Guide: Work in Denmark
If you are considering applying for a job in Denmark, there are several things to consider, including job-seeking, permits, taxation, social security and working conditions. Below is a checklist of the most important things to be aware of if you are working in Denmark.
Work permit
If you are a citizen of a Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden), you can live and work in Denmark without applying for a work and residence permit. If you are a citizen of another country, different rules apply, depending on whether or not you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country. You can read more about this at the Info Norden website.
Seeking work
You can find information about applying for jobs in Denmark on the Info Norden website. You can also read about finding a job in Denmark at the Work in Denmark website.
Seeking work in Denmark while on unemployment benefits from your home country
If you are receiving unemployment benefits in another EU or EEA country, you may be able to receive them for up to three months while you look for work in Denmark. You can read more about this at the Info Norden website.
Authorisation
In certain professions, you must have a licence in order to practise. You can read more about this at the Info Norden website.
Pay and conditions
At jobindex.dk you can compare rates of pay for various types of positions by geographical area in Denmark, and you can read about general working and employment conditions in Denmark on the website of the Ministry of Employment.
Tax
When you start working in Denmark, you will need a tax card and a Danish personal identity number (CPR number). The tax authorities will make a preliminary assessment of your expected income, and every year in March, you will receive an annual statement. You can correct this yourself, if necessary, using the tax authorities’ self-service function. In order to do this, you will need to use the Danish electronic ID system, MitID. You can read more about this at skat.dk. You can also obtain tax information in Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish at Nordic eTax, which is a collaboration between the tax authorities in the Nordic countries.
Public assistance
If you move to Denmark to work, you will normally be covered by Danish social security. In some situations, you may be covered by the social security of another country – for example if you have been posted abroad, or if you work in a country other than Denmark.
Being ‘covered by social insurance’ in a country means that there are rules in that country that apply to you in such areas as:
Working or living in other Nordic countries
In certain situations, you will need to pay special attention to your tax situation and where you are socially insured. These are:
- If you live in Denmark and work in another country
- If you live in another Nordic country and work in Denmark
As a rule, you are covered by the social security system of the country in which you work. If you work in two Nordic countries, you will generally be covered by the social security of the country in which you live, if you work more than 25% of the time in that country. Otherwise, you will be covered by the social security of the country in which you do most of your work. Note that special rules apply if you work in Denmark and the Faroe Islands, or in Denmark and Greenland. If you are in doubt about which country's social security you are covered by, you can contact Udbetaling Danmark, international social security.
If you live in another Nordic country and are covered by Danish social security, you must be a member of a Danish unemployment insurance fund in order to be insured against unemployment. You will be entitled to healthcare services in Denmark. You will need to apply for the special health card in the municipality in which your workplace is located. You can read more on the Info Norden pages about Danish unemployment benefit and the right to healthcare services in Denmark.
If you work in two countries, please note that your employers in all the countries in which you work must, as a general rule, pay social security contributions to the country in which you are socially insured.
You can read about tax matters for cross-border commuters at Nordic eTax, which is a co-operation between the tax authorities in the Nordic countries.
If you are a citizen of a country outside the Nordic region, the EU or the EEA, and you live in another Nordic country where you wish to stay while working in Denmark, you must apply for a work permit as a ‘commuter’ (cross-border worker). To obtain a commuter work permit, you must meet the same conditions as you would if you were applying for a residence and work permit in Denmark. You should contact the immigration authorities in the country in which you live to make sure you can commute to work in Denmark without this affecting your current residence permit.
Trade unions
You can read about Danish trade unions on the Info Norden website.
Seasonal jobs for young people
Nordjobb arranges seasonal jobs for young Nordic and EU citizens aged between 18 and 30. Fluency in Danish, Norwegian or Swedish is required.
Further information
Please fill in our contact form if you have any questions or if you have encountered an obstacle in another Nordic country.
NB! If you have questions regarding the processing of a specific case or application, or other personal matters, please contact the relevant authority directly.
