Sambo in Sweden explained: Essential rules every expat should know

If you live in Sweden with your partner but are not married, you are most likely considered sambos under Swedish law. Many international couples assume that cohabiting for several years gives them the same legal protection as marriage. In Sweden, this is not true. The Swedish Cohabitees Act (Sambolagen) creates a separate legal framework with very specific rules about property division, housing rights, inheritance, and financial responsibility.

Understanding how sambo rules work in Sweden is especially important for expats and international couples who buy property together, move across borders, or apply for residence permits. A simple decision like purchasing an apartment can have serious legal consequences if the relationship ends. In this guide, we break down what Sambolagen really means in practice, what counts as samboegendom, how bodelning works, and what legal steps you should consider to protect yourself.

The legal definition: Who qualifies as a sambo?

Not every shared living situation counts as a sambo relationship under Swedish law.

A very common mistake is to think that you become sambos just because you share the same address. But that is not how it works. For example, two friends renting a place together to split costs, siblings living in the same home, or casual roommates are not covered by the Cohabitees Act (Sambolagen).

To be legally seen as sambos, two people must meet three specific conditions, and they all need to be true at the same time.

Legal Criterion	Detailed Explanation in Swedish Law
Live permanently together	The couple must share a single, permanent primary residence. While the law does not specify an exact number of days required to establish permanence, living together for a couple of weeks is generally not enough. Living together steadily for two to three months is usually enough for the law to take effect.
Live together as a couple	The relationship must be of a conjugal or matrimonial nature. This means it must be a romantic, exclusive partnership that looks and functions similarly to a marriage. Roommates do not meet this requirement.
Have a joint household	The individuals must share domestic chores and living expenses. They must function as a single economic and practical unit in their daily lives, such as buying groceries together and sharing utility bills.

Swedish law is completely gender-neutral. That means a sambo relationship can be between two people of different sexes or the same sex. The rules are the same in both cases, with the same rights and responsibilities.

On many Swedish government forms, you will often see three options for civil status: unmarried, married, and sambo. You simply tick the box that matches your situation.

The start and end of the relationship

A sambo relationship starts automatically as soon as two people who meet the three required conditions move in together. There is no need to sign up anywhere, fill in a special form, or officially tell the government that you are now sambos.

In practice, Swedish authorities often use one main administrative sign to assume a sambo relationship exists: both people are registered at the exact same home address in the Swedish Population Register, which is handled by the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket).

Ending a sambo relationship is a very important moment, because this is what can trigger legal rights connected to dividing property.

Under the Cohabitees Act, a sambo relationship is seen as legally ended in a few specific situations. Most often, it ends when one partner moves out of the shared home with the intention to separate. It can also end if the two partners marry each other, or if one of them marries someone else. The relationship is also considered ended if one of the partners dies.

Finally, it can be treated as legally terminated if one partner takes certain formal legal steps, for example: applying to the district court for a property division executor (bodelningsförrättare), applying for the legal right to stay in the shared home, or starting official proceedings to take over the home.

Temporary separations and complex legal exceptions

In some situations, it can be legally complicated to decide exactly when a sambo relationship has ended. This is especially true for international couples who travel frequently or spend long periods in different countries.

Swedish case law clearly shows that simply living apart for a period of time does not automatically end the relationship. What really matters is the intention. If both partners still see themselves as a couple and plan to continue the relationship, then the legal sambo status may still exist, even if they are temporarily living in different places.

This principle was clearly confirmed in the well-known Supreme Court case NJA 1994 p. 61.

In that case, a man had to move out of the couple’s shared home after a serious accident that left him with a disability. Because of his medical condition, he was required to live in different healthcare facilities.

The Supreme Court decided that a situation like this should not automatically end a sambo relationship if the couple still intended to stay together. The fact that one partner had to move for medical reasons was not enough to dissolve the relationship.

As a result, the legal protection under the Cohabitees Act (Sambolagen) continued to apply.

