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As an EU citizen or a citizen from Switzerland you may freely enter Denmark and remain in this country for up to 3 months without an EU residence document (registration certificate). If you are a job seeker, you may reside in Denmark for up to 6 months without a registration certificate. The periods of 3 and 6 months are calculated from the date of entry.
If you expect that your stay in Denmark will last more than 3 months, you have to apply for an EU residence document (registration certificate) before the expiry of the 3 months. Job seekers are required to submit their application within 6 months after entry.
Help regarding the EU residence document?
You can get help at one of the International Citizen Service centres:
Find additional information about residence in Denmark under EU:
If you are a citizen of Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden, you need not to apply for a registration certificate because as a citizen of a Nordic country you have a right to reside in Denmark without permission.
For more information about residence as an EU/EEA citizen:
If you are a citizen from a country outside Scandinavia, the EU/EEA or Switzerland, you must apply for a residence and work permit in your home country through a Danish mission – that is a Danish Embassy or a Danish Consulate General.
In the majority of cases, your future employer in Denmark will contribute with information for the application. There are several different options for a residence and work permit in Denmark. Your education, qualifications and the type of job you have been offered are important to how you should apply.
Be aware that after 20 May 2012, all non-EU citizens over the age of 18 applying for residence permits under the terms of the Aliens Act must have their biometric features (facial image and fingerprints) recorded when submitting their application. Biometric features will also be recorded when applying to renew a residence permit and when applying for permanent residence.
You must also be aware that a Danish authorisation can be a condition for your residence and work permit. For example, this applies if you are going to work as a doctor, dentist or a schoolteacher.
Read more about how you can apply for a residence and work permit:
In Denmark each person has a civil registration number, which is called a CPR number. CPR stands for Central Person Register. The CPR number is essential in relation to any contact with the Danish authorities and especially in connection to tax and social security issues.
If you are coming to Denmark to work for more than 3 months (6 months if you come from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland), you need to apply for a CPR number at the Danish National Register (Folkeregistret).
You can contact your local municipality’s Citizen Service centre or one of the International Citizen Service centres:
To get a CPR number you should bring along:
- Your residence and work permit (if citizen outside the EU/EEA, the Nordic region or Switzerland)
- Assignment/employment contract – Passport or personal ID
- Proof of your address in Denmark (for instance rental contract)
- If applicable, documentation for changes of name (marriage/divorce certificate, etc.)
- If applicable, birth certificates for your children
- If applicable, a marriage certificate.
If your spouse and children accompany you to Denmark they must also register and obtain a CPR number. Once you have informed the municipal authorities of your arrival and have received a CPR number, you are included in the general Danish health insurance scheme. You will be asked to choose a doctor from a list provided by your respective municipality.
If you are coming to work for 3 month or less, you will get a tax number instead of a civil registration number. Your personal tax number works like a civil registration number, which means it is your Danish civil registration number.
When you work and move to Denmark, you are covered by the Danish health insurance system.
Most examinations and treatments are free, when you have a health insurance card.
The health insurance card is documentation that you are entitled to the services offered under the national health insurance scheme. You must therefore always bring your card with you when you go for treatment.
When you are covered by the national health insurance, you can register with a doctor/general practitioner (GP) and receive a (yellow) health insurance card. It is advisable always to carry this card with you as it is required whenever you need to see a doctor, a dentist or go to hospital – or when you want to take out books from the library.
Approximately 2 weeks after you have registered, your national health insurance card will be sent to your Danish address. The card will show your name and address, your CPR number and the name and address of your doctor.
Children are covered by the health insurance scheme together with their mother or father until they reach the age of 15. However, children must have their own health insurance card. Children born in Denmark automatically receive a health insurance card when they are named or christened.
Once children are 15 years old, they are insured independently of their parents and are free to choose their own general practitioner (GP).
The international health insurance rules vary according to where you are travelling to, how long you plan to be away for and the purpose of your trip.
If you travel within Europe for less than 1 month, you are covered by the tourist health insurance scheme in most cases.
If you travel within Europe for more than 1 month or for purposes other than holidays or studies, you will need a European health insurance card (in Denmark also known as the blue card).
Special rules apply if you travel in the Nordic region, Greenland, the Faroe Islands or in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
If you travel outside Europe, or if the tourist health insurance card or the European health insurance card does not provide sufficient cover, you should think about taking out private travel insurance.
If you spend more than 6 months travelling, you normally lose the right to health insurance cover in Denmark.
Additional information
You can contact your local municipality's Citizen Service if you need help or further information.
