Parental benefits in Sweden
If you work and are covered by social security in Sweden, you may be entitled to parental benefits when you take time off work to care for your child. Here you can find out how parental benefits work, how much you can receive, how to apply, and what to be aware of if you live in Denmark and work in Sweden.
What are parental benefits?
Parental benefits, known in Sweden as föräldrapenning, provide financial support when you take time off work to care for your child. If you are covered by Swedish social insurance, you may be entitled to parental benefits.
The Swedish Social Insurance Agency, Försäkringskassan, administers and pays the benefit.
Length of parental leave
If you work in Sweden, you can receive parental benefits for up to 480 days per child. If there are two parents, each parent is entitled to 240 days. Of these, 90 days are reserved for each parent and cannot be transferred. The remaining days can be shared between the parents.
During the child’s first 15 months, both parents can receive parental benefits for the same days. These are known as double days. Parents can use up to 60 double days.
Amount of parental benefit
The amount of parental benefit you receive is calculated by Försäkringskassan based on your income.
The benefit level varies during the parental benefit period:
- For 390 of the 480 days, you can receive approximately 80 % of your qualifying income. To receive this level of benefit, you must have worked for at least 240 consecutive days before the birth. Otherwise, you receive the basic rate of 250 SEK per day (2026).
- For the remaining 90 days, the benefit is 180 SEK per day (2026). This is known as the lowest level benefit.
- You can choose how many days per week you want to claim parental benefit. However, the first 180 days must be taken at sickness benefit level. After that, you can choose when to use days at sickness benefit level or at the lowest level.
- To protect your SGI, sjukpenninggrundande inkomst, which is the income used to calculate your parental benefit, and to remain covered by Swedish social insurance, you must claim parental benefit at sickness benefit level for at least 1/8 of a day every day of the week.
- For children born before 1 January 2014, parental benefit can be paid until the child turns 8 or completes the first year of school. For children born on or after 1 January 2014, parental benefit can be paid until the child turns 12 or completes year 5 of compulsory school. After the child turns 4, a maximum of 96 parental benefit days can remain unused.
Apply for parental benefit
To apply for parental benefit, you must first send a maternity certificate, moderskapsintyg, to Försäkringskassan. You receive the certificate from your midwife at the antenatal care centre, Mödravårdscentral.
Once Försäkringskassan has received the certificate, they will send you information about parental benefits and how to apply.
You can apply online via Försäkringskassan or request a paper application form by phone.
Apply for parental benefit on forsakringskassan.se
If you live in Denmark and work in Sweden
If you live in Denmark and work in Sweden, special rules apply when you take parental leave. To remain covered by Swedish social insurance, you must claim parental benefit according to specific rules. Read more under "Cash benefit – If you live in Denmark and work in Sweden" below.
When you contact the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, Försäkringskassan, make sure to inform them that you live in Denmark. This helps ensure that you receive the correct information.
If you have any questions, you are welcome to contact Øresunddirekt. We can also help you find the right department at Försäkringskassan.
Read about parental benefit at Försäkringskassan
Additional documentation for cross-border commuters
SINK tax decision
If you are taxed under the Special Income Tax for Non-Residents, SINK, you must submit a SINK tax decision from the Swedish Tax Agency, Skatteverket. You need a separate SINK decision for each payer. This means that you must have a SINK decision that specifically covers payments from Försäkringskassan.
Please note that a SINK decision is valid for one calendar year only. If you receive payments in a new calendar year, you must apply for a new decision.
Child’s birth certificate
You must submit a copy of your child's birth certificate. Based on the birth certificate, Försäkringskassan will ask the Swedish Tax Agency, Skatteverket, to issue a coordination number, samordningsnummer, for the child. This request must be made through Försäkringskassan.
The birth certificate must show the child's full name, date of birth and citizenship.
In some cases, Skatteverket may require proof of identity through a personal visit and valid ID. Contact Skatteverket if this is not possible.
If there are two parents, the 480 days of parental benefit can be shared between them. Each parent is entitled to 195 days at sickness benefit level and 45 days at the lowest level.
Parents can transfer some of their days to each other. However, 90 days are reserved for each parent and cannot be transferred for children born in 2016 or later.
For children born in 2015 or earlier, 60 days are reserved for each parent.
If you are a single parent, you are entitled to all 480 days of parental benefit.
During the child's first 15 months, both parents can receive parental benefit for the same child on the same days. This is known as "double days".
Parents can use up to 60 double days. Each double day uses two parental benefit days – one for each parent. This means that 60 double days correspond to 120 parental benefit days in total.
If you live in Denmark and work in Sweden, make sure that you also meet the Danish requirements for parental leave and parental benefits.
The mother can receive parental benefit for up to 60 days before the expected date of birth.
These 60 days are included in the total entitlement of 480 parental benefit days and reduce the number of days available after the child is born.
If a corresponding Danish benefit is paid for the same child, the Swedish parental benefit entitlement may be reduced accordingly.
The parent who is not pregnant can take up to 10 days of leave in connection with the birth of the child. During this period, you may be entitled to temporary parental benefit.
The benefit is normally paid to the parent who is not pregnant. In certain situations, another close relative may be entitled to the benefit instead.
The child must live in Sweden, another EU/EEA country or Switzerland.
Read about 10 days of leave after the birth at Försäkringskassan
There are several ways to use your parental leave.
If your child is under 18 months old, you can take full-time leave from work. You can also choose to take partial leave and receive parental benefit for part of your working day, for example 50 % or 75 %.
Many parents choose this option to spread their parental benefit days over a longer period instead of claiming benefit for every day of the week.
After your child turns 1 year old, you must continue to meet the requirements set by Försäkringskassan to protect your SGI and maintain your entitlement to Swedish social insurance.
If you live in Denmark and take parental leave as cash benefit, kontantförmån, from your job in Sweden, special rules apply to maintain your Swedish social insurance coverage.
To remain covered by Swedish social insurance, you must receive parental benefit at sickness benefit level for at least 1/8 of a day every day of the week.
After your child turns 1 year old, you must receive parental benefit for at least five days per week and at sickness benefit level for at least 1/8 of a day on the remaining two days.
Contact Försäkringskassan for information about how these rules apply to your situation.
Denmark and Sweden coordinate parental leave for couples where one parent works in Denmark and the other works in Sweden. This means that parental benefit days used in one country are generally deducted from the entitlement in the other country.
To ensure that your parental leave is calculated correctly, you must provide documentation to either Udbetaling Danmark or Försäkringskassan, depending on which country you receive parental benefits from first.
Contact Försäkringskassan at Øresunddirekt if you would like to learn more about how parental leave is coordinated between Denmark and Sweden.
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