The same logic applies in other situations.

If partners need to live in different cities for a while because of work, a job assignment, or university studies, this usually does not end the sambo relationship. The same is true if a couple decides to take a temporary “trial separation” but does not have a clear and final intention to break up permanently. In these cases, the legal sambo status is normally still valid.

On the other hand, there are also situations where a couple wants to separate but cannot move apart immediately. This is very common in large Swedish cities like Stockholm or Gothenburg, where there is a serious housing shortage. Sometimes partners decide to end the relationship but must continue living in the same apartment until one of them finds a new place to live.

In these more complicated situations, legal experts generally say that the relationship is still legally active until one of the official legal conditions for ending it is fulfilled. However, if a conflict later appears and the case goes to court, the court may also look at clear signs that show the couple had already separated in practice, even if they were still living under the same roof.

Samboegendom: The concept of joint sambo property

One of the most important, and most often misunderstood, parts of the Swedish Cohabitees Act is what counts as “joint property.” This is also where the rules are very different from marriage.

In Sweden, when a married couple divorces, the basic rule under the Swedish Marriage Code (Äktenskapsbalken) is that all of their assets worldwide are normally added together and then divided equally. This shared pool is called marital property (giftorättsgods). It usually does not matter who bought something, who paid more, or when it was acquired.

For unmarried cohabitants, the rules are completely different and much more limited.

Under Sambolagen, only a very specific type of property can be divided when the relationship ends. This category is called samboegendom (joint sambo property). If you do not clearly understand what samboegendom includes, you could end up losing half of assets that are very valuable to you.

What constitutes samboegendom?

According to Section 3 of Sambolagen, samboegendom is defined in a very strict way. It only includes the home and household goods that were acquired for joint use.

For something to count as samboegendom, two conditions must be fulfilled at the same time:

• it must be housing or household goods,
• it must have been bought with the clear intention that both partners would use it together.

The first category is the joint dwelling, meaning the home itself. This can be an apartment, a house, or even a rental contract.

If one partner buys an apartment specifically so the couple can move in and live there together, that apartment becomes samboegendom. It does not matter whose name is on the purchase contract. It does not matter whose name is on the mortgage. It does not matter who paid the cash deposit.

In Swedish law, the key question is the intention at the time of purchase. If the property was bought so both of you could live there as a couple, it is considered joint property under this law.

The second category is joint household goods. This includes furniture, kitchen equipment, home appliances, televisions, electronics, and other movable items bought to be used in the shared home during the relationship.

For example, if you move in together and later buy an expensive sofa for your living room, that sofa becomes samboegendom. If you later separate, its value will be included in the division of property.

What is excluded from samboegendom?

Anything that does not fit the strict definition of samboegendom stays as private property and belongs only to the person who owns it. The Cohabitees Act leaves out many valuable assets, so they are not included in a property division.

The most important exclusion is property you already had before the relationship.

If one partner owned an apartment, a house, or furniture before the couple moved in together, that property is not samboegendom. For example: if you have owned an apartment in Gothenburg for five years, and your new partner moves in with you today, the apartment is still only yours. The reason is simple: you did not buy it with the intention of living there together with this specific partner, so it is outside the scope of the law.

Money and financial assets are also fully excluded. Cash, bank accounts, savings, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are never treated as samboegendom.

The same goes for many bigger “lifestyle” assets. Cars, boats, motorcycles, and summer cottages (vacation homes) are excluded, even if you bought them during the relationship and you both used them regularly, for example every weekend.

Finally, personal items are not divided either. This includes things like clothes, personal hobby equipment, and any items bought only for one partner’s personal use.

Asset type	Classified as Samboegendom?	Reason under Swedish law
Apartment bought together	Yes	Acquired specifically for joint use as a home.
Apartment owned before meeting	No	Not acquired for joint use with the current partner.
New living room furniture	Yes	Household goods acquired for joint use.
Savings account balance	No	Financial assets are always excluded from Sambolagen.
A new car bought during cohabitation	No	Vehicles are excluded, even if used by both partners.
A summer vacation cabin	No	Leisure properties are not considered the permanent joint home.

