Business visitors for establishment purposes (BVEPs)

• If you are a business visitor for establishment purposes, you can apply for a residence and work permit under the Pay Limit scheme, Positive List scheme and special individual qualifications.

Pay Limit scheme

Work permit requirements

• If you have been offered a job in Denmark with a high salary, you can apply for a residence and work permit via the Pay Limit scheme.
• It is not required that you have a specific educational background or that your job is within a specific professional field, but you have to meet certain conditions (e.g. you must receive a specific annual salary).

Application fees and indicative processing time

• Normal processing time is 1 month and the processing fee is at the moment DDK 3,215.

Where and how to file an application

• You can submit your application online. You can submit your application to a Danish diplomatic mission or an application centre in the country where you are residing. In certain countries Denmark does not have a diplomatic mission or application centre. In these instances a list (from the website) will refer you to one of the Norwegian missions with which Denmark has made an agreement or to the nearest Danish diplomatic mission or application centre in the region. If you are residing legally in Denmark, you are normally able to submit the application in Denmark.
• This is the case, if you:
  • hold a valid visa,
  • are exempt from the visa requirement, or
  • already hold a valid residence permit.

• You can submit the application in the SIRI’s Citizen Centre in Copenhagen. If you live outside the Greater Copenhagen area, you can also submit the application at a local police station with facilities for recording biometrics.
• Your permit is linked to your job in Denmark.
• With a permit under the Pay Limit scheme, your job content can change within the same university or company without you having to apply for a new work permit. For example, this applies if you are promoted or if your place of work changes. Salary and employment conditions must still correspond to Danish standards.
• If you apply from abroad, you can be granted a residence permit valid for 1 month before you start working. It will give you time to settle in Denmark. When you apply, you must declare that you can support yourself and any accompanying family members during this time.  If you do not declare this, your residence permit will be valid for 14 days before you start working.
• If you apply in Denmark, your residence permit will be valid from the day you start working.

Positive List scheme

Work permit requirements

• The Positive List is a list of professions experiencing a shortage of qualified professionals in Denmark.
• If you have been offered a job included in the Positive List, you can apply for a Danish residence and work permit based on the Positive List Scheme.
• You must have an educational background that makes you qualified for the job.
• To apply, your job must be on the Positive list and there are a number of other conditions you have to meet (e.g. educational requirements).

Application fees and indicative processing time

• Normal processing time is 1 month and the processing fee is at the moment DDK 3,215.

Where and how to file an application

• You can submit your application online. You can submit your application to a Danish diplomatic mission or an application centre in the country where you are residing. In certain countries Denmark does not have a diplomatic mission or application centre. In these instances a list (from the website) will refer you to one of the Norwegian missions with which Denmark has made an agreement or to the nearest Danish diplomatic mission or application centre in the region. If you are residing legally in Denmark, you are normally able to submit the application in Denmark.
• This is the case, if you:
  • hold a valid visa,
  • are exempt from the visa requirement, or
  • already hold a valid residence permit.

• You can submit the application in the SIRI’s Citizen Centre in Copenhagen. If you live outside the Greater Copenhagen area, you can also submit the application at a local police station with facilities for recording biometrics.
• You are only allowed to work in the job and in the company that you have been granted a permit to work in.
• If you apply from abroad, you can be granted a residence permit valid for 1 month before you start working. It will give you time to settle in Denmark. When you apply, you must declare that you can support yourself and any accompanying family members during this time.  If you do not declare this, your residence permit will be valid for 14 days before you start working.
• If you apply in Denmark, your residence permit will be valid from the day you start working.

Documentation required and conditions to be met

Pay Limit scheme:

• documentation of paid fee (receipt of your payment),
• copy of all pages of your passport – including all empty pages and the passport’s front and back cover,
• employment contract or job offer which contains information about your salary and terms of employment and a job description – the offer or contract must not be more than 30 days old,
• documentation of education relevant to the job offered,
• documentation of authorisation – only relevant if the job requires a Danish authorisation,
• a detailed plan of the set up of the company with information about when the company expects to be up and running,
• a documented overview of the larger expenses connected to the set-up of the company in Denmark,
• a business plan/business concept,
• a budget or general ledger balance as documentation for the economic basis of the company.

