Basics of the Danish Immigration System

As someone living in Denmark I'm going to give a brief overview of the immigration system in Denmark for EU and non-EU citizens. Note this is not exhaustive, it covers what I think are the most common cases, the Government has a huge amount of extra information available on https://nyidanmark.dk/

Summary:

The experience of the immigration system in Denmark is driven nearly entirely by two factors:

  • How skilled and/or highly paid your job is

  • Whether you are an EU citizen

If you fit into either of the categories above the immigration system barely exists for you, on the opposite side if you don't fit into either neatly you may face lots of bureaucracy, costs and waiting to obtain a visa, on the extreme end if you are unemployed without a degree your chance of a visa is practically zero.

Moving to the country as an undocumented worker is not a practical option, immigration laws are enforced extremely strictly in all parts of the country and undocumented immigrants are detained and deported by the national police. It is impossible to get a job, rent an apartment or get a bank account without your legal right to be in the country being verified. There are no sanctuary cities. People caught violating immigration law can be banned from the whole of Europe by Danish police, and other European countries do enforce these bans even at their own borders (this is called a Schengen ban)

That being said, here's the main routes into the country that people may fit into

EU Citizen

  • You are a citizen or national of an EU or EEA State, or Switzerland (see list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_citizenship)

  • It doesn't matter if you're also a US citizen

  • You need to have a passport from the country you are a citizen of, if you don't have it yet apply for one

This is the best option, congratulations, you have the nearly unconditional right to live, work and study in Denmark, the only condition is that in the first 5 years you must find a job or actively look for work (any job counts), you can travel to Denmark today, you do not need a visa, you do not need to be fingerprinted.

  • You can apply for any job at any employer from casual part time to full time. You can switch jobs whenever you want. You do not need government permission to start working.

  • You can also attend any Danish university free of charge, if you get a student job of sufficient scale the government will also provide you money to stay at university (study support, also known as SU).

  • Your family can join you in Denmark, and they also have the right to live, work and study here on exactly the same terms as you, they need to apply for a residence card at SIRI and be fingerprinted, but this process is free and routine. Once their residence card arrives they need to keep it on them at all times as it is conclusively proof they are a lawful resident.

  • After 5 years in Denmark you acquire Permanent Residency, you can live in Denmark forever and no conditions apply.

See the full details: https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Residence-as-a-Nordic-citizen-or-EU-or-EEA-citizen

Work

The experience of workers for getting jobs in Denmark varies heavily with the skill and pay of the work

I can get a job offer to be a skilled worker on a relatively high salary (for example: tech), or at a very high level of skill (for example, PhD or postdoc researcher)

  • The government really wants you to be here, so you will have the easiest time, once you have a job offer you can typically apply to the Pay Limit Scheme, Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme, Positive List Scheme, Researcher or Employed PhD scheme.

  • If you are especially well paid or a researcher you will also be incentivised to move here, the Government will give you a tax break for the first 7 years of living here called the Researcher Tax Scheme, this will mean you pay far less tax than normal: https://skat.dk/data.aspx?oid=2244911

  • Most tech employers are part of a scheme called Fast Track. With Fast Track you can get a residence permit and visa extremely quickly, if you're able to come to Denmark visa free already (for example as a US citizen as a tourist) you can get a visa the same day you apply by having the company that made the offer request a "Quick Job Start" and going to the nearest office of SIRI to have your fingerprints taken. On Fast Track your residence permit will normally be issued right there while being fingerprinted. My personal experience of helping others with fast track is you can go from offer letter in hand to lawful resident in under 2 hours if you get the offer while in country.

I can get a job offer to be a skilled worker

  • If your job offer is on the Positive List (https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Work/The-Positive-Lists) you can get a resident permit relatively easily, you will need your new employer to help you apply for your permit with the Immigration Service. Permits can take up to a month to arrive and you'll need to go to the Danish embassy to have the VISA put in your passport.

I can get a job offer, but not as a skilled worker

  • Your options are rather limited, outside of Special Individual Qualifications (for example, you are a unique artist or chef) and Herdsmen there are little chances of you acquiring residence in Denmark, consider a study visa if dead set on Denmark.

CONDITIONS FOR ALL WORK VISAS

  • If you are a non-EU citizen your right to be in the country is tied to your continued employment. If you lose your job or resign you need to adjust status immediately, adjusting status is typically easy at first and becomes harder the less skilled you are and the longer you have been unemployed.

  • Tell the immigration service if you lose your job, they'll find out anyway because your employer is obliged to tell them if you stop working, if you don't do this the Immigration Service may remove you from the country, even if you've lived here for years.

Study

  • Assuming you can afford it, getting a study VISA is relatively easy, you just need to be accepted into a Bachelors, Masters or PhD course at a Danish university.

  • Free university tuition and money paid for being a student is ONLY available for EU citizens, if you choose to study in Denmark as a non-EU citizen you must pay your own tuition fees and living costs, and you must show the Immigration Service you have the money to afford that.

  • If you graduate from a Danish University you generally get up to 3 years where you can stay in Denmark and look for a job without being employed, this is a great permit and its impossible to get outside of this route so make the most of it.

Permanent Residence (aka Green Card)

Permanent Residence is like having a green card, being a Permanent Resident means your stay in Denmark is unlimited and unconditional, unless you commit a serious crime you can never be deported and there are no conditions on right to be in the country. You can claim unemployment benefits and support, disability, early retirement, pension, etc. You will never have to leave the country.

Permanent residence depends on if you are an EU or non-EU citizen.

  • If you are an EU citizen, after 5 years you automatically acquire Permanent Residency, legally you don't need to do anything you just inherently wake up on day 1 of the 5th year as a Permanent Resident, but you should apply to SIRI for a certificate, it's free and it confirms your status forever.

    • The same applies to your family members, even if they aren't EU citizens.

  • If you are a non-EU citizen there are two options, both are very tough to get:

    • The quickest you can get Permanent Residence is 4 years, but doing so is very tough. You must have been employed for the entire 4 years, earning a very large salary, be proficient in Danish and have passed a test and passed an exam on life in Denmark, there are also numerous other requirements.
    • For most the quickest you can get Permanent Residence is 8 years, for this you must have been employed for at least 3.5 years and have passed an intermediate exam in Danish, you must also meet 2 of the conditions for the 4 year route
    • See the full conditions at https://nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Permanent-residence-permit/Permanent-residence

General conditions in Denmark

  • English is spoken by nearly every person in the country, every service is offered in English as well as Danish. All government services can be offered in English including healthcare and immigration. Most documents are published in both Danish and English. Even many signs outside are printed in both Danish and English (Danish at the top, English below it). Personally my workplace only permits English to be used at work.

  • Language classes are free of charge, if you're an EU citizen you can choose to take them but its not mandatory, if you're a non-EU citizen going to language classes is only mandatory if you're not working.

  • Healthcare is free of charge and paid for by the government. There is a concept of informed consent such that you may choose your own doctor and treatment centre (right of free choice). Most people in the country are members of Danmark Sygeforsikring in addition to the public healthcare system: https://www.sygeforsikring.dk/health-insurance

  • The tax burden is generally higher than the United States, how much higher depends on your State's income tax level. Note that if you are highly skilled you can get a tax break in Denmark that lowers your tax rate to a level comparable to the US for 7 years: https://skat.dk/data.aspx?oid=2244911

My general perspective is that Denmark is a great country to live in, but the bar to live here as a non-EU citizen is high. Did I miss something that you want to know about? Ask in the comments.