The difference between sambo and marriage in Sweden
-
Loading... - katie georgia
- 06 Apr 2022
- 391 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
The term sambo is used to describe couples in Sweden who live together. It’s a shortened form of the adjective sammanboende (where samman means “together” and boende comes from the verb bo meaning “to live”), and Swedish also has the term särbo to refer to couples who live apart.
Both these words typically suggest a serious and long-term relationship, although they can be used for couples who have been together for months or for decades.
Depending on the couple, a sambo relationship may be a stepping stone on the way to marriage, or a substitute: marriage rates are lower in Sweden than in many other European countries, with many couples choosing to remain sambos throughout their whole lives.
From a purely bureaucratic point of view, marriage makes a lot less difference than in many other countries. There are no tax deductions for married couples, for example, and the process for applying for a partner visa is the same whether you’re married or simply cohabiting partners. In practice, life as a spouse or a sambo is much the same, but marriages are ruled by the Marriage Code (äktenskapsbalk), while sambo relationships are subject to the rules set out in the Cohabitation Act (sambolagen or Act 2003:376).
This means there are some important differences to be aware of.
A marriage is slightly more complicated to enter into than a samboskap. Marriage can be carried out in a religious ceremony or a civil one, as long as the person officiating has a marriage licence. The couple also needs to apply for a marriage certificate and to contact the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) in advance in order to get the correct documents, as they will confirm there are no reasons not to allow the marriage (such as one partner being underage or already married).
One important aspect is that gender doesn’t matter, whether you’re sambos or a married couple. Since 2009, same-sex couples have been able to enter into marriages and exactly the same rules apply as to different-sex couples.
When it comes to entering into a samboskap, this can happen in several different ways.
If you are moving to Sweden from another country to live with your partner (whether or not they are Swedish), you will need to register this with Skatteverket when you arrive, even if your primary reason for moving is not to live together – such as if you’re moving for a job. You can do this whether or not you have already lived together.
If you are moving or hoping to move from outside the EU, it might be surprising to learn that whether you are married or not makes no difference as to eligibility for a partner visa to move to Sweden. Instead, the key criteria is whether you have previously lived together, or whether you are moving to Sweden to live together. Read More...
