Working or studying in Denmark
Whether you want to work or study in Denmark, there are a number of practical things you need to prepare.
Working
If you are going to work in Denmark, there are some things you should know and consider. When you are employed, a number of employment conditions apply.
Find more information about these employment conditions on "Work in Denmark's" website. The website is in English, German and Danish. There is also an abbreviated version in Polish.
Workindenmark (Work in Denmark)
You can also obtain more information from the Danish Working Environment Authority:
Danish Working Environment Authority (Work Environment in Denmark)
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Tax and the Danish welfare state
The Danish welfare state is, among other things, based on the concept of citizens having equal access to the different services paid for by taxes. Almost all adults living in Denmark pay tax to this country, and everybody receives services in return in some form. In this way, tax is something which affects everyone.
The tax funds are used to pay for expenses such as welfare benefits, state pension, child and youth allowances, public institutions, etc. In Denmark, all citizens can for example get medical help and hospital treatment, and children attend school and have the possibility of completing an education.
Danish taxes consist of direct taxes and indirect taxes. The most common types of tax are: direct taxes, state tax, municipal tax, health contribution and church tax.
Find more information on tax and the Danish welfare state at “Life in Denmark´s” website.
A generel introduction to the Danish tax system (Life in Denmark)
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Work permit and civil registration number / personal tax number
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. If you are a citizen from a country outside Scandinavia, the EU/EEA or Switzerland, you will also need a work permit.
Residence document and work permit
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Assessment of your qualifications
There are various ways in which you can have your foreign education and training assessed and recognised in Denmark. The Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education provides assessments of non-Danish degrees, diplomas and certificates – comparing qualifications with the nearest Danish equivalent so that your CV makes sense to a Danish employer.
If your profession is regulated by law, you do not need to ask for a qualification assessment. Instead, you need to apply for an authorisation in order to work within your profession.
Find more information on diploma recognition on the website of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science:
Guide to diploma recognition (Ministry of Higher Education and Science)
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Some jobs require authorisation
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The contract describes the specific conditions of the employment. It must at least contain information on the following:
- Employer's and employee's name and address.
- The location of the workplace or, if there is no fixed workplace, where the work is primarily performed/information that the employee is to work in various locations, and the employer's main office or address.
- Job description or employee's job title, rank or job category.
- Employment commencement date.
- Expected duration of employment, if not permanent employment.
- The employee's rights regarding holidays, including whether salary will be paid while the employee is on holiday.
- Employee's and employer's terms of notice.
- The applicable or agreed salary to which the employee is entitled upon commencement of employment and allowances or other forms of remuneration that are not included herein, e.g. pension contributions, lodging and meals. The frequency of salary payments must also be included in the contract.
- The standard daily or weekly working hours.
- Information on which collective agreements or other agreements that regulate the employment and working conditions. If the collective agreements or agreements in question were entered into by parties outside of the company, these parties must be identified in the contract.
To avoid any doubts or misunderstandings, it is always a good idea to have the employment contract translated into a language the employee is familiar with but the employer is not required to do so by law.
Find more information on employment contracts at “Life in Denmark’s” website:
Employment contracts (Life in Denmark)
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Holiday and holiday pay
All employees in Denmark have the right to five weeks’ holiday in each holiday year. The holiday year runs from 1 May to 30 April. If you have been employed for less than one calendar year, you earn 2.08 days of paid holiday per month of employment. If you have not earned the right to five weeks’ paid holiday, you still have the right to up to five weeks’ holiday without pay. All employees have the right to three weeks’ consecutive holiday in the period 1 May to 30 September.
Find more information on “Life in Denmark’s” website:
Holiday allowance (Life in Denmark)
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Trade unions
When you negotiate pay and employment terms, it is an advantage to know a little about the special aspects of the Danish labour market. At the majority of Danish workplaces, pay and employment conditions are regulated via collective agreements between trade unions and employer associations.
Find more information on trade unions at "Work in Denmark's" website:
Terms of Employment (Work in Denmark)
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Weekly hours
Even if there is no statutory provision on what constitutes normal weekly hours, the normal working week in Denmark is 37 hours according to most collective agreements. Weekly hours are, however, lower in connection with shift work and permanent night work.