If you need medical treatment during travels in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein (EEA), or Switzerland you will have to use the blue European health insurance card.
How can you order the blue European health insurance card?
If you are covered by the Danish health insurance, you can order the card for free online. If you, in the case of special circumstances, are not able to order the blue card online, you can contact Udbetaling Danmark by phone +45 70 12 80 81.
When you receive salary from your employer it is useful to have a bank account. To open a bank account, you need to contact a bank of your own choice. Remember to bring photo ID (for instance your passport) and address information.
You can only open a bank account with a Danish bank once you have obtained your tax card. As you are not a registered citizen in Denmark, the bank will want to see your:
- Passport
- Tax card
- Contract of employment and payslip
As a resident in Denmark, you will need to have a NemKonto assigned to be able to receive payments from Danish public authorities – for instance payments such as tax refunds, child subsidies, student loans, unemployment benefits or holiday allowances.
A NemKonto is a normal bank account. You choose yourself which of your accounts – foreign or Danish – you want to be your NemKonto. Payments from public authorities will be transferred directly to this account.
Find more information on NemKonto, how to establish a NemKonto or to assign a bank account as your NemKonto:
When you come to Denmark to work, you will need a civil registration number (CPR number) or a personal tax number, depending on whether you take up a short or a longer residence in Denmark.
CPR number – if longer period in Denmark
If you are working in Denmark for more than 3 months (6 months if within EU/EEA or Nordic countries), you will need to apply for a CPR number at the Danish National Register (Folkeregistret).
You can always contact your local municipality’s Citizen Service centre or one of the International Citizen Service centres.
Personal tax number – if short period in Denmark
If you are working in Denmark for 3 months or less, you will get a personal tax number instead of a civil registration number. Your personal tax number works like a civil registration number, which means that it is your Danish personal identification number.
There are 2 ways of getting a personal tax number:
1) Danish Tax Agency: You can request a personal tax number by completing form no. 04.063 from the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen):
2) Tax centre or International Citizen Service: You can also contact your local tax centre or one of the International Citizen Service centres to obtain your personal tax number.
- Remember to bring form no. 04.063, ID with picture, such as passport or ID card, and marriage certificate (if you are married).
- Citizens from outside the EU, Switzerland or the Nordic countries must also bring a work permit.
If you have previously worked in Denmark, you will already have a civil registration number or a personal tax number.
In order for your employer to know how much tax to deduct from your salary, you need a tax card. A tax card (skattekort) is a digital piece of information telling your employer your tax rate.
The tax card contains information about your withholding rate, deductions and allowances. You can see your tax card information on the first page of your preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse).
Apply for a tax card
You can apply for a tax card by following the same procedure as used for the personal tax number in the section above.
This means that you must complete form no. 04.063 from the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen).
When you have completed the form (04.063) and attached or enclosed the documents required, you will receive a preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse) within 2 weeks.
In your preliminary income assessment, you can see your withholding rate, your monthly tax-free allowances and deductions, and what the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen) expects your income and allowances and deductions to be. The tax card (primary tax card, secondary tax card or tax exemption card) is a part of your preliminary income assessment. Your employer will receive your tax card directly from the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen). You cannot hand in your tax card yourself.
There are many things to take care of when you arrive in Denmark as a foreign employee.
You can always get help at one of the International Citizen Service centres (ICS), or you can contact your local municipality.
All the public authorities you typically need to contact are represented at the International Citizen Service centres. The ICS centres make the contact to Danish authorities as easy as possible. In most cases, you will only need to visit an ICS centre in order to take care of your paperwork with regard to EU residence document, tax card, civil registration number (CPR), health insurance card etc.
You can also get help at International House Copenhagen.
Most of the online self-services are in Danish, but you can always get help to fill in forms and online applications at the local Citizen Service centre. Or maybe you can get help from a Dane. Remember to bring your MitID.
The film 'Welcome to Digital Denmark' introduces you to some of the public digital solutions that are used in Denmark, for instance Digital Post and MitID:
It can be challenging for any international citizen to get an overview of the many steps you have to go through when settling down in Denmark.
In this overview you will find the typical steps you will go through as a professional. If you have come to Denmark as an accompanying partner or as a student, you may also find the guide useful.
Check out the visual guide:
Conditions for foreign citizens’ acquisition of Danish citizenship
The Danish healthcare system operates across 3 political and administrative levels: the state, the regions and the municipalities (national, regional and local levels).
The state holds the overall regulatory and supervisory functions in health and elderly care.
The 5 regions are responsible for hospital care, including emergency care, psychiatry, and for healthcare services provided by general practitioners (GPs) and specialists in private practice.