The danger of home improvements

One of the most common and serious legal conflicts happens when one partner invests their own money into a property that legally belongs only to the other partner.

Let’s take an example.

Partner A bought a house five years before the relationship started. This means the house is not samboegendom. It is private property.

Later, Partner B moves in. Partner B then uses 400,000 SEK from their own savings to renovate the kitchen and improve the garden.

Many people assume this automatically gives Partner B ownership rights. But that is not how Sambolagen works. Partner B does not automatically become co-owner of the house. They also do not automatically get their 400,000 SEK back if the couple separates. Renovation costs paid by one partner are usually not considered samboegendom.

The situation is different if the house itself qualifies as samboegendom, meaning it was bought for the couple to live in together.

In that case, the partner who paid for improvements may be compensated indirectly. Why? Because the renovations increase the market value of the property. When the property is divided, the higher value is used as the starting point before the 50/50 split is calculated. So the investment may increase the total amount that is divided.

But if the house is private property, the investing partner can lose that money completely. The only possible legal argument would be something called unjust enrichment. This is a complex legal principle, and it is very difficult to prove in Swedish courts.

Property fivision (Bodelning) upon separation

When a sambo relationship ends, the protection rules in Sambolagen can start to apply. The official process of separating assets and dividing joint sambo property is called bodelning (property division). Understanding how bodelning works is important, because it can directly affect your financial safety after a breakup.

The request and the strict one-year deadline

Unlike divorce in Sweden, where property division is a standard legal step that normally has to be handled, bodelning for unmarried sambos is not automatic. Nothing happens by default. The property division only takes place if at least one of the partners actively asks for it.

There is also a very strict time limit.

A request for bodelning must be made no later than one year from the exact date the sambo relationship ended. In many cases, this is the date when the partners moved apart. If someone does not request bodelning within that one-year window, they lose the legal right to claim their share of the joint property. After that, the person who has the legal title or physical possession of the assets will keep them.

If one partner requests bodelning but the ex-partner refuses to cooperate or simply ignores the request, there are legal steps you can take. The person who requested the division can apply to the district court (tingsrätten) to appoint a property division executor (bodelningsförrättare). This professional has the authority to review the situation, help resolve the dispute, and push the division process forward. However, this option usually creates additional legal costs.

The 50/50 division rule

The main rule in bodelning is simple, but it can feel shocking in real life: the net value of all samboegendom must be divided equally. This means a strict 50/50 split.

This rule applies even if one person paid much more than the other. The law is designed to protect the financially weaker partner, so they are not left with nothing after the relationship ends. But in practice, it often creates a lot of frustration, especially for expats who do not know these rules until it is too late.

Here is a typical example.

An expat buys an apartment in Sweden for 3 million SEK, using only their own savings. But they buy it with the clear intention that their new partner will move in and they will live there together. Because of that intention, the apartment becomes samboegendom.

If the relationship ends one year later, the other partner can legally claim 50% of the apartment’s net value, even if they did not contribute anything to the purchase price or the mortgage.

Valuation and financial calculations

TThe property division is always calculated based on the current market value of the assets at the time of the division, not the original purchase price. This is an important detail.

If one partner wants to stay in the shared home and buy out the other partner’s share, lawyers use specific financial calculations to make sure the result is fair.

In a buyout situation, the partner who moves out does not automatically receive half of the full market value in cash. The law recognizes that the partner who keeps the home will probably sell it in the future and will then face certain costs. Because of this, Swedish law allows some future costs to be deducted before the 50/50 split is calculated.

The most common deductions are the latent capital gains tax and estimated broker fees.

In Sweden, when you sell a private home and make a profit, you normally pay 22% capital gains tax on that profit. During bodelning, this tax is calculated as if the property were sold today. This hypothetical tax, called latent tax, is deducted from the total market value before the property is divided.

