data
If you’re not sure how details of your address will be processed, you can provide the Swedish Tax Agency’s mail forwarding address instead: Skatteverket, Box 2820, 403 20 Göteborg
Pharmacies
No one can check which pharmacy you’ve collected prescription medication from. You can read more about this on the Swedish eHealth Agency’s website:
Picking up prescription medication for children
If childre have protected identity, pharmacies cannot check who their legal guardians are. This can therefore cause problems when you need to pick up a prescription medication for your child. To identify yourself at the pharmacy, you should show a population registration certificate (“personbevis”) for your child, which states the name of your child’s legal guardian(s). You can request this certificate from the Swedish Tax Agency.
Population registration certificates
Selling residential property
Inform your estate agent that you have protected identity, so that your name is not linked to the property.
Tax returns
If you need a copy of your income tax return or have questions about it, contact a case administrator for matters relating to protected identity at the Swedish Tax Agency.
If you have protected population registration data, you will pay tax in accordance with the relevant tax rate set by the municipality in which you are registered. This is usually a different municipality from where you actually live.
Your tax account
If you have protected identity, you will not be able to see your bank account number when you log into your tax account – even if it’s registered with the Swedish Tax Agency. You can check your registered bank account number in the document containing information relating to your income tax return (“Information till inkomstdeklarationen”), which you receive with your tax return.
If you registered a bank account with the Swedish Tax Agency before you were granted protected identity, this account will remain registered with us.
Running a business
If you have protected identity, be careful not to register your protected address as your business address. This also applies if you’re on the business’s board of directors. You can also register a business name with the Swedish Companies Registration Office (“Bolagsverket”) that differs from your own name.
The registers managed by the Swedish Companies Registration Office are public records. This means that the details you report can be disclosed to the public or any other party that requests it. Further information is available on the Swedish Companies Registration Office’s website:
Protected identity (Swedish Companies Registration Office, in Swedish)
External link.
Estates of deceased persons
The Swedish Tax Agency can only send mail to the address that has been registered for a deceased person’s estate. Note that this address cannot be protected in all of the Swedish Tax Agency’s systems. You should not therefore register the address at which you live as the address for the estate of a deceased person if you have protected identity.
You can register the address of a deceased person’s estate using form SKV 8403.
Notification: New address for estate of deceased person (SKV 8403, in Swedish)
Reporting a change of address
You must submit a written change of address notification. If you have confidentiality marking, you can use the Swedish Tax Agency’s e-service to register your new address.
You cannot use the e-service if you have protected Population Register data.
If you have children with protected identity, you cannot include them in a change of address notification via our e-service. You will need to use a paper form to report a change of address for these children.
Your protected identity is linked to your personal identity number – not to your address. Your move therefore has no impact on your protection.
Involvement in associations and leisure activities
If you are a member of an association or want to join one (whether it’s a sports club, interest group, political party, or any other type of association), you must inform the association in question that you have protected identity.
Ask the association which measures it has put in place to ensure the secure processing of your personal data in its membership register. The same recommendation applies if you are the legal guardian of a child who is a member of an association.
If you have protected identity and are on the board of an association, the association’s postal address must not be the address at which you live. This is because an association’s address is part of its public records.
Insurance
Since insurance companies will not have access to all your personal data, it can be difficult for them to make an accurate risk assessment, which can affect the calculation of your premium. You might be charged a higher premium than you would otherwise.
ID cards
If you plan to apply for an ID card from the Swedish Tax Agency, please call us to book an appointment. You cannot apply to the National Government Service Centre for an ID card.
If you are a Swedish citizen, you can apply to the Swedish Police for a national ID card instead.
Passport and national ID card (Swedish Police) External link.
Name change for a child
If a child has the same surname as one of their parents, that parent must consent to the child’s name change. This rule applies even if this parent is not the child’s legal guardian, or if the child has protection against this parent.
If it’s not possible to obtain this parent’s consent, you can apply to have the case reviewed by the courts.
Changing a child’s surname (Swedish Courts, in Swedish) External link.
Name change for an adult
If you have to pay a fee for your name change, you must pay the amount in question, regardless of whether or not you have protected identity.
New parents
Birth
When a child is born, and the person who gave birth to the child has protected identity, the child is automatically granted the same protection.
Confirmation of parenthood
If either parent has protected identity, you cannot use the Swedish Tax Agency’s e-service “Digital confirmation of parenthood”. You must contact the Social Welfare Board (“socialnämnden”) in the municipality in which the child is registered in the Population Register, if they haven’t already contacted you.