The 98 municipalities are responsible for a number of primary health and social services, for instance elderly care services, rehabilitation outside hospital, home nursing, child dental treatment, child nursing, and physiotherapy. In addition, municipalities co-finance regional rehabilitation services and training facilities.
The basic principle of the Danish welfare system is that all citizens have equal rights to social security. The majority of healthcare services are financed by general taxes and mainly provided free of charge.
Find contact information for healthcare professionals, public and private hospitals, and pharmacies on the website sundhed.dk.
The Danish Patient Safety Authority is the liaison body for healthcare and provides general guidance about the Danish healthcare system and access to healthcare in Denmark.
The Danish Patient Safety Authority is an authority under the Ministry of Health.
In every region in Denmark you will find a patient office. The regional patient advisers have knowledge of the healthcare services and can advise you on your options for the treatment, you request.
Both the Danish Patient Safety Authority and regional patient offices are also National Contact Points for cross-border healthcare in Denmark.
In Denmark it is not a requirement that you, as a citizen in the EU or an EEA country, exchange your driving licence into a Danish driving licence in order to be able to drive legally. Therefore, you can legally drive the same types of vehicles as you are allowed to in accordance with your valid driving licence issued in another EU Member State or an EEA country.
However, you need to be aware that you must meet the age requirements that apply to the issuing of a Danish driving licence with the corresponding driving licence categories.
As a rule, you do not have to take a driving test in connection with the exchange of your valid driving licence issued in an EU country.
Requirements relating to residence
If you still wish to exchange your valid driving licence issued in an EU Member State, you must fulfil the requirements for normal residence in Denmark.
You have normal residence in Denmark from the time you settle in Denmark with a view to stay in Denmark for at least 185 days a year as a result of personal or business ties in the country.
In the assessment particular emphasis will be placed on whether you can be said to be established in Denmark, if your belongings and your immediate family (for instance spouse and children) are in Denmark and if you are staying in Denmark, when temporary departures such as business, study or holiday trips are disregarded.
If you only reside in Denmark for the purpose of performing a time-limited occupation or as a part of an educational course and have no personal connection to Denmark, you do not have normal residence.
The same applies if you only have a business connection to Denmark, and you have your personal connection to another country, to which you return regularly.
It is the municipality which in connection with the application for the issuing of a driving licence and the application for the exchange of a driving licence, assesses whether the applicant is normally residing in Denmark in accordance with the relevant legislation.
To obtain a driving licence, you need to have normal residence in Denmark, but it cannot be issued if your right to drive has been restricted, suspended or revoked in another EU or EEA country. You also need to fulfill the requirements for age and health.
Where do I apply for a driving licence?
At KL's website – Local Government Denmark – you will find the application forms for driving licences. The forms must be handed in to the municipality in which you reside.
To apply, you will have to choose the form under KK 001.
If you are under the age of 17, your custodian or custodians have to fill out the
consent form under KK 002.
If you want to apply for a driving licence for a small moped (category LK), you will have to fill out the form under KK 023.
What must I bring when I hand in the application?
The application form has to be handed in to the municipality in which you reside along with the following:
- proof of identity
- a photograph
- a medical certificate less than 6 months old and issued by your own doctor (this certificate is not necessary if you are applying for a driving licence for a small moped),
- a certificate that shows that you have completed a course in traffic related first aid, and
- a valid residence permit or other documentation of residence if you are not a citizen of Denmark or a Nordic country or are not authorised to reside in Denmark without permission.
First driving licence/new driving licence category
If this is the first time you are applying for a driving licence, or if you want to obtain a new category on your existing driving licence, you will have to complete the required training for the category in question under the supervision of a licensed driving instructor and pass a test of skills and behaviour and a theoretical test.
If you are under the age of 18
If you are under the age of 18, your custodian or custodians will have to give their consent to the issuing of a driving licence for category B. The municipality will evaluate if the conditions for the issuing of a driving licence are met, schedule the tests and charge the fee.
When your driving licence is nearing its expiration date, you will have to contact one of the Danish municipalities which will evaluate if the conditions for the renewal of your driving licence are met. When you hand in your application, you will have to bring proof of identity, a photograph and your driving licence. In certain cases, a medical certificate is needed.
If it has been 3 years or more since the expiration of your driving licence, you will have to pass a driving test which entails a test of skills and behaviour and a theoretical test, before a new driving licence can be issued.
Complaints about the decisions of the municipal council or the police regarding driving licence cases can be sent by email to the Danish Road Traffic Authority.
Refugee or asylum-seeker, find information about integration here - in danish
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