Sweden a pocket guide Facts, figures and advice for new residents Integrationsverket Svbok SBK slut-ori 4 03-11-24, 15.12.38 Sweden a pocket guide Facts, tips and advice for new residents Trafikregler i Sverige Sweden – a pocket guide PRIMARY AUTHORS: Ingela Björck, Bulle Davidsson OTHER AUTHORS: Jolin Boldt, Mark Olson, Göran Rosenberg, Jasenko Selimovic, Hanna Wallensteen PROJECT MANAGER: Ingela Dahlin PROJECT SECRETARY: Nenad Duborija EDITORIAL COUNCIL: Ingela Dahlin, Nenad Duborija, Britta Linebäck, Mark Olson, Anna-Sofia Quensel REFERENCE GROUP: Anne-Marie Egerö, Åsa Gredebäck, Eva Norinder, Ali Rashid, Wiwi Samuelsson PRINTING: Berlings Skogs AB, Trelleborg PUBLISHED BY: The Swedish Integration Board, Norrköping, Sweden 2001 DESIGN: Forma Viva, Linköping, Sweden PRODUCTION: Adman, Stockholm / Forma Viva, Linköping TRANSLATION: Watchword AB COVER PHOTO: Håkan Sandbring, Pressens Bild Special thanks to the National Judiciary Administration, the Migration Board, the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination, the National Social Insurance Board, the National Tax Board, the National Agency for Education, the National Board of Health and Welfare and the National Road Administration for valuable input on the book’s contents. Responsibility for the factual content of the book rests with the editorial staff and the Swedish Integration Board. ISBN 91-89609-02-6 To the reader Welcome to Sweden. In our society, everyone is entitled to equal rights and opportunities. That includes you too. For new residents – such as you – to make the most of their opportunities, they need good information. The pocket guide provides ready answers on everything from schools to work and taxes to the history of the country. Words printed in blue are worth noting. Blue words with an asterisk* are defined in the adjacent column. We hope this book will make your Swedish voyage of dis- covery easier – and more enjoyable. It is presented as a gift to all who are granted a permanent residence permit in Sweden. The factual information presented was accurate at the date of publication in October 2001. As time goes by, some information may become outdated. The latest version of the Swedish edition is therefore available on line on the Swedish Integration Board’s website at www.integrationsverket.se The digital edition will be updated regularly. Sweden – a pocket guide Contents 7 The new country Introduction 12 Sweden in brief Geography, climate and population 17 Swedish history A brief overview from the Ice Age to the Cyber Age 29 Debate, vote, influence How Sweden is governed 43 How we usually do things… Traditions and popular customs in modern Sweden 61 Your new neighbours Crooked path to community 63 The municipality Taking charge and providing services in your area 70 Maps 75 Your initial period in Sweden A fresh start in a new country 81 Finding a home Renting a flat, buying a house 90 Your new neighbours Human dignity gets a mangling 92 Finding a good job The Swedish labour market 107 How much does it cost? Money and day-to-day finances 124 Your new neighbours An umbrella 126 Our nearest and dearest On living together. Families, couples and relatives 140 A safe place for children Day nurseries, open pre-schools and recreation centres 146 A school for all Nine-year compulsory school and upper-secondary school 159 Learning more Folk high schools and universities 167 The golden years Support and service for the elderly 172 To your health Types of healthcare and support 196 Churches and faith Religion in today’s Sweden 205 Law and order Sweden’s efforts to promote justice 215 On the road Taking to the Swedish roads by car 221 “What do you do in your leisure time?” An ordinary question with some extraordinary answers 231 Residence permits and citizenship On temporary and permanent residence in Sweden 240 Your new neighbours Shame and shared humanity 243 A fresh start in Sweden An introduction for new arrivals 246 Religious communities in Sweden Address list 248 National ethnic organisations in Sweden 253 In case of emergency Emergency telephone numbers 254 Index Sweden – a pocket guide 7 First steps on Swedish soil. A family from Kosovo in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia arrives in Karlskrona in hopes of a new, more peaceful life in Sweden. ILD B RESSENS P / Photo: Torbjörn Andersson Photo: Torbjörn The new country Introduction Until just a decade or so ago, Sweden was a society that assumed all its residents were the same. They spoke the same language, shared the same history, religion and tradi- tions, and had more or less the same ideas about what constitutes a good society. It is possible that the similarities seemed greater than they really were. The regional and cultural differences that existed in pre-modern Sweden were great, as were the differences between social classes, and the differences between locals and outsiders. Even in the strong commu- The new