In addition, the estimated cost of a real estate agent for a future sale is also deducted. Only after these deductions are made is the remaining net value divided equally between the partners.

Step in the bodelning calculation	Example financial impact
1. Current market value	4,000,000 SEK (The starting point for the calculation).
2. Outstanding mortgage	Minus 2,000,000 SEK (The debt owed to the bank).
3. Latent capital gains tax (22%)	Minus 220,000 SEK (Hypothetical tax on the profit).
4. Estimated broker commission	Minus 80,000 SEK (Hypothetical fee to sell the home).
5. Final net value to divide	1,700,000 SEK (The remaining value after all deductions).
6. The 50/50 split	Each partner is entitled to 850,000 SEK in value.

Under the Swedish Income Tax Act (inkomstskattelagen), transferring property or money between partners as part of a formal bodelning is tax-free at the moment the transfer happens. In other words, the transfer itself does not trigger tax right away.

To make this division official and to prevent future disputes, the partners should write and sign a formal property division agreement, called a bodelningsavtal.

This document is important because it “closes the case.” Without a signed bodelningsavtal, an ex-partner could, in some situations, come back months later and claim that the division was not completed correctly and ask for more.

The Right to Take Over the Dwelling

Sambolagen puts strong focus on housing protection after a separation. The idea is that no one should be left without a home in an unfair way. Because of this, the law includes powerful rules about who has the right to stay in the shared home. In some cases, these rules can even override normal ownership rights.

Taking over samboegendom

If the home is classified as samboegendom, one partner can take over the other partner’s share.

If both partners want to keep the home, the law requires an assessment of “need.” The court looks at who has the greater need for the property. The partner who is considered to need the home more will be given the legal right to take it over.

In practice, the partner who will have primary custody of the children is almost always seen as having the stronger need. The stability of the children is a key factor in Swedish law.

However, the partner who takes over the home must be able to financially compensate the other partner. This usually means buying out their 50% share. If the partner cannot afford the buyout, the home will normally need to be sold on the open market.

Taking over non-samboegendom

One of the most surprising and controversial parts of Swedish cohabitation law is found in Section 22 of Sambolagen. This section deals with situations where the shared home is not samboegendom. In other words, the home was bought by one partner long before the relationship started and is legally their private property.

Even in this case, Section 22 can allow the non-owning partner to take over the home from the legal owner.

Because this is a serious limitation of private property rights, the law sets very strict conditions:

• The property must be either a rental apartment or an owner-occupied apartment (bostadsrätt). This rule does not apply to detached houses or villas.
• The court must consider the takeover reasonable. The decision must be fair when looking at all circumstances, including the financial situation of both partners.
• There are usually children involved. The partner asking to take over the home normally needs to have custody of the couple’s common children. The children’s need for stability is a strong social reason in these cases.

If the couple does not have children together, a takeover is rarely allowed. It may only be possible if there are “extraordinary reasons.” In Swedish legal preparatory works, pregnancy is mentioned as one of the very few examples that might qualify as such an extraordinary reason.

If a partner successfully uses Section 22 to take over an owner-occupied apartment (bostadsrätt), they must financially compensate the original owner for the value of the property.

Hidden joint ownership (Dolt samägande)

Outside the strict definitions in Sambolagen, Swedish courts have developed an important legal principle called dolt samägande (hidden joint ownership). This rule comes from general civil and property law. You can think of it as a “parallel protection system” for couples in situations where Sambolagen does not fully solve the problem.

Hidden joint ownership means this: a property is officially registered in only one partner’s name, but the real financial and legal situation shows that both partners were meant to be owners.

This is also why a title document is not always the full story in Sweden. The Swedish land register (Lantmäteriet) records legal ownership, but it does not record whether the owner is married or cohabiting. So in a family context, the deed alone does not automatically prove that only one person has the full economic ownership.

