Comments on: Cracking Catch-22 – An ID Card Adventure

By: IM

IM — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:37:41 +0000

This is my problem and my letter to the NORDEA head office:
Hej
I have been here in Sweden since October 2008. I am
not Swedish and I have to always take my passport with
my self. Before I came to Sweden I read that any foreign
student can apply for a Swedish ID card through banks. I
opened an account on your branch in — on 27 Sept.
2008. After two week I got my personal number and
immediately requested for a ID card from Nordea. But a
lady said that ID card is issued by police not the bank. I
went to the police and they said that banks are
responsible. I asked my friends with Swedish ID card and
they said that we got it from SwedBank. I went to the
Nordea Bank again and said the history but the lady said
that you have to wait for your first salary and then apply.
I waited and after two months returned but she said that
you have to wait for six months. Now after six months I
went there yesterday and that lady again said that your
visa is just valid for 14 months and we can not give you a
ID card. I surprised because you know that by a law
student visas are renewed each year. I am employed by
— and have a regular salary and paying tax.
They showed me some documents and I had all the
required conditions but still she said that I can not give
you a ID card. I asked why and of course she just said I
can not. It is really strange that your employees dont
know the roles or they are allowed to have their own
roles? I surfed the web and found this strange news
about your bank (http://www.thelocal.se/10278/). My
friends have account on SwedBank and got their ID card
after one months but unfortunately I made a big mistake
and opened an account on the Nordea branch in —. I
even had a problem to get a visa card and I had to apply
directly from Stockholm branch. Sorry that may be my
e-mail is a little impolite but I really need my ID card
because I need to get a Swedish driving license. Would
you please advice me that why the roles are different
between Nordea branches and can I get a ID card though
other Nordea branches.

By: immigrant X

immigrant X — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:38:54 +0000

I recently arived. Got my personnumber, after 3 weeks, but couldn’t help thinking of Aldous Huxley’s writings or George Orwell’s ’1984′. I had anticipated trouble over the id-card as my ‘Sambo’ informed me of the hurdles with my move here. I rang skatteverket but got the ‘switchboad shuffle’ also hung up on – v�lkommen.

By: Stockholm Escort

Stockholm Escort — Wed, 09 May 2007 19:15:38 +0000

Does anyone know if the new Swedish passports contain RFID chips in them yet? Other countries have already started this from what I understand. Canada has had them in place for a year now.

By: Tay

Tay — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 01:14:43 +0000

I am an englishman who moved to sweden last summer, and have not gotten round to sorting out my id card. I plan to do so in the next few weeks, as I sorted out my personnummer last year. All rhetoric aside, essentially what is being said here is that I will not be able to get one? Is this correct? Also on the subject of jobs… I am still unemployed, despite attending SFI for nearly a year and speaking decent enough Swedish, athough not for want of trying. But seriously, how accurate is what I am reading about ID cards here?

By: Jeppe

Jeppe — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 14:16:22 +0000

What Kat wrote above in the last paragraph is not true. It is not possible for a foreigner to open a bank account in Sweden so easily. If you are an exchange student, you may be able to open a temporary account. But banks in Sweden always as for PERSONAL number. YOu can get a cellphone without needing a personnumber if it is a kontantkort but you cannot get other things without it. I know TELIA used to provide home phone service without a personnumber but it is now not possible anymore.

By: Kat

Kat — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:42:01 +0000

IDs serve each country according to its needs. Perhaps in Sweden, it’s needed for the reasons stated above (biometric IDs, personnummer, etc.) and has nothing to do with immigration, so I’m not sure why this was even brought as a topic into this discussion except to unjustly blame others for problems that exist within (since it’s been proven that immigrants are often skilled, educated and/or willing to take jobs no one else wants while contributing to social security, the economy and vibrance without taxing public services).

In other EU countries, it can be difficult to get an ID also. I’m an American in Greece, and in order to get an ID, you need to have a tax number; and in order to get a tax number, you have to have a work permit. But in order to get a work permit, you need a job. In order to get a job, you need a work permit and tax ID number. Can you see the big Catch 22 circle going around? To many, it may appear that this EU country is trying to keep out immigrants, but it may be a matter of terrible policy making.

However, even without an ID, a foreigner can easily open a bank account, establish services in their name (electric, water, cell phone, home phone), use a credit card from this country or their own, and drive here with the passport and driver’s license of their home country for an infinite number of years.

By: Hamish McFadden

Hamish McFadden — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 14:23:57 +0000

One needs to look past this issue because it has been specifically created with the aims of hitting another objective.

The final objective is bio-metric ID’s for everybody, but the political problem as always is how to sell it.

The answer is in a series of steps, but to progress there must first be a problem to resolve in order to sell the benefits of the solution.

Firstly create a problem, resolve it with bio-metric ID’s for immigrants, which is less politically sensitive, then publicise how well the new system is working so it can be expanded to include native Swedes.

By: Donkatchy

Donkatchy — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 19:14:25 +0000

If this ID stuff is true then Sweden will be doomed very soon,its unimaginagle that,when the world is progressing on the intregration matters,Sweden is retracting back to old form of conservatism,its appalling indeed!

By: Jeppe

Jeppe — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 16:23:39 +0000

I agree with comment #25 .. the currecnt ID system is nonsense…absolutely nonsense. The point is if people CAN get personnummer no matter who they are, they should also be able to get an ID card. As far as I know it is not automatic that you get a personnummer especially if you are here without any good objectives. It would be impossible for some non EU citizens..but then once one has the (tracking)personummer then the ID should follow automatically.

I remember going to one v�rdcentral that they only asked for my personnummer but not an ID..so I could just make it up…

By: Ralfi

Ralfi — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:21:30 +0000

Just a quote to confirm Sweden has too much immigration and rising emigration from Sweden also (as a results I would say), proving that the country as we know it will disappear soon. The problem comes from the far-left ideology, which has taken over the media and most institutions. I say stop the immigration unless it is from highly qualified EU citizens:

A quote from The Local, Sweden�s News in English, 15 February 2007:

“At the same time as immigration to Sweden increased, emigration out of the country also rose. During 2006, 44,908 people emigrated, an increase of 18 percent compared to the previous year. The last time a higher number of people emigrated from Sweden was in 1892, 45,504 people packed their bags and left the country.”

As for the tax burden immigrants present Europe with, another quote, directly from the Danish official Welfare Commission that was reported in the newspaper Boersen 1 December 2005:

“In Denmark the non-Western immigrants cost the society, in the end the businesses 2.5 mio. ddk an individual in average a lifetime, the Danes cost 750,000 ddk in average (the difference is a factor 3.3).”