Social assistance in Denmark

You apply for social assistance to the municipality. The municipality will assess whether you are entitled to support, and what rate you may be able to receive. This will depend, amongst other things, on your age, your education, how long you have stayed in Denmark and whether you have previously worked.

What general conditions do you need to meet to receive social assistance?

In order to be eligible for assistance, you must meet the following conditions:

• You must have experienced a change in your living circumstances, such as illness, unemployment or the termination of cohabitation.
• This change has deprived you of the possibility of providing what is needed for yourself or your family, and you are not supported by others.
• Your need for support cannot be covered by other benefits, such as unemployment benefits or a pension.

The municipality will examine your wealth and income when it assesses whether you can receive social assistance. You can work while receiving social assistance, but your work income may mean that you receive less in assistance. The rules depend on the rate you are allocated.

What rates are available?

The social assistance rate you can receive depends, amongst other things, on your age, how long you have legally lived in Denmark, Greenland or the Faroe Islands, and whether you have previously worked. There are four rates: increased rate, basic rate, minimum rate, and living-at-home rate.

• In order to receive the increased rate or basic rate, you must have lived legally in Denmark, Greenland or the Faroe Islands for at least 9 of the past 10 years. If you have travelled into Denmark, the Faroe Islands or Greenland, you must, as a rule, also meet an employment requirement of 2 years and 6 months full-time employment within the past 10 years. The residence and employment requirements do not apply if you are entitled to the assistance under EU law. This might for example apply to EU/EEA citizens who have employee status in Denmark, and to their family members.
• You can also receive increased rate if you are over 25 and meet a work requirement. This basically means that you must have had ordinary full-time work in Denmark, Greenland, the Faroe Islands or another EU/EEA country for at least 2 years and 6 months within the past 10 years.
• If you are under 30 and meet the conditions, you can receive the basic rate.
• If you live at home with one or both of your parents and are under 30, you can receive a living-at-home rate.

At borger.dk you can read about how any assets you may have may affect your right to receive social assistance. You can also read about supplements, calculation of residence time, meeting the employment status requirement, and more.

You can apply for social assistance via self-service at borger.dk. You can also contact your municipality if you need help to apply. At borger.dk you can read more about the conditions, rates and application process.

What does it mean to be available for work or activation ready?

No later than one week after you have first contacted the municipality for assistance, you will be called to an interview. The municipality will assess whether you are available for work or activation ready.

If the municipality assesses that you can be employed within a short time, you will be deemed available for work. This basically means that you must be looking for work and able to take a job.

If the municipality assesses that you cannot be employed within a short time, you will be deemed activation ready. This means that you must participate in the activities that the municipality assigns to you.

If you receive the minimum rate but do not meet the residence and employment requirements, you may be subject to a work obligation. This means that the municipality may require you to participate in activities for up to 37 hours per week. These might include community service, internship or ordinary waged work.

If you are not a Danish citizen and have received social assistance for an extended period of time, this may affect your right to stay in Denmark. The municipality may disclose information on the matter to the Danish Immigration Service, who will assess whether you can continue to be entitled to to reside in Denmark.

If you are a Nordic citizen and are covered by the Nordic Convention on Social Assistance and Social Services, special rules on protection against repatriation may apply. You cannot as a rule be repatriated due to the need for social assistance if your family circumstances, your connection to Denmark or other circumstances indicate that you should stay. You cannot be repatriated for this reason if you have resided legally in Denmark for more than three years.

The relevant rules are contained in the Executive Order of the Act on Active Social Policy.

If you have any questions about this, you can contact your municipality.