Positive List scheme:

• documentation of paid fee (receipt of your payment),
• copy of all pages of your passport – including all empty pages and the passport’s front and back cover,
• employment contract or job offer which contains information about your salary and terms of employment and a job description – the offer or contract must not be more than 30 days old,
• documentation of education relevant to the job offered,
• documentation of parts of your salary or benefits that do not appear in the employment contract (e.g. paid rent for housing or salary paid to you abroad),
• documentation of authorisation – only relevant if the job requires a Danish authorisation.

Further requirements

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• After arriving in Denmark you must report to your municipality of residence in order to be registered with the Central Office of Civil Registration as having entered and taken up residence in Denmark.

The maximum period of stay under each type of authorisation and conditions for any available extensions or renewal

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• If you are employed for a shorter period than 4 years, your residence and work permit will normally be valid for the period of your employment. If you want to continue working in Denmark after this time, you must apply for an extension of your residence and work permit.
• In addition, you will automatically be granted a 6 month job seeking permit allowing you to look for a new job in Denmark.
• If your employment is for a period of 4 years or more, you will normally be granted a permit valid for 4 years. If you want to continue to work after the first 4 years, you must apply for an extension of your residence and work permit based on the extension of your employment.

Available review and/or appeal procedures

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• Appeals against decisions relating to residence permits can be filed before the Immigration Appeals BoardSearch for available translations of the preceding linkDA•••.

Rights

Change of status

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• If you are granted a permit based on this scheme, your residence permit is linked to your job in Denmark. Your employment is the basis for your permit.
• You must inform SIRI if you lose your job. Your residence and work permit will be revoked as it is based on this exact job.
• Your work permit is limited to the employment that is the basis for your permit. You are not allowed to work in other positions than the one stated in your permit. This also applies if you are offered a new position in the same company.
• However, if you become unemployed through no fault of your own (e.g. due to cutbacks), you can apply for an extra 6 month residence permit allowing you to look for a new job in Denmark.
• You must apply for a job seeking permit no later than 2 days after your employment ends.
• If you find a new job while working in Denmark, you must submit a new application for a residence and work permit with information on your new employment. When you have submitted your new application, you can start working even though SIRI has not granted you a permit yet.

Family members

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• A residence and work permit based on a job in Denmark allows your family to come with you to Denmark.
• A permit can be granted to your spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.
• The family member will normally be granted a permit valid for the same period as the family member who is in Denmark to work (the sponsor), however, the period cannot exceed 4 years.
• If the sponsor’s employment is extended, and the family member wants to stay in Denmark, they must apply for an extension of their residence permit.
• Depending on your family member’s status they have to submit:
  • documentation of paid fee (receipt of payment),
  • a copy of all pages of their passport, including the cover,
  • a copy of your marriage or partnership certificate,
  • documentation of cohabitation (e.g. lease contracts, insurance policies, bank statements or letters, joint payments or similar, received at the same address),
  • a copy of their birth certificate,
  • the consent from the second parent, if this parent is not coming to Denmark as well.

Other rights

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• You must be able to support yourself and your family during your stay. You are not allowed to receive benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act (e.g. social security benefits).
• With a residence permit in Denmark, you are entitled to partly user paid Danish lessons. However, you must have turned 18 years and have your Danish address registered in the Danish National Register.
• Your salary and employment conditions must correspond to Danish standards, and there is freedom of association. This means that your salary, holiday entitlements, terms of notice etc., must not be below the standards within the professional field where you are going to work.

Special individual qualifications

Work permit requirements

• If you have been offered a job so closely linked to you that only you can carry it out, you can apply for residence and work permit based on these special individual qualifications.
• This could apply in the case of:
  • performers or artists, including singers, musicians and conductors,
  • professional athletes or coaches,
  • specialised chefs.

• There must be particular reasons justifying that the job must be performed by you, and you must provide documentation proving that you can carry out the job.
• The scheme is addressed at, but not exclusively limited to, artists, athletes and specialised chefs among others.
• You are only allowed to work for the job and in the company that you have been granted a permit to work in.
• If you are offered a new job, you must apply for a new permit. This also applies if you are offered a new position in the same company.
• If you are a practising or performing artist, a professional athlete or coach you are exempt from a work permit for sideline employment, provided it has substantial link with the main employment. This means that the residence permit also allows you to take up sideline employment with other employers without applying for a specific work permit.

