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There are several identity documents used in Sweden. None are compulsory by law, meaning that there is no formal penalty for not possessing one. Certified identification cards are issued by the tax agency. The Swedish police issues passports and national identity cards, but only for Swedish citizens. A Swedish driver's license, issued by the transport agency, is also accepted as an identity document. Banks sometimes issue identity cards for established customers or their children. In Sweden, no law has been introduced about compulsory identity documents. However there is no law forbidding an authority or company to demand to see one, otherwise refusing service. Identity documents are needed in Sweden in certain commonly occurring situations, e.g. purchases using debit- or credit cards when not using a PIN, or picking up a package at the postal service representatives, or for age checking when purchasing alcoholic beverages, or to get medical care and medicines. A valid Swedish identity document is also required for opening a bank account or other situations where the use of Swedish personal identity number is required, although this varies from organisation to organisation. Car drivers mandatorily need the driver's license, and the police is also allowed to randomly check driver's licenses for drivers, normally done in combination with sobriety checks. For certain situations, the law says that safe identification is needed, without saying how it should done. In these cases a Swedish identity document is usually expected by authorities like the police. A person found committing a crime like speeding or no bus ticket, having no identity document, will be taken to the police station and kept until the identity is certified (even if identity documents are not compulsory). When the police are searching for criminals expected to have a car, they organise speeding checks or sobriety checks, since they are allowed to randomly ask for id only in this situation. Searches for illegal immigrants are often done in cooperation with guards checking local traffic tickets. It is a bad idea for a wanted criminal or illegal immigrant to ride without a ticket or shoplift in Sweden, since their identity must be investigated if caught. The most commonly used identity document in Sweden is the driver's license, after that the Tax Agency identity card. The national identity card is less used. ==History== Historically in Sweden, it was the banks and the Swedish postal service that first saw a need that people should have identity documents. They issued identity documents for anyone. To prove the identity for this, relative simple routines were used, like having bank account documents, driver’s licence or passport, being recognised by the bank staff or bringing a friend with an identity document. These routines were used for decades from the 1960s until the 21st century although the security routines were strengthened during the time. Swedish passports were banned as an identity document during several years because they were relatively easy to forge, and allowed again after they were made more secure in 1998. The driver's licences had enough security to be accepted by the banks and became the most commonly used identity document. Authorities saw the need of checking identity of people in certain situations, to make sure which personal identity number the person in front of them had. For example handling payment for sick leave, driver's licence tests or police arrests. For this usually the identity documents accepted by the banks were allowed, because there was no law regarding identity documents and how they were issued. Around year 2005 banks strengthened their routine to issue identity cards, so only near relatives verifiable by the banks, in reality only parents or adult children, could guarantee the identity of some who had no valid identity document. This other person needed a valid Swedish identity document. The reason was the existence of identity fraud, and that banks had to pay compensation to people affected. The cashier service owned by the postal service followed this rule in 2007. There was no law about these rules or saying that banks or the cashier service had to issue these cards. As a consequence, everyone who did not have any Swedish parent or adult child could not get an identity document. Swedish citizens could get a passport, but not citizens of other countries resident in Sweden. In e.g. Norway and Denmark, immigrants could get a bank id card based on the residence permit and foreign passport, but not in Sweden, since no rule regulated it and the Swedish Migration Board did also not want to guarantee the identity. The government decided that they should take the responsibility to issue identity documents to people in Sweden, and issues a law. As a consequence of this, the Swedish Tax Agency started issuing certified identity cards in August 2009. During two and a half years, foreign citizens without a parent resident in Sweden could not get an identity document, if they had none. Still in 2010 several thousands of people are unable to get identity documents. Since the entry into the Schengen area 2001 the Swedish police randomly asks for identity documents in crowded places, stating suspicion of illegal stay by foreign citizens as reason (In-country foreigner checks, Swedish:"Inre utlänningskontroll").〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Rikspolisstyrelsens föreskrifter och allmänna råd om Polisens inre utlänningskontroll )〕 According to allegations, skin color was used as indication of illegal stay (an indication of crime is needed to justify identity document checks). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Identity documents in Sweden」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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