Working in Denmark
Foreign employees are welcome in the municipality of Ringkøbing-Skjern! On this site you can find useful information for your working life in Danmark.
Visit workindenmark.dk for more online resources that help you find a job in Denmark.
8 easy-to-grasp tips for your Job Search in Denmark from Ballisager >>
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Nordic citizens are free to enter, live, study and work in Denmark and do not need a visa or residence permit.
EU/EEA/Swiss citizens can reside and work in Denmark according to EU regulations and should apply for an EU residence document upon taking residence in Denmark.
Non EU/EEA/Swiss citizens must apply for a residence permit to reside in Denmark. Many residence permits include a work permit but it is important that you have the correct permit for the job in which you will be employed. You may also need to apply for a specific work permit, if you are going to do unpaid voluntary work or seek sideline employment.
Workindenmark.dk
Workindenmark.dk is the official website regarding international recruitment and has 2,000 to 3,000 vacancies in English from different Danish websites. The largest majority of jobs listed at the website do not require a command of Danish. Workindenmark that administrates the site is part of the Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment and a member of EURES, a European cooperation network of employment services, designed to facilitate the free movement of workers.
EURES portal
The EURES portal is the European job mobility portal by EURES, a European cooperation network of employment services, designed to facilitate the free movement of workers. This free-of-charge portal has more three million vacancies across Europe. The site has approximately 1,500 vacancies in Danish and English.
Jobnet.dk
The website Jobnet.dk (in Danish only) is the website of the Danish public employment services and has approximately 15,000 nationwide vacancies. The majority of the job adverts are in Danish.
Besides, there are a few private job sites in Denmark.
Workindenmark, part of the Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment, offers a free-of-charge e-learning course and webinars on job search in Denmark.
The e-learning course “Make it Work in Denmark”
The course consists of four modules:
- Job search in Denmark
- Using LinkedIn in your job search and professional network
- Contact companies and succeed in your job interviews
- An introduction to Danish workplace culture
If you already are in Denmark
Your residing municipality may offer services to help you find a job. Follow the link below to find the list of the municipalities that have an International Citizen Service centre (ICS) for newcomers to Denmark.
Launched in 1994, EURES is a European cooperation network of employment services, designed to facilitate the free movement of workers.
In addition to the abovementioned websites, e-learning course and webinar, EURES has a job mobility scheme intended to help citizens EU countries, Norway and Iceland to find a job, traineeship or apprenticeship opportunity in another EU country, Norway or Iceland. EURES-staff in Denmark can provide you with relevant information regarding job search, living and working conditions in Denmark.
There are regulated professions in Denmark, for example, healthcare professionals. If your profession is regulated, you need an authorisation or similar recognition by the competent public authority.
For example, foreign-trained doctors must apply for Danish authorisation as a medical doctor at the Danish Patient Safety Authority.
Sometimes Danish employers find non-Danish qualifications difficult to understand. The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science can offer a written assessment that explains what your qualifications correspond to in the Danish context. The service is free of charge and takes 1 to 2 months from the time you send the application and the required documentation.
Before your spouse or partner begins to work in Denmark, it is important to make sure that he or she is allowed to work.
If you have any doubts or questions, please contact The Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) for more information on the right to work for your spouse or partner.
Regarding your partner’s job search, please refer to the information above, in particular information under the sections: “Where to find vacancies?” and “How to improve your chances of getting a job in Denmark?”
Only applicable when you are an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen and come to Denmark to look for work and continue to receive your unemployment benefits from the country where you became unemployed.
When you arrive in Denmark, you'll need to:
- register as a jobseeker in the municipality of residence, at either the job centre or the local citizen service, within 7 days from the date stated on the front page of the PDU2 form you have received from either the employment services or the unemployment insurance fund in the country you left.
- submit your PDU2 form (formerly E 303) when you register.
- agree to any checks made on unemployment benefit claimants in Denmark as if you were receiving unemployment benefits there.
It is a legal requirement that employers must provide the employee with an employment contract if their employment lasts for at least a month and the average weekly working time exceeds eight hours per week. If the general terms of the employment are regulated by a collective agreement, the employment contract will typically include a reference to applicable collective agreement.
When you come to Denmark to work, you will need a tax card. In Danish, tax card is called “skattekort”.
In Denmark it is voluntary to be insured against unemployment. This means that you are not automatically insured against unemployment through the payment of taxes, which is the case in many other European countries.
