Deregistering in your home country before moving to Sweden: a checklist, with Germany as the example
I still remember the exact moment, shortly before my move to Gothenburg, when I sat at my laptop and googled: "What do I need to cancel when I move to Sweden?"
The answers I found were either out of date, written for the UK, or so general that they said nothing. So I found out the hard way, in 2022, with real mistakes and real consequences.
This article is what I would have needed back then.
One note before we start: every country handles leaving differently. I moved from Germany, so this checklist uses Germany as the worked example, and the German details are accurate for Germany. If you're coming from somewhere else, use the structure as your list and check the specific rules and deadlines in your home country.
Step 1: Deregistering your address (in Germany: Abmeldung at the Einwohnermeldeamt)
In Germany, the residents' registration office (Einwohnermeldeamt) of your municipality expects an Abmeldung (deregistration) when you move abroad permanently. It's not optional; it's mandatory.
When? No earlier than one week before you move out, no later than two weeks after.
What do you need?
- National ID card or passport
- A completed deregistration form (available online from most offices, or on site)
- Your new address in Sweden; if you don't have one yet, give an interim address, e.g. friends or temporary accommodation
What happens after deregistration? You receive a deregistration certificate (Abmeldebestätigung). You may need it for later dealings with the authorities, so keep it. In addition, after deregistering you are officially no longer a resident of Germany, which can have tax consequences (more on this under taxes).
Important: if you don't deregister and move to Sweden anyway, you risk double taxation and problems with the German authorities. Do the deregistration properly; it takes 15 minutes.
Step 2: Giving notice on your flat
If you rent in Germany, the rule is: the statutory notice period is three months to the end of a calendar month. That's the minimum standard; your tenancy agreement may say something different.
In practice: your notice must reach the landlord by the third working day of a month at the latest; the tenancy then ends at the end of the month after next (§ 573c BGB, the German Civil Code). If you want to move out at the end of September, your notice must arrive by the third working day of July. If you want to be on the safe side, give notice at the end of June.
Tips from my own experience:
- Always give notice in writing, with proof (registered post or personal handover with a signed receipt)
- Check early with your landlord whether a replacement tenant is possible; that can shorten the notice period
- The service charge statement often arrives months after you move out, so leave a forwarding address so the post can follow you
- Draw up a handover report when you move out and get it signed
If you own a flat or house, that's a chapter of its own (selling, letting, taxes). For many people, it's the most complex part of the move; I recommend talking to a tax adviser early.
Step 3: Cancelling the broadcasting fee (in Germany: the Rundfunkbeitrag, formerly GEZ)
Yes, you have to cancel this too. And yes, there's a dedicated function for it.
How it works:
- Log in at beitragsservice.de or cancel in writing
- Reason for cancellation: "Dauerhafte Verlagerung des Wohnsitzes ins Ausland" (permanent relocation of residence abroad)
- Keep the deregistration confirmation; sometimes a bill still arrives afterwards
It sounds trivial, but I know people who were still getting GEZ reminders a year after their move because they'd forgotten.
Step 4: Health insurance, the area most people underestimate
This is the point where I nearly made a mistake in 2022.
If you're moving to Sweden as an employee: your Swedish employer registers you with Försäkringskassan. The transition is largely automatic. You notify your German statutory health insurer (GKV) and end your membership on the date of your move.
If you're moving to Sweden as a freelancer, self-employed or without a job: you have a gap until you have your personnummer and get into the Swedish system via Försäkringskassan. That gap is not trivial.
What you need:
- A heltäckande sjukförsäkring: comprehensive health insurance that is valid for at least a year and that Skatteverket wants to see when you apply for folkbokföring (population registration). Travel health insurance isn't enough. (Online, in English, you'll often see this called "Comprehensive Sickness Insurance" or "CSI"; that's a British term, while Swedish forms say heltäckande sjukförsäkring.)
- Cancel your statutory health insurance in Germany in good time, at the earliest with effect from your official moving date
Important: if you get ill before you're covered by the Swedish system, you pay out of your own pocket. And that includes the emergency department, which is not free in Sweden. In Västra Götaland, an emergency visit normally costs 400 SEK; if you're neither folkbokförd nor covered by an EU card, you'll be billed the full treatment costs, which are many times higher. That's exactly the gap the insurance closes.
For a more detailed overview: Health insurance in Sweden: what newcomers really need to know
Step 5: Other contracts to cancel or update
Here's the checklist I built for myself back then. Go through it systematically:
Cancel (if no longer needed):
- Internet and mobile (check notice periods, usually 1 month)
- Electricity and gas contracts
- Streaming services (Netflix, Spotify etc.; you can usually keep them, but check the payment method)
- Bank accounts (or switch to online banking with no fees for use abroad; Wise or N26 as a stopgap)
- Club memberships, gym, magazine subscriptions
Update / notify:
- Health insurer (deregistration on your moving date)
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German pension insurance): notify them, but you don't need to cancel anything; your entitlements are kept
- Finanzamt (tax office): report your move abroad
- Set up mail forwarding with Deutsche Post (check durations and prices before booking; separate rates apply for forwarding abroad)
- Banks: give them your new address, keep your cards active until your Swedish account is up and running
What stays as it is:
- German citizenship, of course
- Pension entitlements from Germany: these remain, protected by EU law
- German bank accounts can stay open, which is useful for the transition period
Step 6: Taxes, and where you're liable to pay them
This is a frequently neglected point, and one that can get expensive.
Basic rule: you're liable to tax in the country where your life is centred. If you deregister in Germany and register in Sweden, your tax liability switches.
What does that mean in practice?
- German income from the year of your move has to be taxed in Germany on a pro-rata basis
- You have to file a tax return in Germany for the year of your move
- Income from Sweden is then taxed in Sweden
- The double taxation agreement between Germany and Sweden protects you from being taxed twice on the same income
If you have property, investments or company shares in Germany, please talk to a tax adviser who knows emigration cases. This is not an area for "a quick google".
The timeline that worked for me
This is what I would do differently today, or rather: what I did exactly like this in 2022:
| When | Task |
|---|---|
| 3 months before the move | Give notice on your flat, fix your moving date |
| 2–3 months before | Take out heltäckande sjukförsäkring, inform your German health insurer about the move |
| 6 weeks before | Cancel contracts (internet, electricity, gas) |
| 2–4 weeks before | Set up mail forwarding, inform your banks |
| 1 week before to 2 weeks after | Deregister at the Einwohnermeldeamt |
| After arriving in Sweden | Apply for your personnummer: that's step 1, before anything else |
What comes next
Once you've deregistered at home, half the job is done. The other half happens in Sweden, and it revolves around a single number: the personnummer.
No personnummer, no bank account, no contract, no doctor, no discounted travel ticket. Everything else waits.
→ Applying for a personnummer: the complete guide
Buying a house in Sweden: practical guide: the in-depth guide to this topic is currently available in German. View it in the shop.
I'm Sebastian Schiefner, a photographer in Gothenburg, and I help people who are moving to West Sweden with finding a home and buying property. Free intro call.
