Documents required to begin employment in Sweden

Question

For a non-EU national whose application for a permit to live and work in Sweden has just been approved, the subsequent steps are:

1. visit Migrationsverket (Migration Agency) or a consulate/embassy to be fingerprinted and photographed
2. receive a residence permit card
3. visit Skatteverket (Tax Agency) to apply for an ID card
4. receive ID card

At which point in this process is it possible to formally enter into a contract with one's employer?

I understand that a personnummer (ID number) is required before one can receive a salary, since the personnummer is needed for taxation. Even if this is the case, is it possible, for example, to begin the period of employment while waiting for the permit card or ID card, defer the salary payment until the ID card is issued, whereupon the salary for the period between the initiation of the contract and the issuing of the ID can be properly taxed and paid out in bulk?

(Links or references to official documents that back your answer and/or personal anectodes are appreciated.)

Answer 1

[based on personal experience and undocumented ] Usually first time work permits are tied to a single employer, so I'm not sure what kind of permit do you have.

You can work and get paid without a personnummer but the employer will deduct from it the maximum tax of around 60%, you can get extra tax paid back at the end of the year as part of the yearly tax declaration.

Answer 2

I now have some first-hand experience about this, and I'll share it in the form of an answer.

The answer to the main question ("At which point in this process is it possible to formally enter into a contract?") is: right in the beginning, as soon as one can document that they have been granted a work permit (step 0).

In my case, on the day that I received an e-mail from Migrationsverket saying that I will be granted a work permit, I went to Skatteverket (in person) with my (signed) contract and a print-out of Migrationsverket's e-mail. They gave me some forms to fill out, made me promise I'll come back and show them my residence permit card when it arrives, and confirmed that we can start the contract. I have been told that there should be no problems with taxation as long as the employer handles things correctly, since this is checked at the end of the year.