Find more information on working hours at “Life in Denmark’s” website:
Working hours (Life in Denmark)
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Job centres
A total of 91 job centres are placed throughout all of Denmark. Basically, there is one job centre in each municipality in Denmark. The concept is self-service, which means that the job centres provide resources enabling you to find work, and an IT system to advertise job vacancies for employers by using a job and CV database called "Jobnet".
This can be accessed through the job centre computers or via the following website:
Jobnet in English (Jobnet Information)
To see a map of Danish job centres (all names are in Danish):
Map and jobcenters (Jobnet Information)
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Workindenmark - search for jobs
In Denmark, we have a homepage, workindenmark.dk, which advises people and organisations on all aspects related to recruiting new employees from outside Denmark. Workindenmark.dk helps companies and job seekers find the information they need.
Workindenmark.dk includes access to a CV bank and a job bank.
In the job bank, you can search for jobs in Denmark within companies looking specifically for international labour. You can also submit your CV to Workindenmark.dk’s CV bank and make your qualifications and competencies visible to Danish companies.
The website is in English.
Find Your New Job in Denmark (Work in Denmark)
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Unemployment insurance
In contrast to other forms of social security in Denmark, the Danish unemployment insurance system is a voluntary insurance scheme. It means that you are not automatically insured against unemployment.
If you want to be insured against unemployment when working in Denmark, you have to join a Danish unemployment insurance fund – also known as an “A-kasse”. These are private associations.
List of unemployment insurance funds (Styrelsen for Arbejdsmarked og Rekruttering)
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Member of an unemployment insurance
If you become unemployed as a member of an unemployment insurance fund, you will under certain conditions receive unemployment benefits. You can contact an unemployment insurance fund within your field of work and get more information about membership and your rights.
You are only eligible to receive unemployment benefits when you have been member of an unemployment insurance fund for at least 12 months. The amount of time that you have been insured in your home country may be recognized if you remember to submit documentation for this to your Danish “A-kasse” within 8 weeks after arrival to Denmark.
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What makes you a cross-border commuter?
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What housing choices are there?
If you do not receive company-provided housing, you can either choose to rent or to buy housing.
Most foreign nationals who work in Denmark choose to rent their home, as it is the type of home with the least obligations.
In general, it is difficult as a foreigner to buy real estate in Denmark. When buying real estate in Denmark, there are two main kinds:
- Traditional owner-occupied housing, which the owner has at his or her own disposal
- Cooperative housing, where you own a property together with others and run it as a cooperative housing society.
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How do I find a place to live?
There is no central register of vacant private rental property. It is the individual letter’s decision how to advertise a vacant flat and to whom the flat is to be let.
Flats and rooms for rent are often advertised on the internet or found through colleagues, friends and acquaintances.
There are rental property portals where you have the opportunity to search for private rental property throughout the country. On the rental property portal, DanmarkBolig.dk, you will find a detailed presentation of more than 550,000 council housing dwellings.
Look for a place to rent (Danmark Bolig)
As finding accommodation is particularly difficult in the capital of Copenhagen, the City of Copenhagen has gathered more specific information on accommodation:
Find your home in Copenhagen (City of Copenhagen)
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Buying real estate in Denmark
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Renting a home and signing a rental contract
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Student accommodation
If you are an international student, you can apply for student accommodation. Contact the international office at the school or university, where you will be studying.
There are many student residences. Some of them are privately owned with their own independent administration. In the Danish capital of Copenhagen you can, free of charge, get on the waiting list for a student residence at “Kollegiernes Kontor I København”, which is an organisation that administers accommodation for approx. 5,891 students and young people in Copenhagen and the surrounding areas.
Kollegiernes kontor i København (KKIK)
Student housing in Copenhagen (City of Copenhagen)
Student housing in Aarhus (City of Aarhus)
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Studying
If you are going to Denmark to study, there are a number of practical things you need to prepare.
Get more information at “Life in Denmark’s” website:
School and education (Life in Denmark)