The maximum period of stay

• You can be granted a residence and work permit valid for 1 year at a time during the first 2 years of your stay. However, the validity cannot exceed the length of your job contract. Hereafter, you can be granted a permit valid for a maximum of 2 years, and after 4 years, valid for a maximum of 3 years at a time.
• If you find a new job while working in Denmark, you must submit a new application for a residence and work permit with information on your new employment. When you have submitted your new application, you can start working even though you have not yet been granted a permit.

Family members

• A residence and work permit based on a job in Denmark allows your family to come with you to Denmark.
• A permit can be granted to your spouse, registered or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.

New to Denmark

Short-term business visitors (STBV)

• It is possible to get a visa in connection with a business visit in Denmark.
• In order for your visit to be considered a business visit, the following requirements must be met:
  • there must be an actual commercial relationship between your own company/organisation and the company/organisation in Denmark which you want to visit,
  • the Danish company / organisation must be registered in the Central Business Register (CVR),
  • the relationship with the company/organisation in Denmark must have been established prior your entrance in Denmark.
  • the purpose of your visit must be related to your line of business in your country of origin,
  • the company/organisation in Denmark must confirm your visit. If you do not include an invitation form or an invitation ID when submitting the application, the Immigration Service will normally send a questionnaire to the company/organisation in Denmark when processing your application.

New to Denmark

Contractual service suppliers (CSSs)

• If you are a contractual service supplier you can apply for residence and work permit under the Pay Limit scheme, Positive List scheme and special individual qualifications.

Pay Limit scheme

Work permit requirements

• If you have been offered a job in Denmark with a high salary, you can apply for a residence and work permit via the Pay Limit Scheme.
• It is not required that you have a specific educational background or that your job is within a specific professional field, but you have to meet certain conditions (e.g. you must receive a specific annual salary).

Application fees and indicative processing time

• Normal processing time is 1 month and the processing fee is at the moment DDK 3,215.

Where and how to file an application

• You can submit your application online. You can submit your application to a Danish diplomatic mission or an application centre in the country where you are residing. In certain countries Denmark does not have a diplomatic mission or application centre. In these instances a list (from the website) will refer you to one of the Norwegian missions with which Denmark has made an agreement or to the nearest Danish diplomatic mission or application centre in the region. If you are residing legally in Denmark, you are normally able to submit the application in Denmark.
• This is the case, if you:
  • hold a valid visa,
  • are exempt from the visa requirement, or
  • already hold a valid residence permit.

• You can submit the application in the SIRI’s Citizen Centre in Copenhagen. If you live outside the Greater Copenhagen area, you can also submit the application at a local police station with facilities for recording biometrics.
• Your permit is linked to your job in Denmark.
• With a permit under the Pay Limit scheme, your job content can change within the same university or company without you having to apply for a new work permit. For example, this applies if you are promoted or if your place of work changes. Salary and employment conditions must still correspond to Danish standards.
• If you apply from abroad, you can be granted a residence permit valid for 1 month before you start working. It will give you time to settle in Denmark. When you apply, you must declare that you can support yourself and any accompanying family members during this time.  If you do not declare this, your residence permit will be valid for 14 days before you start working.
• If you apply in Denmark, your residence permit will be valid from the day you start working.

Positive List scheme

Work permit requirements

• The Positive List is a list of professions experiencing a shortage of qualified professionals in Denmark.
• If you have been offered a job listed on the Positive List, you can apply for a Danish residence and work permit based on the Positive List scheme.
• You must have an educational background that makes you qualified for the job.
• To apply your job must be included in the Positive list and there are number of other conditions you have to meet (e.g. educational requirements).

Application fees and indicative processing time

• Normal processing time is 1 month and the processing fee is at the moment DDK 3,215.

Where and how to file an application

• You can submit your application online. You can submit your application to a Danish diplomatic mission or an application centre in the country where you are residing. In certain countries Denmark does not have a diplomatic mission or application centre. In these instances a list (from the website) will refer you to one of the Norwegian missions with which Denmark has made an agreement or to the nearest Danish diplomatic mission or application centre in the region. If you are residing legally in Denmark, you are normally able to submit the application in Denmark.
• This is the case, if you:
  • hold a valid visa,
  • are exempt from the visa requirement, or
  • already hold a valid residence permit.