If you want to be insured against unemployment in Denmark, you must actively register with an unemployment insurance fund (in Danish called "a-kasse") and pay a membership fee to the unemployment insurance fund (a-kasse).
In certain situations, you are entitled to aggregate insurance periods from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland or United Kingdom.
A number of conditions must be fulfilled to do so. You can read more about these:
Trade unions represent their members towards their employers.
A trade union can provide you with employment-related legal support and guidance you may need. Unions also negotiate on your behalf to secure you the best possible salary level and working conditions.
The membership of a trade union is not obligated by law. However, if you choose to become a member of a trade union, your choice of trade union depends on your education/position and workplace.
Residence permit/EU residence document
Tax
Further information when working in Denmark while living in another country
This page is solely intended to provide you with an overview of EURES services. Please file a complaint to the authority that is responsible for the decision with which you disagree.
If you would like to file a complaint regarding the information on this page, please contact the Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment.
If you are a citizen of Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden, you do not need to apply for a registration certificate because as a citizen of a Nordic country you have the right to reside in Denmark without permission. As a Nordic citizen, you are free to reside, study and work in Denmark.
Nordic nationals may enter Denmark without a passport, but you must always be able to identify yourself by means of, for example, a driving licence, a passport or a cash card.
The video
below is a guide to you as a citizen from Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden on
which steps you need to follow if you are staying in Denmark for more than 3
months.
More information for Nordic citizens:
As an EU citizen 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.
How to apply for an EU residence document
Read more about EU residence document at the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).
An EU residence document is your proof that as an EU citizen – or as a family member of an EU citizen – you have a right to reside in Denmark. You can also apply for EU residence document at International Citizen Service.
You must make a personal appearance and hand over the application.
When you have received your registration certificate, you may contact the Citizen Service in your municipality of residence in order to get a civil registration number (CPR number) and a health insurance card. Thus you first need a registration certificate in order to get a civil registration number (CPR number).
If you are a citizen of Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden, you need not apply for a registration certificate because as a citizen of a Nordic country you have a right to reside in Denmark without permission.
You can get help at one of the International Citizen Service centres:
- International Citizen Service (ICS)
The video below is a guide to you as a citizen from the EU, Lichtenstein or Switzerland or as a family member to an EU citizen, on the registrations you must attend to when taking up residence in Denmark for more than 3 months.
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, i.e. 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.
You must 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.
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.
The video below is a guide to you as a citizen from outside the EU, Lichtenstein or Switzerland taking up residence in Denmark for more than 3 months to work or study.
Read more about how you can apply for a residence and work permit:
There are a great many things to take care of when you arrive in Denmark as a foreign employee.
You can get help at one of the International Citizen Service centres (ICS). All the public authorities you typically need to contact are represented at these International Citizen Service centres. If you live far away from the ICS centres, you will probably have to contact your local municipality.
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 residence permit, registration certificate, tax card, civil registration number (CPR), health insurance card etc.
You can also get help at International House Copenhagen:
You are, as a rule, subject to the legislation in the EU/EEA Member State in which you work.
If you are working in Denmark, you are generally subject to Danish national legislation. This means that you must be insured against unemployment in Denmark. If you are subject to Danish national legislation you will not be insured against unemployment in another EU/EEA Member State, because you can only be subject to the legislation of one EU/EEA Member State.
The Danish unemployment insurance system is a voluntary insurance scheme. This means that you are not automatically insured against unemployment when working in Denmark.
If you want to be insured against unemployment while working in Denmark, you have to join a Danish unemployment insurance fund, also known as an "A-kasse". These are private associations, and once you have joined an unemployment insurance fund, you must pay contributions to the fund.There are several unemployment insurance funds in Denmark. Some of them only admit people within one or more specific professions, while others admit persons from all professions.
It is also possible to be a member of an unemployment insurance fund if you are self-employed.
You can become a member of an unemployment insurance fund if you are at least 18 years of age, have more than 2 years left before you reach your retirement age, and reside in Denmark.
Persons under the age of 18 can also join an unemployment insurance fund, if they have completed a vocational education of at least 18 months.
In order to become a member of an unemployment insurance fund, you must actively contact the unemployment insurance fund of which you want to be a member and apply for a membership.
