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Work permit or EU residence document – who needs what to live and work in Denmark in 2026

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

An EU passport lets you start work in Denmark the day you arrive, while almost everyone else needs a work permit from SIRI first. Salary floors, the Positive Lists and the student rules all changed in 2025 and 2026, so here is what applies to you and what it costs.

Woman with a backpack at the airport
Photo: Gorodenkoff/Adobe Stock

If you need a work permit in Denmark, 2026 brought new numbers. Since 1 January, the Pay Limit Scheme run by SIRI (the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration) has required at least DKK 552,000 a year, and the Positive Lists of shortage occupations have been rewritten twice.

What changed for work permits in Denmark in 2025 and 2026?

DateWhat changed
2 May 2025Students applying from this date to non-state-approved programmes get no right to work, no job-seeking permit and no family permits
1 January 2026Pay Limit Scheme: DKK 552,000 a year, up from DKK 514,000; supplementary pay limit DKK 446,000, up from DKK 415,000
1 January and 1 July 2026Positive Lists rewritten: 183, then 164 job titles for people with a higher education; 57, then 63 for skilled work
15 September 2026Statements on non-state-approved programmes now come from the Danish Accreditation Council's secretariat, after the Danish Evaluation Institute closed on 1 July 2026
1 October 2026New income statistics used to judge whether pay meets Danish standards
1 January 2027A new Pay Limit Scheme based on collective agreements is due to start, with its own certification

Source: New to Denmark, the website of SIRI and the Danish Immigration Service, read 23 September 2026.

Do EU, EEA, Swiss and Nordic citizens need a permit?

No. As an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen you may enter freely and start work on arrival. Staying over three months, you apply for an EU residence document within three months of entering – six if you are job-seeking – and appear in person at a SIRI branch office within 30 days of applying online. There is no fee, and the document has no expiry date while you meet the conditions.

To count as a worker, you normally work at least 10–12 hours a week for at least 10–12 weeks. Each family member, children included, applies separately. After five years under EU rules, you have the right to permanent residence.

Nordic citizens need no visa, permit or even passport, if they can identify themselves otherwise; non-Nordic family members apply under the EU rules.

UK citizens resident before 31 December 2020 are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, whose application period ended on 31 December 2023. Arriving from the UK since 1 January 2021, you apply like any other non-EU citizen.

You are a citizen ofWhat you needFee
An EU or EEA country, or SwitzerlandAn EU residence document if staying over three monthsNone
Finland, Iceland, Norway or SwedenNothingNone
The UK or any other countryA residence and work permitDKK 6,810 for the main work schemes

Source: New to Denmark and Life in Denmark, read 23 September 2026.

Which work permit in Denmark fits you: Pay Limit Scheme, Fast-Track or Positive Lists?

If you know the EU Blue Card from other countries: it is not among the work schemes on SIRI's official lists. Denmark uses its own national schemes instead.

Under the Pay Limit Scheme, from 1 January 2026 the job must pay at least DKK 552,000 a year, or DKK 46,000 a month, for at least 30 hours a week. Only cash salary, pension contributions and paid holiday allowance count – not a company car, phone or housing. The salary goes into a Danish bank account in your own name, opened within 180 days of the permit. When you extend, you may keep the amount that applied when you first applied.

The Fast-Track Scheme works through employers certified by SIRI, which requires at least 10 full-time permanent employees. Certified companies can hire without waiting for SIRI's decision, on five tracks: pay limit, supplementary pay limit, short-term, researcher and educational. The supplementary track needs DKK 446,000 a year and seasonally adjusted gross unemployment averaging no more than 3.75 per cent over the 3 months before you apply; the short-term track allows at most 90 days in any 365.

The Positive Lists name jobs in short supply, for people with a higher education and for skilled work. They are updated on 1 January and 1 July, and a title cannot be removed sooner than two years after it was added. For the higher-education list, your education must qualify you for the job.

SchemeMain condition (2026)FeeNormal processing
Pay Limit SchemeSalary of at least DKK 552,000 a yearDKK 6,8101 month, up to 3
Fast-Track SchemeAn employer certified by SIRIDKK 6,810No wait for the decision
Positive List for Skilled WorkA job on the listDKK 6,8103 months, up to 4
Positive List for People with a Higher EducationA listed job and matching educationDKK 6,810Ask SIRI
ResearcherResearch is the main purposeDKK 6,8101 month, up to 2
Student, higher educationFull-time admission; DKK 7,426 a month in funds, at most DKK 89,112DKK 3,0602 months, up to 3

Source: New to Denmark, read 23 September 2026.

A work permit normally lasts 4 years if your contract runs that long. From abroad, it can start one month before your first working day if you can support yourself. A new employer means a new application, and a Danish permit does not let you work in other Schengen countries. Your spouse or partner and children under 18 living at home can come with you. Lose a job under the Pay Limit Scheme, the higher-education Positive List or the researcher scheme, and you have 2 days to apply for a job-seeking permit of up to 6 months, without the right to work.

What do researchers and students need to know?

Researchers need not work full-time, may take side jobs with other employers without a separate work permit, and may give up their Danish address during periods abroad.

Students must study full-time. In a state-approved programme you may work 90 hours a month from September to May and full-time in June, July and August – the rule since 1 July 2024. Graduates can normally get a job-seeking permit of 6 months or 3 years. Applied to a non-state-approved programme on or after 2 May 2025? Then you have no right to work and cannot bring family.

Family, refugees and former Danes: which rules apply?

Joining someone here to work or study is a separate scheme. Family reunification with a partner who is a Danish citizen, permanent resident or refugee has these main conditions:

RequirementWhat applies
AgeBoth normally at least 24; you can apply when the younger turns 23 years and 6 months
Financial guaranteeDKK 61,709.34 (2026 level), set aside by the partner in Denmark
HousingNo more than two people per room, or at least 20 square metres each; not in an area on the housing requirement list
IntegrationTogether, 4 of 6 integration-related conditions
Danish testsA1 within 6 months and A2 within 9 months of the permit
Fee and timeDKK 8,490; expected maximum 10 months

Source: New to Denmark, read 23 September 2026.

The partner in Denmark must not have received certain social benefits in the past three years, and the permit is typically granted for two years.

Asylum can only be sought from inside Denmark, in person at a police station. An asylum seeker who finds a job on a Positive List, or one at the pay limit, can apply under that scheme. Former Danish citizens and people of Danish descent apply to Udlændingestyrelsen (the Danish Immigration Service), which expects to take at most 10 months.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Outside the EU: compare your offer with DKK 552,000 a year, or check the Positive ListsBefore you apply
2EU/EEA/Swiss: apply online for the EU residence document and visit SIRIWithin 3 months of entry; the visit within 30 days
3Send a complete application and pay the feeOnce you have the offer or admission
4Pay Limit Scheme: open a Danish bank account for your salaryWithin 180 days
5Questions: call SIRI on 72 14 20 00Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 9–15, Friday 9–12

Source: New to Denmark and SIRI, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.