Based on several decisions from the Swedish Supreme Court, three conditions must all be met for a court to accept dolt samägande:

• Purchased for common use
  The property must have been bought with the clear intention that both partners would use it as a shared home or shared property.
• Financial contribution
  The partner whose name is not on the contract must have contributed financially to the purchase. This is usually a direct money contribution, for example paying part of the cash deposit or paying part of the mortgage. In Sweden, contributions like housework or childcare normally do not count for dolt samägande. This is different from some other countries, for example Denmark, where non-financial contributions can play a bigger role.
• Common intention at the time of purchase
  Both partners must have understood, at the time of the purchase, that they were buying the property together, even if only one name was put on the contract for practical or administrative reasons.

If all three points are fulfilled, the “hidden” owner can step forward and claim open co-ownership and demand their fair share of the property.

This is especially relevant for expats who may face banking issues in Sweden. For example, if an expat cannot be included on a Swedish mortgage because they do not have a Swedish credit history, the Swedish partner may buy the property only in their own name. But if the expat pays part of the mortgage every month, dolt samägande can protect that investment and allow them to claim an ownership share if the relationship ends.

Finally, joint bank accounts are handled differently from samboegendom. If both partners regularly deposit money into a shared account to cover normal living costs, the account is usually assumed to belong to both partners equally. This protects one partner from legally emptying the account during a breakup.

If an ex-partner still withdraws all the money, the other partner may be able to claim it back. One possible step is to apply for an order to pay (betalningsföreläggande) through the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden).

The Samboavtal: Overriding the Cohabitation Act

Because Sambolagen uses strict 50/50 rules that may not match what a couple personally wants, the law includes an official “opt-out” option. This is especially relevant when one partner enters the relationship with much more money or assets than the other.

Under Section 9 of the Cohabitees Act, partners can write a formal cohabitation agreement called a samboavtal.

Purpose and Scope of the Agreement

A samboavtal is a legally binding contract between cohabitants. Its purpose is to limit, change, or completely remove the property division rules in Sambolagen.

By signing a samboavtal, the couple can decide that no bodelning will happen if they separate. In practice, this means that after a breakup, each person keeps the property they bought and legally own. This can protect the partner who paid the cash deposit for the apartment, or who paid most of the costs.

A samboavtal can also be written in a more flexible way. Instead of removing bodelning completely, the couple can agree on different ownership percentages, for example a 70/30 split, rather than the automatic 50/50 rule.

It is very important to understand the limits of a samboavtal. This agreement can only control how samboegendom is divided, meaning the home and household goods. It cannot be used to decide child custody, child maintenance, or general financial support, because those issues are regulated by other parts of Swedish family law.

Most importantly, a samboavtal cannot override the special housing protection rule in Section 22. If one partner is in extreme need and the legal conditions are met, the right to take over the home can still apply, even if the contract says something else.

Formal Requirements for Validity

Many people mix up a samboavtal with a prenuptial agreement for married couples, called an äktenskapsförord. But they are not the same.

An äktenskapsförord must be officially registered with the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) to be valid. A samboavtal, on the other hand, is a private agreement. It does not need to be registered with any authority.

To be legally valid, a samboavtal has very simple formal requirements. It must be written down, and it must be signed by both partners. That is all the law strictly requires.

There is no need for notarization, official stamps, or government registration. The law also does not require witnesses. However, it is strongly recommended to have independent witnesses sign the document. This can help prevent future disputes, for example if one partner later claims that the signature is not real or that they were pressured into signing.

After signing, the original document should be stored safely. If a dispute happens later, this paper will be the key evidence.

Feature comparison	Samboavtal (cohabitation agreement)	Äktenskapsförord (prenuptial agreement)
Applicable to	Unmarried cohabitants (Sambos)	Married spouses
Primary function	Opts out of the 50/50 division of the joint home and household goods.	Classifies global assets as private property rather than shared marital property.
Registration required?	No. It is kept privately by the partners.	Yes. It must be registered with the Swedish Tax Agency.
Witnesses required?	No, but highly recommended by lawyers.	No, but highly recommended.
Limits on takeover	Cannot override Section 22 housing takeover rights for families with children.	Can restrict the division of all assets.