• You can submit the application in the SIRI’s Citizen Centre in Copenhagen. If you live outside the Greater Copenhagen area, you can also submit the application at a local police station with facilities for recording biometrics.
• You are only allowed to work in the job and in the company that you have been granted a permit to work in.
• If you apply from abroad, you can be granted a residence permit valid for 1 month before you start working. It will give you time to settle in Denmark. When you apply, you must declare that you can support yourself and any accompanying family members during this time.  If you do not declare this, your residence permit will be valid for 14 days before you start working.
• If you apply in Denmark, your residence permit will be valid from the day you start working.

Documentation required and conditions to be met

Pay Limit scheme – depending on the situation:

• documentation of paid fee (receipt of your payment),
• a copy of all pages of your passport – including all empty pages and the passport’s front and back cover,
• an employment contract or job offer which contains information about your salary and terms of employment and a job description – the offer or contract must not be more than 30 days old,
• documentation of education relevant to the job offered,
• documentation of authorisation – only relevant if the job requires a Danish authorisation,
• a detailed plan for the set up of the company with information about when the company expects to be up and running,
• a documented overview of the larger expenses connected to the set-up of the company in Denmark,
• a business plan/business concept,
• a budget or general ledger balance as documentation for the economic basis of the company.

Positive List scheme:

• documentation of paid fee (receipt of your payment),
• a copy of all pages of your passport – including all empty pages and the passport’s front and back cover,
• an employment contract or job offer which contains information about your salary and terms of employment and a job description – the offer or contract must not be more than 30 days old,
• documentation of education relevant to the job offered,
• documentation of parts of your salary or benefits that do not appear in the employment contract (e.g. paid rent for housing or salary paid to you abroad),
• documentation of authorisation. Only relevant if the job requires a Danish authorisation.

Further requirements

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• After arriving in Denmark, you must report to your municipality of residence in order to be registered with the Central Office of Civil Registration as having entered and taken up residence in Denmark

The maximum period of stay under each type of authorisation and conditions for any available extensions or renewal

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• If you are employed for a shorter period than 4 years, your residence and work permit will normally be valid for the period of your employment. If you want to continue working in Denmark after this time, you must apply for an extension of your residence and work permit.
• In addition, you will automatically be granted a 6 month job seeking permit allowing you to look for a new job in Denmark.
• If your employment is for a period of 4 years or more, you will normally be granted a permit valid for 4 years. If you want to continue to work after the first 4 years, you must apply for an extension of your residence and work permit based on the extension of your employment.

Available review and/or appeal procedures

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• Appeals against decisions relating to residence permits can be filed before the Immigration Appeals BoardSearch for available translations of the preceding linkDA•••

Rights

Change of status

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• If you are granted a permit based on this scheme, your residence permit is linked to your job in Denmark. Your employment is the basis for your permit.
• You must inform SIRI if you lose your job. Your residence and work permit will be revoked as it is based on this exact job.
• Your work permit is limited to the employment that is the basis for your permit.  You are not allowed to work in other positions than the one stated in your permit. This also applies if you are offered a new position in the same company.
• However, if you become unemployed through no fault of your own, e.g. due to cutbacks, you can apply for an extra 6 month residence permit allowing you to look for a new job in Denmark.You must apply for a job seeking permit no later than 2 days after your employment ends.
• If you find a new job while working in Denmark, you must submit a new application for a residence and work permit with information on your new employment. When you have submitted your new application, you can start working even though SIRI has not granted you a permit yet.

Family members

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• A residence and work permit based on a job in Denmark allows your family to come with you to Denmark.
• A permit can be granted to your spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.
• The family member will normally be granted a permit valid for the same period as the family member who is in Denmark to work (the sponsor), however, the period cannot exceed 4
• If the sponsor’s employment is extended, and the family member wants to stay in Denmark, they must apply for an extension of their residence permit.
• Depending on your family member’s status they have to submit:
  • documentation of paid fee (receipt of payment),
  • a copy of all pages of their passport, including the cover,
  • a copy of your marriage or partnership certificate,
  • documentation of cohabitation such as lease contracts, insurance policies, bank statements or letters, joint payments or similar, received at the same address,
  • a copy of their birth certificate,
  • the consent from the second parent, if this parent is not coming to Denmark as well.