When applying for the membership, you must choose between full-time insurance and part-time insurance. The full-time insurance costs more, but you will receive more in unemployment benefits if you become unemployed.
You have to meet a number of conditions to be entitled to Danish unemployment benefits.
You must:
- Have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for at least 1 year (it is possible to aggregate periods from another EU/EEA country – see "Aggregation of periods from another EU/EEA country")
- Be registered as a jobseeker at your local job center from the first day you are available to the labour market.
- Have received a certain income for the past 3 years; at least DKK 246.924 (2022) / 254.328 (2023) if you are full-time insured, and at least DKK 164.616 (2022) / 169.548 (2023) if you are part-time insured.
- Be available for the labour market. This means, among other things, that you must apply for and be able to take over work with the notice of a day.
- Have a complete and approved CV no later than 2 weeks after you have registered as unemployed at the job center.
Your unemployment insurance fund can tell you more about the conditions for entitlement to unemployment benefits.
In order to receive unemployment benefits from your unemployment insurance fund, you need to be registered as a jobseeker at your local job centre (Jobnet.dk)
You have to register yourself as a jobseeker at your local jobcentre or on Jobnet.dk on the first day that you are unemployed. If you do not have internet access, you can approach your local job centre or the unemployment insurance fund and get help to become registered.
You are entitled to unemployment benefits for 2 years within 3 years, calculated in hours. This means that you are entitled to receive unemployment benefits for 3.848 hours within a 3-year-period.
If you do not use all the hours within the period of 3 years, the remaining hours for which you are entitled to unemployment benefits will lapse.
It is possible to extend the period of 3 years, for example if you have been ill or on maternity leave.
It is also possible to extend the unemployment benefit period of 2 years (i.e. the 3.848 hours) based on wage hours paid to you since you started receiving unemployment benefits.
Each working hour extends your unemployment benefit period by 2 hours.
You must use the extra unemployment benefit hours within a period 3 times the number of hours you have worked. For example, if you have worked 100 hours before your ordinary unemployment benefit period of 2 years has expired, it entitles you to unemployment benefits for a further 200 hours. You must use the 200 hours within a period of 300 hours.
Hours not used within the extended period (this means the 300 hours in the example above) will lapse.
Unemployment benefits can amount to a maximum of 90 percent of the salary you earned before you became unemployed. The amount of unemployment benefits is calculated based on the 12 months in which you had the highest income within the past 24 months.
You can receive a maximum of DKK 19.351 (2022) / 19.728 (2023) per month as full-time insured and DKK 12.901 (2022) / 13.152 (2023) per month as part-time insured.
In certain situations, you are entitled to aggregate insurance periods from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland or United Kingdom – hereinafter collectively referred to as "EU/EEA country" – to meet the requirement of having been a member of a Danish unemployment insurance fund, referred to as an "a-kasse" in Danish, for at least 1 year before being entitled to unemployment benefits.
It is a requirement that you are a citizen of an EU/EEA country, a stateless citizen or a refugee, and that you reside in Denmark to be able to aggregate insurance periods from another EU/EEA country.
Third country citizens residing in Denmark are only able to aggregate insurance periods completed within the Nordic countries, namely the Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland.
If you have been a member of a Danish unemployment insurance fund within the last 5 years, you are entitled to aggregate periods from another EU/EEA country if you meet the following conditions within 8 weeks after the end of your insurance period in the other EU/EEA country:
- Take up residence in Denmark
- Become a member of a Danish unemployment insurance fund
If you have not been a member of a Danish unemployment insurance fund within the last 5 years, you have to meet the following conditions within 8 weeks after the end of your insurance period in the other EU/EEA country in order to be entitled to aggregate periods:
- Take up residence in Denmark
- Become a member of a Danish unemployment insurance fund
- Gain employment in Denmark
Furthermore, when you have started working in Denmark, you have to work at least 296 payable hours within a period of 12 weeks/3 months, if you are full-time insured. If you are part-time insured, you have to work at least 148 payable hours within a period of 12 weeks/3 months.
If you have worked as a cross border worker with residence in Denmark, you are entitled to aggregate periods from another EU/EEA country if you become a member of a Danish unemployment insurance fund within 8 weeks after the end of your insurance period in the other EU/EEA country.
It is possible to extend the deadline of 8 weeks in all three cases, for example if you have been ill or on maternity leave.
Your Danish unemployment insurance fund can only aggregate periods stated in a PD U1 document or in documents equivalent to document PD U1.