Even though living as sambos is extremely common in Sweden, only a small percentage of couples, estimated between 14% and 20%, actually sign a samboavtal. Because of this, many financially unequal relationships end with serious legal conflict and emotional stress that could have been avoided with a simple agreement.

Sambo versus marriage: Key differences in financial rights

Even though cohabitation is completely normal in Swedish society, Swedish law still makes a very clear distinction between being a sambo and being married.

A common misunderstanding among international residents is the idea that if you live together long enough, the relationship “turns into” a kind of common law marriage with the same rights as a formal marriage. In Sweden, that is not true. Living together for many years does not automatically give you the same legal status as being married.

The biggest differences between the Cohabitees Act and the Marriage Code (Äktenskapsbalken) usually relate to three areas: financial maintenance, how wide the shared property rules are, and certain legal privileges connected to children and parenthood.

Financial maintenance and support

When a couple gets married in Sweden, they enter a formal legal relationship that includes a mutual duty of financial support. Under the Marriage Code, both spouses are legally expected to contribute to the household and support each other financially. The goal is that the couple can keep a similar standard of living during the marriage, even if one spouse earns much more than the other.

If the marriage ends in divorce, the financially weaker spouse can sometimes apply for temporary, transitional support. However, long-term alimony is not common in Sweden.

For sambos, the situation is very different.

Cohabitants have no legal duty to financially support each other. Even if a couple has lived together for many years, one partner cannot legally demand maintenance or alimony from the other, either during the relationship or after a separation.

Also, private agreements between unmarried partners about future financial maintenance are usually difficult to enforce in Swedish courts, because general contract law principles often make these types of arrangements legally weak.

Scope of property

As we have explained, a sambo property division is strictly limited to the shared home and household goods that were acquired for joint use.

When a married couple divorces, the situation is much broader. The property division normally includes all marital property worldwide. This can cover bank accounts, investments (like stocks), cars, boats, and real estate, including assets that were owned before the marriage, unless they were clearly excluded.

In Sweden, assets can be excluded from the division if they were defined as private property through a registered prenuptial agreement (äktenskapsförord) or if they were made private through the specific terms of an inheritance or gift.

Because of this wide scope, marriage creates a much stronger financial and economic union than a sambo relationship.

Family and adoption rights

In Swedish family law, married couples and sambos have the same right to apply for joint custody of their biological children. This can usually be done quite easily through a notification to the Tax Agency (Skatteverket) or the social welfare committee.

However, there is an important difference when it comes to adoption.

Under the Swedish Children and Parents Code, sambos cannot adopt a child jointly. Only married couples, including same-sex married couples, are allowed to go through the joint adoption process in Sweden.

There is also a key difference around legal parenthood at birth.

If a child is born during a marriage, the married husband is automatically presumed to be the father (this is sometimes called the pater est rule). But if the parents are not married, an unmarried sambo father normally needs to formally acknowledge paternity in order to establish full legal rights and responsibilities toward the child.

Death, inheritance, and the small base amount rule

One of the most serious risks of relying only on Sambolagen becomes clear when one partner dies. Under the Swedish Inheritance Code (Ärvdabalken), married couples and sambos are treated in completely different ways. This is an area where expats especially need to be very careful.

The lack of automatic inheritance

If a married person dies, the surviving spouse automatically inherits the entire estate. If the couple has children together, those children usually have to wait until the surviving parent dies before receiving their part. This later inheritance is called efterarv.

For sambos, the situation is very different.

If one partner in a sambo relationship dies, the surviving partner has no automatic right to inherit anything. Without a written will (testamente), the deceased partner’s assets are distributed according to the standard inheritance rules.