Other rights

Pay Limit scheme and Positive List scheme

• You must be able to support yourself and your family during your stay. You are not allowed to receive benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act (e.g. social security benefits).
• With a residence permit in Denmark, you are entitled to paid Danish lessons. However, you must have turned 18 years and have your Danish address registered in the Danish National Register.
• Your salary and employment conditions must correspond to Danish standards, and there is freedom of association. This means that your salary, holiday entitlements, terms of notice etc. must not be below the standards within the professional field where you are going to work.

Special individual qualifications

• If you have been offered a job so closely linked to you that only you can carry it out, you can apply for a residence and work permit based on these special individual qualifications.
• This could apply in the case of:
  • performers or artists, including singers, musicians and conductors,
  • professional athletes or coaches,
  • specialised chefs.

• There must be particular reasons that the job must be performed by you, and you must provide documentation that you can carry out the job.
• The scheme is aimed at, but not exclusively limited to, artists, athletes and specialised chefs among others.
• You are only allowed to work in the job and in the company that you have been granted a permit to work in.
• If you are offered a new job, you must apply for a new permit. This also applies if you are offered a new position in the same company.
• If you are a practising or performing artist or a professional athlete or coach you are exempt for work permit for sideline employment, provided it has substantial coherence to the main employment. This means that the residence permit also allows you to take up sideline employment with other employers without applying for a specific work permit.
• You can be granted a residence and work permit valid for 1 year at a time during the first 2 years of your stay. However, the validity cannot exceed the length of your job contract. Hereafter, you can be granted a permit valid for a maximum of 2 years, and after 4 years, valid for a maximum of 3 years at a time.
• If you find a new job while working in Denmark, you must submit a new application for a residence and work permit with information on your new employment. When you have submitted your new application, you can start working even though you have not yet been granted a permit.
• A residence and work permit based on a job in Denmark allows your family to come with you to Denmark.
• A permit can be granted to your spouse, registered or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.

Special individual qualifications

• If you have been offered a job so closely linked to you that only you can carry it out, you can apply for a residence and work permit based on these special individual qualifications.
• This could apply in the case of:
  • performers or artists, including singers, musicians and conductors,
  • professional athletes or coaches,
  • specialised chefs.

• There must be particular reasons justifying that the job must be performed by you, and you must provide documentation proving that you can carry out the job.
• The scheme is addressed at, but not exclusively limited to, artists, athletes and specialised chefs among others.
• You are only allowed to work in the job and in the company that you have been granted a permit to work in.
• If you are offered a new job, you must apply for a new permit. This also applies if you are offered a new position in the same company.
• If you are a practising or performing artist or a professional athlete or coach you are exempt from a work permit for sideline employment, provided it has substantial coherence to the main employment. This means that the residence permit also allows you to take up sideline employment with other employers without applying for a specific work permit.

The maximum period of stay

You can be granted a residence and work permit valid for 1 year at a time during the first 2 years of your stay. However, the validity cannot exceed the length of your job contract. Hereafter, you can be granted a permit valid for a maximum of 2 years, and after 4 years, valid for a maximum of 3 years at a time.

• If you find a new job while working in Denmark, you must submit a new application for a residence and work permit with information on your new employment. When you have submitted your new application, you can start working even though you have not yet been granted a permit.

Family members

• A residence and work permit based on a job in Denmark allows your family to come with you to Denmark.
• A permit can be granted to your spouse, registered or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.

New to Denmark

New to Denmark

Independent professionals (IPs)

• If you are an independent professional you can apply for residence and work permit under the Start-up Denmark scheme or the “fitter” rule.
• If you want to run your own business in Denmark based on an innovative business idea, you can apply the Start-up Denmark scheme.
• Start-up Denmark is a scheme for foreign entrepreneurs giving you the opportunity to be granted a Danish residence permit in order to establish and run an innovative growth company.
• Your business idea must be approved by a panel of experts appointed by the Danish Business Authority before SIRI can process your application for a residence and work permit based on the scheme.
• The scheme can be used by both individuals and teams of up to 3 people who want to start a business together in Denmark through a joined business plan.
• You must meet certain conditions in order to be granted a residence permit and run your own business in Denmark based on the Start-up Denmark scheme, including that your business idea must be approved by the Danish Business Authority´s panel of experts.
• You are only allowed to work in the business that you have been granted a permit to work in.
• The residence and work permit allows you to stay in Denmark for the period of time your permit is valid.