You can apply for a document PD U1 in the EU/EEA country in which the insurance period was completed, or the unemployment insurance fund can – when you become a member of the fund and state that you were previously insured in another EU/EEA country – request information on your insurance period from the EU/EEA country concerned.
A cross border worker (or frontier worker) is a person who works in one EU/EEA Member State and resides in another EU/EEA Member State to which they return daily or at least once a week.
A cross border worker is like anyone else subject to the legislation of the EU/EEA Member State in which they work. However, special rules applies for cross border workers in the event of unemployment.
A cross border worker who is partially or intermittently unemployed must register as unemployed with the employment services in the EU/EEA Member State of employment. They shall receive unemployment benefits in accordance with the legislation of the Member State of employment, as if they were residing in that Member State.
A wholly unemployed cross border worker must register as unemployed with the employment services in the EU/EEA Member State of residence and shall receive unemployment benefits in accordance with the legislation of the Member State of residence.
Furthermore, a wholly unemployed cross border worker may, as a supplementary step, make themselves available to the employment services of the Member State of last employment. This supplementary step does not change the fact that they shall receive unemployment benefits in their Member State of residence.
In certain cases, you are entitled to receive unemployment benefits while looking for a job in another EU/EEA country for up to 3 months.
This opportunity is only available if you are a EU/EEA-citizen or a Swiss citizen, a stateless citizen or a refugee with residence in Denmark. Third country citizens residing in Denmark will not be able to look for a job in another EU/EEA country for up to 3 months while receiving unemployment benefits.
You have to meet the following conditions:
- You have been registered with the job center as full-time unemployed for at least 4 weeks before the planned departure date.
- You are available for the labour market on your departure date.
- You reside in Denmark until the departure date, including the day of departure.
- You are a member of a Danish unemployment insurance fund.
- You are entitled to unemployment benefits on the departure date.
- You have applied for a PD U2 certificate from your unemployment insurance fund before your departure.
- You do not depart from Denmark before the date stated in your PD U2 certificate.
In certain cases, you can get an exemption from the requirement of 4 weeks' registration with the job center. You can contact your unemployment insurance fund for further information on the possibility of exemption.
With document PD U2, you are entitled to unemployment benefits for the period stated in the document, which is a maximum of 3 months. However, in order to receive the unemployment benefits, you must register with the employment service, in the country you are traveling to, no later than 7 days after the start date stated in document PD U2. Otherwise, you will only receive unemployment benefits from the day you register with the employment service in the other EU/EEA country.
During the period you receive Danish unemployment benefits in another EU/EEA country, you must be available for the labour market in the country in which you search for a job. If you get a job, you can no longer receive Danish unemployment benefits.
If you do not find work in the other EU/EEA country, it is important that you are back in Denmark and register with your local job center before the deadline of 3 months expires. You can see the deadline in your document PD U2 issued by your Danish unemployment insurance fund.
If you do not return to Denmark and register with your local job center before the deadline expires, you will lose your right to unemployment benefits. Hereafter, you will be entitled to unemployment benefits again at the earliest, when you have worked for at least 296 hours within a period of 12 weeks/3 months, if you are full-time insured. If you are part-time insured, you have to have worked at least 148 hours within a period of 12 weeks/3 months.
Read more on WorkinDenmark.dk
Read more on LifeinDenmark.dk
Først og fremmest skal du have ret til at bo og arbejde i Danmark.
- hvis du er nordisk statsborger, kan du frit bo og arbejde i Danmark
- hvis du er EU/EØS-statsborger, skal du have et EU-opholdsdokument, som beviser, at du har ret til at bo og arbejde i Danmark.
- hvis du er statsborger i et land uden for Norden og EU/EØS, skal du have en gyldig opholds- og arbejdstilladelse for at kunne bo og arbejde i Danmark.
Uanset hvilket statsborgerskab, du har, skal du gå til din kommunes borgerservice og få et cpr-nummer og et sundhedskort.
Læs mere om nordiske statsborgere
Læs mere om EU/EØS-statsborgere
Læs mere om statsborgere fra et land uden for EU/EØS
Hvis du som udlænding arbejder i Danmark, har du som udgangspunkt de samme arbejdsvilkår som danske statsborgere – uanset, om du arbejder i den private eller den offentlige sektor. Du arbejder altså under de samme vilkår med hensyn til løn, ferie, afskedigelse, arbejdsløshed, sundhed og sikkerhed på arbejdspladsen.