First in line are the deceased person’s biological or adopted children. If there are no children, the estate goes to the deceased’s parents. If the parents are no longer alive, it goes to siblings, then to nieces or nephews, and after that to grandparents or aunts and uncles.

If there are no eligible relatives at all, the estate is transferred to the Swedish General Inheritance Fund (Allmänna arvsfonden), which uses the money to support charitable projects.

Heir priority in Sweden (without a will)	Who gets the estate?
First Priority	Children of the deceased.
Second Priority (if no children)	Parents of the deceased.
Third Priority (if no parents)	Siblings or half-siblings.
Fourth Priority (if no siblings)	Grandparents or aunts/uncles.
Surviving Sambo	Gets NOTHING without a will.

Because sambos do not inherit automatically, a very hard situation can happen in real life: a surviving partner can be forced to leave the home they have lived in for years. This can happen if the deceased partner’s legal heirs inherit the home and decide to sell it.

A well-known Swedish example is the writer Stieg Larsson. He lived as a sambo with his partner Eva Gabrielsson for many years. Because they were not married and had no will when he died unexpectedly, his father and brother inherited his estate, and his partner received nothing.

How to reduce this risk

To avoid this, cohabiting partners should proactively write a will (testamente), often as a joint plan that protects the surviving partner.

But there are two very important limits in Swedish law that many people miss:

Children from a previous relationship, called särkullbarn, can demand their inheritance immediately when the parent dies. This can create real financial pressure and may even force the surviving sambo to sell the shared home in order to pay out the children.

Children have an absolute right to a minimum share of the inheritance, called laglott. This is 50% of what the child would inherit under the normal rules. A will cannot remove a child’s right to this part.

The small base amount rule (lilla basbeloppsregeln)

To offer at least a very basic level of protection, Sambolagen includes a rule called the small base amount rule (lilla basbeloppsregeln), found in Section 18.

If one partner dies, the surviving sambo has the right to request a property division (bodelning) before the inheritance is distributed to the heirs.

Under this rule, the surviving partner is guaranteed a value equal to two price base amounts (prisbasbelopp). A prisbasbelopp is an economic index amount that the Swedish government sets each year. The guaranteed amount must come from the pool of samboegendom.

However, it is very important to understand the limits of this rule.

The two price base amounts can only be taken from the joint home and household goods. If the deceased partner owned the apartment before the relationship started, and it therefore does not qualify as samboegendom, the surviving partner cannot use this rule to claim value from that property.

In reality, this rule only ensures that the surviving partner is not left completely without basic assets from the shared household. It is not a replacement for a properly written will, and it does not offer the same level of protection as marriage.

Expatriate complexities and Migration Law

For international residents, understanding Sambolagen is not only about property division. It also connects to immigration rules, cross-border finances, and Swedish banking procedures. Moving to Sweden as a couple and buying a home can involve legal and practical challenges that many people do not expect.

Migrationsverket and the Definition of Sambo

The Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) grants residence permits to people who move to Sweden to live with a partner. In immigration law, the concept of a “planned cohabiting partner” is quite similar to the idea of a serious relationship under Sambolagen.

To receive a residence permit, the partner who already lives in Sweden must prove two things:

• that they have suitable housing,
• and that they have enough income to support both people.

This is where an important difference appears.

Under Sambolagen, sambos have no legal duty to financially support each other. But under Swedish migration law, the sponsoring partner must meet a strict maintenance requirement. The purpose is to make sure the person moving to Sweden will not depend on social welfare.

There are also new rules affecting labor migration. From June 2026, work permits will only be granted if the offered salary is at least 90 percent of the median salary in Sweden. This can directly affect expat sambos, because the sponsoring partner must earn enough to meet the financial requirement.

Another interesting point is the importance of the relationship history. If a couple can prove that they have lived together as sambos abroad for at least two years, they may qualify for certain exemptions from the maintenance requirement when applying for a Swedish residence permit.