Family members

• A residence and work permit based on the Start-up Denmark scheme allows your family to come with you to Denmark.
• A permit can be granted to your spouse, registered or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.

The “fitter” rule

• If a Danish company has acquired a high tech product from a foreign company and you will be working as a ‘fitter’, consultant or instructor in Denmark, you could be subject to the ‘fitter rule’. In order to be exempt from the residence and work permit requirement, your total stay in Denmark cannot exceed 90 days. If you stay more than 90 days, you must apply for a residence and work permit before you begin to work.
• Note that ‘fitters’ only can be granted a residence and work permit if they meet the conditions of one of the work schemes (e.g. the Pay Limit scheme or the Positive List scheme). It is your own responsibility to obtain a residence and work permit if required.
• You work task must be to:
• install,
• check,
• maintain or
• repair
• a machine, equipment, IT software or similar, that is a technical equipment or you must share information on the use of the equipment or software. The equipment can, e.g. be high tech machinery which must be installed by the foreign company’s personnel, having been trained to install the equipment correctly.

Requirements:

• you must be employed or connected to the company that delivers the imported product, and
• you must normally receive a salary from this company.
• If you are employed by a company different from the company that delivers the product, there must be an agreement between the two companies stating that your company will do the installation.
• The ‘fitter rule’can be used until the technical equipment, software or similar has been installed and is ready for use – including the accompanying and necessary instruction.
• The ‘fitter rule’ cannot be used for later servicing (even though a service contract has been made), adjustments, maintenance or upgrading of the equipment.

What is not covered by the ‘fitter rule’?

• Ordinary construction and skilled work is not subject to the rule. This means that you must have a residence and work permit, if you, e.g. are going to build houses, which have been partly or entirely fabricated abroad.
• Disassembly, most often in connection with the dismantling of used Danish technology or machinery, is not subject to the rule. This sort of work requires a residence and work permit.

Investors

Are you a non-EU citizen wanting to work as an investor (self-employed) in Denmark? You can find information below on the conditions to fulfil and procedures to follow, as well as the rights you can enjoy during your stay.

Work permit requirements

• Normally, a non-EU citizen must have a work permit in order to work in Denmark. You must obtain a residence and work permit to carry out an independent activity and/or to operate an independent company in Denmark.
• There are, however, some exceptions from this general rule. According to the Danish immigration law, an activity is defined as work if the foreigner performs tasks in Danish territory which entails an output for a company or recipient.
• However, it is not work if a foreigner merely has to participate in a meeting or an education session in Denmark for a short period (less than 90 days).
• Professional board members do not need a work permit if they are in Denmark for a maximum of 40 days within a calendar year to perform their duties as members of a board.

More on when a work permit is compulsory.

Where and how to file an application

• To pursue an activity as an investor (self-employed/entrepreneur) in Denmark, you must be issued a residence and work permit under the Start-Up Denmark scheme from the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration.
• Prior to applying for a residence and work permit to establish and run your business in Denmark you must submit your business idea for evaluation by the panel of experts appointed by the Danish Business Authority
• More on how to submit your business idea for evaluation.                          

Documentation required

• When processing your application, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration will pay particular attention to the following conditions:
  • you must provide evidence that you have access to sufficient financial means to run your business,
  • your presence and involvement must be vital to the establishment of the business, and you must participate actively in its day-to-day operations – if you only have financial interests in the business, such as a shareholder, you will not be eligible for a Danish residence and work permit,
  • your business plan has been positively assessed by the panel of experts appointed by the Danish Business Authority.

The maximum period of stay

• If granted, the residence and work permit will be valid for one year, with a possibility of extension.

Available review and/or appeal procedures

• Appeals against decisions relating to residence permits can be filed before the Immigration Appeals BoardSearch for available translations of the preceding linkDA•••.

Further information

• More on appeals
• More on self-employment in Denmark

Rights

Change of employment

• If the nature or the purpose of the business envisaged changes considerably or if the business closes down, you may open a new business but you need first to apply for a new approval from the panel of experts and for a new residence and work permit.

Family members

• Your spouse, cohabiting partner or registered partner and children under 18 years old may be eligible for residence permits.
• You must be able to show that you have access to sufficient funds to support your accompanying family members.