National registration and alternating living arrangements
The question of where children should be registered sometimes raises some issues when the children have two homes. Here we have gathered what you need to know about children’s registration and alternating living arrangements.
General principles
If the parents have joint custody, they decide together with whom the children should be registered. If the parents cannot agree, the Swedish Tax Agency conducts an investigation to determine the children’s registration. In the investigation, the Swedish Tax Agency looks at where the children are considered to have their ‘residence’. Residence means where the children regularly spend their ‘night rest’, i.e., where they stay the most nights per month.
Assessment when the children live alternately
If one of the parents/guardians remains in the residence that was previously the common residence for everyone and the children live there half the time, the children should keep their registration at the same address as before.
If both parents have moved to new residences, the Swedish Tax Agency makes an overall assessment of the circumstances surrounding the children’s lives. Factors that matter then include.
- Distance to the children’s school or preschool
- If one of the residences is in the same area as the previous common residence.
- If the children have shared residence for a long time with one of the guardians.
Why does the registration address matter?
For many children and parents, the registration address doesn’t matter in practice when cooperation works well and mail and other information are easily shared between homes. Such as appointments for the dentist or doctor.
However, the registration address can matter for the children’s rights to school and school transportation or special support in various forms. This becomes clear before school enrollment or application for preschool placement. If the parents are registered in the same municipality but in different areas, the registration generally determines where the children can go to school.
If the parents are registered in different municipalities, it may affect rights such as school transportation, which usually applies within the municipality where the child is registered.
How you can facilitate for your child
The best thing is to try to live relatively close to each other, preferably in the same neighborhood or at least the same municipality. It is also good to work on stable communication and secure information sharing so that both parents can easily and smoothly take responsibility and make daily decisions about the children, together or separately.
Tips!
In the Varannan Vecka-app, you will find tools for stable communication, simple planning, and secure finances. It greatly facilitates to gather all about the children in a single app. No more emails, text messages, or WhatsApp threads. Finally!
