Immigration Central: Denmark eases study, work, residence rules from April 1

2,800 Indians arrived in Denmark with a work permit in 2022, an increase of 73 percent over the previous year. (Photo via Unsplash)

On April 1, 2023, a number of amendments to the Danish Aliens Act came into effect that will ease studying, working and getting residence permits in Denmark. The new amendments affect different schemes administered by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

According to Statistics Denmark, the country’s official statistical website, the number of foreigners who decided to immigrate to Denmark for work in 2022 increased 24 percent over the previous year, and was the highest since 1997.

Indians accounted for the largest increase in the number of immigrants with a work permit to Denmark in 2022. Around 31,600 foreigners immigrated to the country for work purposes in 2022, with Indians marking a 73 percent increase with 2,800 arrivals.

Here's a look at most important features of the amended Danish Aliens Act (Source: Danish Immigration Service and The Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment).

The Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme: The newly created Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme allows third-country nationals to apply for residence permits if the salary offered is at least DKK 375,000 (roughly INR 45 lakh; 1 Danish Krone =12.02 INR). Applicants are not required to have a specific educational background or a job within a specific professional field.

Fast-track Scheme: The Fast-track Scheme makes it faster and more flexible for certified companies to recruit foreign employees to work in Denmark. The employment must meet the conditions for one of the Fast-track Scheme’s five tracks:

· The pay limit track

· The supplementary pay limit track

· The short-term track

· The researcher track

· The educational track

If you are applying for a residence and work permit under the Fast-track Scheme, it is the employer who must handle the application process using a power of attorney from the prospective employee. However, it is essential that the employer is certified by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

Certification to the Fast-track Scheme: The Fast-track Scheme is aimed at larger companies with a genuine need for recruiting highly qualified foreign employees from countries outside the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, to Denmark quickly. The scheme encompasses both private and public companies, including universities.

Earlier companies that were certified for the Fast-track Scheme had to have 20 full-time workers on a permanent basis in Denmark. This requirement has now been halved to 10 permanent, full-time employees in the country.

A company’s certification is valid for four years and can be extended if the company continues to meet the conditions.

The Positive List for People with Higher Education: 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 residence and work permit in Denmark based on the Positive List Scheme.

You must have an educational background that makes you qualified for the job.

A job title can appear in the list, if there is a regional or national shortage of qualified professionals for the position.

A job title can be added to the Positive List if:

· Ongoing labour market monitoring (the Labour Market Balance Model) shows that there is a national shortage of qualified professionals for a job title,

· Profession-specific unemployment insurance funds (a-kasser) assess that there is a national shortage of qualified professionals for a job title, or

· The Regional Labour Market Councils assess that there is a regional shortage of qualified professionals for a job title.

The Regional Labour Market Councils and the profession specific unemployment insurance funds also update the Positive List twice a year, but this normally happens on April 1 and October 1. However, in case of an acute shortage of qualified professional for a job title, the Regional Labour Market Councils and the profession-specific unemployment insurance funds can add a job title to the list at any time.

The job titles in the Positive List can be delisted no sooner than two years after the time they were added to the list.

Start-up Denmark: The Start-up Denmark scheme is expanded to allow company owners, who are third-country nationals and wish to open a branch of an existing independent foreign company in Denmark, to apply for a residence permit under this scheme.

It is also specified in the Danish Aliens Act that a third-country national, who has already established a successful independent company in Denmark while also having other grounds for residence, may apply for a residence permit under the Start-up Denmark scheme to run the business.

Study: The residence permit for job seeking after completing a higher educational programme or PhD programme is now extended from six months to three years. The change applies to third-country nationals who complete a professional bachelor's, bachelor's, master's or PhD programme in Denmark.

The residence permit for job seeking after having completed higher educational programmes other than the ones mentioned above, as well as educational programmes without an approval from a state authority but having instead an advisory statement from the Danish Evaluation institute (EVA), will still have the same length of six months.

The Establishment Card: This card will be abolished as a scheme. However, those holding the card can still apply for an extension of an establishment card.