country – introduction 8 Sweden – a pocket guide nity of Sweden’s modern welfare state, some people were more equal than others. And thus there were those who, more or less under duress, had to adapt or be cast out: vagrants, the Sami, gypsies, homosexuals, Jews, the bio- logically inferior, the socially deviant, the mentally disabled. Inner and outer boundaries opening up Today, we are painfully aware that that was the wrong approach, that the dream of a society based on everyone’s similarity can easily turn into a nightmare. Today, we better understand the distinctiveness and difference of every individual. This is not only because more people from diverse cultures have come here and become our neigh- bours; our entire culture has become more individualised. That which distinguishes us from one another has become as important and valuable as that which unites us. We all want to “do our own thing”, shape our lives as we see fit, find the communities that suit us, be just as different as we feel we truly are. The boundary between the familiar and the foreign no longer runs through the nearest passport control – it runs right through our midst. Diversity becomes everyday life For a while, it seemed natural to speak of the Swedes and their immigrants, or of the majority society and its minori- ties, or of Swedish culture and multiculture. Today we re- alise that diversity and difference are here to stay. Sweden is now “a community with social diversity as its founda- tion”, a society in which “general policy, in a way utterly distinct from previous eras, must spring from and reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity that exists in society” (“Sweden, future and diversity – from immigrant policy to integration policy”, government bill 1997/98:16). This may seem self-evident. A democracy should reflect The new country – introduction Sweden – a pocket guide 9 Curiouser and curiouser. A lively group of boys on an outing to one of Sweden’s most imaginative museums, Tom Tits Experiment in Södertälje. Diversity has ILD B come to stay. RESSENS Photo: Lars Epstein / P the composition and opinion of its citizens, shouldn’t it? If a country’s citizenry changes, so, reasonably, should its politics. A revolutionary commitment But it turns out not to be so self-evident at all. The fact that the ethnic and cultural composition of Swedish society is changing will not necessarily entail a corresponding change in Sweden’s social apparatus. A society based on ethnic and cultural diversity is actually a revolutionary commitment for a country like Sweden, and indeed for all democracies which more or less explicitly base their com- munity of welfare on ideas of historical and cultural affin- ity. And which thus, more or less explicitly, have demand- ed cultural adaptation and uniformity. A democracy that wants to base its sense of community on ideas of human difference and cultural diversity cannot exact the same demands. It cannot assume an unwritten The new country – introduction 10 Sweden – a pocket guide ethnic and cultural affinity as the basis for social solidari- ty. Nor can it assume that its citizens have more or less the same values and preferences. Instead, it must seek to unite culturally distinct values with culturally blind societal institutions, to bridge cultur- al differences with cross-cultural justice. It must succeed in disabusing itself of the notion that diversity is a passing un- pleasantness. It must succeed in instilling the idea, in a ma- jority of its citizens, that difference and diversity are per- manent and essentially enriching conditions. Get down to work – the only alternative There are those who assert that such a democracy is an im- possibility, for people instinctively shun the alien and cling to the familiar at the first hint of crisis. There are those who assert that people are just as instinctively drawn to and stimulated by encounters with other cultures and lifestyles, and that what democracy is facing today is a historic op- portunity, not an insoluble problem. In any case, we cannot opt out of the ethnic and cultur- al diversity of our society. We can no more do so than we can opt out of an existence with increasingly open borders, ever faster communications and more and more regular contact between people around the globe. Those who today advocate a society based on ethnic and Over the years the face of Sweden has changed. People on the streets, in shops and restau- rants often have traits which suggest that they come from other parts of the world. Mark Olson Foto: The new country – introduction Sweden – a pocket guide 11 Refugee children from Iraq play hockey in Lycksele, a town in northern Sweden. Fast ILD B moves – and a new way of being RESSENS with friends. Photo: Mikael Lundgren / P cultural similarity advocate a society that does not exist, and that could only be brought about through assaults on basic democratic rights and freedoms.