Population registration certificates (“personbevis”)
You cannot request a population registration certificate through the Swedish Tax Agency’s website, skatteverket.se. You must call us instead. Your family members might also have difficulty in obtaining a population registration certificate. If so, they are welcome to call us on the same number.
Population registration certificates
If you have protected identity, this might cause delays in receiving your mail. To ensure you receive invoices and important correspondence from government agencies in good time, use Autogiro (direct debit) and e-invoices. You should also sign up for a digital mailbox, which you can log in to using your e-identification (eID) such as BankID. Make sure that no one else has access to your digital mailbox or your eID. For further information, visit your digital mailbox provider’s website.
If you do not receive your mail, contact your postal operator.
Voting in elections
If you have protected population registration data, you can only vote in municipal and regional elections. You must vote in the municipality in which you are registered – even if you are living somewhere else.
You can vote in advance or on election day at the polling station stated on your voting card.
How to ensure timely delivery of your mail
- register the correct address
- register the apartment number designated by the Swedish Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authority (“Lantmäteriet”)
- make sure that there is a name on your mailbox or in the place where your mail is delivered
If you do not want your own name on your mailbox, contact a case administrator for matters relating to protected identity at the Swedish Tax Agency.
Notify the Swedish Tax Agency if you have previously registered a special postal address and you now want your mail to be delivered to the address at which you live instead.
Shopping online
Keep the following in mind when shopping online:
- Do not give your real address when placing orders on websites, since it will be stored digitally. If possible, have your packages sent to a trusted friend or family member.
- You can use the Swedish Tax Agency’s mail forwarding service to receive packages. The service can handle packages weighing up to 20 kg, with a maximum length of 1 metre and a total length + girth of up to 2.5 metres. Packages exceeding these limits will be returned to the sender.
- You can register a special postal address for delivery of your mail. This can be a post-office box or the address of a trusted person. You can register a special postal address by using our e-service, or filling in form SKV 7844. If you want to register a special postal address for a child, you must fill in and submit the form.
Notification: Register a special postal address (SKV 7844, in Swedish)
- You are not required to collect packages that you have not ordered yourself. Call the police if you receive a suspicious or potentially dangerous letter or package.
Schools: children’s education
It’s important to speak with your child’s school about how their personal data is processed, since each case is unique. It may not be possible to use school apps or e-services ´– for example, to register attendance. Schools do not usually allow children with protected identity to appear in class photos or to be included on telephone contact lists.
Schools: adult education
If you’re enrolled in adult education, such as Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) or municipal adult education (“kommunal vuxenutbildning” or “komvux”), when you have protected population registration data, discussions might arise about which municipality you belong to. You have the right to attend classes in the municipality in which you live, even if you are not registered there.
Social media
You must be very restrictive about using social media when you have protected identity. Block any services and apps on your mobile phone that could help someone to trace your locatation.
Swish
If you have protected identity, you can still use Swish provided that you have a valid mobile bank-id. It’s a good idea to check with your bank how they protect your personal data.
Healthcare
Always inform healthcare providers that you have protected identity, and don’t share any more of your personal data than necessary. You have the right to know how your personal data is processed.
Seeking healthcare when you have protected identity
Medical examinations
In many regions, people with protected registration data are not invited for breast and cervical screenings or vaccinations. To find out more, you must contact your regional authority yourself.
1177 e-services
You can use 1177 e-services even if you have protected identity. You can also restrict access to your health records so that they are only available to your own medical centre. You cannot deal with health matters relating to your child through 1177 if either you or the child has protected identity.
You are entitled to healthcare in the municipality in which you live
You are entitled to healthcare and dental care in the municipality in which you live. If you face problems because you have protected Population Register data, you can refer the party in question to the following legislation:
Swedish legislation on national dental care (1985:125) (Riksdag, in Swedish) External link.
Health and Medical Services Act (2017:30) (in Swedish) External link.
Contact the right government agency, depending on your circumstances
If you have a query, make sure you contact the government agency that is responsible for the matter in question – regardless of whether or not you have protected identity. Here are some examples:
- For housing benefit or child support, contact the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (“Försäkringskassan”)
- For protected vehicle registration, contact the Swedish Transport Agency (“Transportstyrelsen”)
- For residence permits, contact the Swedish Migration Agency (“Migrationsverket”)
Make sure you tell the government agency you’re calling that you have protected identity.
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