This is a benefit that does not automatically apply just because a couple is married. A recent marriage without proven cohabitation may not give the same migration advantages.

Real estate pitfalls for foreign buyers

When expats move to Sweden, buying a home together can feel complicated and stressful. The Swedish property system works differently from many other countries.

Homes are usually listed on platforms like Hemnet. The sale process often includes a fast and competitive bidding system. If you win the bidding, you normally have to pay a 10% deposit within 10 days, and the real estate agent also handles the legal side of the transaction.

Sweden does not prohibit foreigners from buying property. However, strict Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules mean that large international bank transfers will be carefully checked. If you send a large amount of money from a foreign account to a Swedish real estate broker, it will almost certainly trigger detailed questions.

Because of this, expats are strongly advised to:

• open a Swedish bank account as early as possible,
• transfer funds in advance through traceable banking channels,
• and be prepared to show documents such as payslips to prove where the money comes from.

Another common problem appears when only one partner qualifies for a mortgage.

If the newly arrived expat does not yet have a Swedish credit history or stable Swedish income, banks will usually assess the mortgage application based only on the working partner’s income. This often results in lower loan approvals for sambos who rely on one salary.

If the employed partner decides to buy the apartment in their own name in order to secure the mortgage, but does so with the clear intention that both partners will live there together, the apartment becomes samboegendom under Sambolagen.

If the relationship later ends, the non-contributing partner may still be legally entitled to 50% of the net value of the apartment.

This is a situation many expats do not expect. Anyone who invests their own savings into such a purchase should seriously consider signing a samboavtal immediately if they want to protect their personal financial contribution.

Cross-border legal conflicts

For international couples, property disputes can become even more complicated because of international private law.

If an expat couple separates while living in Sweden, Swedish law, including Sambolagen, will usually apply to property located in Sweden. This means that homes and assets in Sweden are normally divided according to Swedish rules.

However, the situation becomes more complex if:

• the couple owns property in several countries,
• or they signed a cohabitation agreement in their home country before moving to Sweden.

Trying to enforce foreign agreements or foreign legal rights in Sweden can be legally and procedurally difficult.

Swedish courts will normally have jurisdiction if the defendant lives in Sweden, or if the property in question is located in Sweden. This means that even if a contract was signed abroad, a Swedish court may still decide the case.

It is very important for expats to check whether their foreign cohabitation agreements are compatible with Swedish public policy. Certain Swedish rules are mandatory and cannot easily be set aside. For example, the housing protection under Section 22 cannot simply be ignored because a foreign contract says something different.

In practice, if you live in Sweden, Swedish law will prioritize the protection of the financially weaker party, even if a foreign agreement suggests another arrangement.

Conclusions and final thoughts

The Swedish Cohabitees Act, Sambolagen, is built on a strong social idea: no one should be left without a home or basic financial security after a serious relationship ends. The law protects the shared home and household goods through a mandatory 50/50 division, focusing on fairness rather than on who paid more.

At the same time, the protection is very specific and limited.

A property bought with the intention of living together can quickly become shared under the law, even if only one person paid for it. But savings, investments, cars, and other assets usually remain outside the system. And most importantly, sambos do not automatically inherit from each other.

For many international couples, these rules can feel surprising or even shocking. That is why legal awareness is so important. If the default 50/50 division does not reflect your financial situation, a written and properly signed samboavtal is essential. And if you want to protect your partner in case of death, a clear will (testamente) is not optional — it is necessary.

Sweden offers a flexible and modern model for couples. But flexibility also means responsibility. Understanding the rules in advance can prevent financial conflict, emotional stress, and unexpected legal consequences later.

In one of the next articles, I will explain something that many international couples ask about: the practical side of moving to Sweden as partners. We will go step by step through the sambo visa process, including the maintenance requirement, housing rules, and what Migrationsverket actually checks in reality.

If you are planning to move to Sweden with your partner, or you are already here and trying to understand your legal position, that guide will be especially important for you.