Læs mere om arbejdsvilkår og rettigheder på workindenmark.dk
Her er nogle links, som kan være relevante under jobsøgning i Danmark.
Jobnet.dk
Jobnet.dk er Danmarks største jobportal, og portalen er de danske jobcentres tilbud på internettet til alle jobsøgende og arbejdsgivere i hele landet.
Workindenmark
Web-portalen workindenmark.dk tilbyder vejledning om international rekruttering for både arbejdsgivere og udenlandske jobsøgere samt en job- og cv-bank, der er skræddersyet til international rekruttering.
På portalen kan du få viden om arbejds- og levevilkårene, fx skatteforhold og boligsituationen i Danmark.
I job-banken kan du finde ledige jobs, og i cv-banken kan du lægge dit cv ind. Hjemmesiden findes på dansk, engelsk, tysk og polsk.
EURES
EURES (European Employment Service) er et fælles-europæisk jobformidlingssystem.
Øresundsregionen
Jobcentrene på Sjælland og Bornholm samarbejder med arbejdsformidlingen i Skåne om at bidrage til udviklingen af et fælles arbejdsmarked i Øresundsregionen. På Jobnet.dk kan man finde stillinger i hele Øresundsregionen. Oresunddirekt.com tilbyder desuden vejledning om at arbejde i Danmark på svensk og engelsk.
Grænselandet
Oplysninger om rekruttering og arbejdsmarkedsforhold på tværs af den dansk-tyske grænse kan du finde på Eures-kompas.eu.
Hvis du overvejer at starte egen virksomhed i Danmark eller udvide din eksisterende virksomhed med en filial i Danmark, kan du finde nyttige oplysninger på Investindk.com
Hvis du bor eller arbejder i Danmark, har du pligt til at betale skat efter danske regler. For at kunne betale skat, skal du have et cpr-nummer og et skattekort.
Læs mere om skattereglerne hos workindenmark.dk
Hvis du som nordisk statsborger arbejder eller opholder dig i Danmark i en periode, forpligter du dig også til at betale skat efter danske regler. Du kan dog fortsat råde over en bolig og være forpligtet til at betale skat i det land, hvor du bor eller er flyttet fra.
Hvis du er fuldt skattepligtig i to lande, vil du som udgangspunkt skulle betale skat i begge lande af samme indkomst og formue. I disse tilfælde er det vigtigt at få klarlagt, i hvilket land du har skattemæssigt hjemsted efter bestemmelserne i den nordiske skatteaftale, så du undgår at blive dobbeltbeskattet.
Du kan læse mere om skattepligt og dobbeltbeskatning på Nordisk eTax:
Hvis du har gjort en uddannelse færdig i udlandet og ønsker at søge arbejde i Danmark på baggrund af uddannelsen, kan du få den vurderet af Uddannelses- og Forskningsstyrelsen. Styrelsen hører under Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet.
Vurderingen kan bruges til at dokumentere dine kvalifikationer over for en arbejdsgiver.
Der findes ca. 130 lovregulerede erhverv i Danmark – fx læge, folkeskolelærer, advokat og brandmand. Hvis du ønsker at søge job inden for et af de lovregulerede erhverv, er det nødvendigt at få dit udenlandske eksamensbevis godkendt, da du skal kunne opfylde en række specifikke krav.
Bemærk, at der findes særlige regler for EU/EØS-borgere.
Du kan klage over afgørelsen på en ansøgning om opholdstilladelse til Udlændinge- og Integrationsministeriet.
Du kan klage over afgørelsen på en ansøgning om EU/EØS-opholdsbevis til Udlændingestyrelsen.
Du kan ikke klage over de vurderinger, som Uddannelses- og Forskningsstyrelsen træffer, men styrelsen skal tage stilling til alle henvendelser, den modtager, og kan vælge at foretage en ny vurdering, hvis du fx har nye oplysninger om din udenlandske uddannelse.
Hvis du ønsker at klage over et afslag om optagelse på en uddannelse, skal du henvende dig til uddannelsesstedet.
Hvis du er uenig i en afgørelse om merit for din udenlandske uddannelse, kan du klage til Kvalifikationsnævnet via uddannelsesstedet.
6900 Skjern