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Work permit rules complicate cross-border commuting for non-EU citizens

Thousands of people commute between Denmark and Sweden every day, living in one country and working in the other, and it's a lifestyle the Öresund region is actively trying to promote. But for non-EU workers, the migration law makes things difficult.

Published: 11 January 2019 12:31 CET
Updated: 11 January 2019 16:56 CET
Work permit rules complicate cross-border commuting for non-EU citizens
The Öresund Bridge linking Denmark and Sweden makes travel between the two countries quick and easy, but non-EU citizens face hurdles. Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT

American communications professional James Tierney moved to Denmark in 2012, where he lives with his wife and two children, and for the past four and a half years has worked in the southern Swedish city of Lund. 

When his company applied for a renewal of his work permit in May this year, however, it was rejected on the grounds that Tierney does not live in Sweden. The decision is currently under appeal in the Malmö administrative court. If the decision is upheld his contract will be terminated with immediate effect.

“You are not resident in Sweden, but in Denmark, and travel to Sweden every day by train,” reads the decision, seen by The Local. “[…] Since you have already been in Sweden for more than three months, you are required to have a residency permit. Since you do not have a residence in Sweden you do not have a right to a residency permit and therefore the Migration Agency cannot approve your work permit.”

Tierney was surprised by this, since it had not been an issue for the first four years in the job. In fact, he is employed by the European Spallation Source (ESS), a pan-European project to build and operate a large-scale scientific research facility. Under construction in Lund, the facility is co-hosted by Denmark and Sweden and is frequently held out as a model of successful cross-border collaboration.

Scheduled to go into operation in 2023, ESS has already helped lobby for an amendment to Danish law which allows scientific researchers offered employment at ESS to receive a residence and work permit in Denmark if they are eligible for a Swedish work permit.

Nordic and EU residents have the ability to live in one country in the region and commute to another for work, but for those without EU citizenship this is much harder.

READ ALSO: What it's like living life on both sides of the bridge

Øresunddirekt is an information centre for cross-border commuters, but a press spokesperson told The Local they could not provide information about what rules apply to non-EU workers in this position. “If you are from an EU country you can commute without a problem but if you are from a third country you need the Migration Agency's permission. If someone is not happy with the decision, they need to appeal the decision,” he said.

“In order to work in Sweden, you need a Swedish work permit, even if the employee is resident in Denmark and has a residence and work permit,” explained Mardin Baban from the Migration Agency's press office when contacted by The Local.

Baban could not comment on any individual cases, but said that it is possible for workers living in Denmark to get the permit under the same conditions as those planning to live in Sweden – for example, the job must have been advertised within the EU and the pay and benefits must be in line with the average for the profession. But he added that there are time limits.

Temporary work permits (arbetstillstånd) can be given out for a maximum of two two-year periods. After four years, employees can renew it again for a further two years, but only if “special circumstances” apply, which typically means that they plan to become a permanent resident of Sweden, in which case they apply for permanent residence (permanent uppehållstillstånd) and must live in Sweden.

“There were no issues with my permit over the last four years, and I was not prepared to encounter any issues with the 2018 renewal. I was working on a permanent contract and had never lived in Sweden, had no intention to move to Sweden, and never expected that I would suddenly be required to do that in order to keep my job,” Tierney tells The Local. “When I first applied, it wasn't difficult: I got the offer and a contract, and a relocation agency walked me through the process of getting a work permit, which was straightforward, and I renewed that twice.”

“My employer helped me write an appeal to the decision, but they didn't really see anything that could be done to allow me to keep my job. The solution would be to rent an apartment in Sweden during the week or to move here, but as a non-EU citizen already settled in another EU country, that's full of lots of risks, expenses and other difficulties,” Tierney explains.

He is not yet eligible to apply for permanent residency or citizenship in Denmark, where he hopes to live long-term: “The laws in Denmark are quite strict, so the minute I no longer reside in Denmark, I'd lose a lot of the rights I've accrued over time here and would have to start from scratch in terms of eligibility for permanent residence and citizenship. With two Danish children and a Danish wife, I've got a lot at stake.”

“The rules around who can live in Denmark and work in Sweden, and for how long, must be a question for a lot of employers and my situation came as a surprise to us. The policy is confused and confusing.”

OPINION: Danish odds are stacked against skilled foreign workers

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WORK PERMITS

EXPLAINED: How to apply for a work permit in Denmark as an intern

Want to intern at the elite restaurant Noma, at the architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group, as a vet or as a nurse? Here's what you need to know.

Published: 28 March 2024 14:51 CET
EXPLAINED: How to apply for a work permit in Denmark as an intern

Denmark has a special scheme for foreigners offered work in the country as interns, with different rules for those employed in architecture, healthcare, farming or veterinary jobs, or other sectors such as the natural sciences, technical fields, the pharmaceutical sector, or culture.

As an intern, you can get a permit to work in Denmark and a residency permit without having to earn any salary whatsoever, let alone secure the generous pay levels required to qualify for the Pay Limit Scheme. 

But you do have to meet the conditions put in place, to prevent unscrupulous employers using the internship permit to bring low cost labour to the country. 

You can find an English language guide to internships on the website of the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (Siri). 

READ ALSO: Danish work permit agency changes practice for hotel and restaurant interns

Who is eligible to get a work permit as an intern? 

You need to be between the ages of 18 and 35 (or 18 and 30 for some sectors), and you normally need to be studying a relevant subject in your home country or current country of residence .

In some cases you can already have recently graduated and in some cases you can be studying a subject not related to the internship, but if this is the case you need to show that you have passed a semester’s worth of courses in a relevant subject. 

If your internship is unpaid, you normally need to show that you have at least 6,820 kroner a month to support yourself over the period.

If your internship is paid, your salary must be at least 6,820 kroner per month, which has to be stated in the standard contract, and paid into a Danish bank account in a bank operating legally in Denmark.

Be aware that opening a Danish bank account can be difficult, with applicants normally needing to have a Danish address and CPR personal number. If you are having trouble you can apply for a basic payments account.

What qualifications do I need to show or paperwork do I need to provide? 

The rules are different depending on which sector you intend to carry out your internship in. 

Agricultural, horticulture, forestry or veterinary 

If you plan to intern in the agricultural, horticulture, forestry or veterinary sectors, you need to show that you have passed a language test in English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian or German at the A2 level or higher, in Common European Framework of Reference for Languages scale.

This is a very basic level, described in the CEFR as enough to communicate “very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment”. 

For English language tests offered by IELTS, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) accepts test scores from 3.0, and for English tests from TOEFL, scores at Studieprøven level (C1 CEFR level). You will need to send the results certificate along with your application. 

To qualify for an internship in these sectors you also need to be studying a relevant subject in your home country, or the country where you have residency, and the internship also needs to be timed to coincide with where you are in the course, for instance as a practical element following more theoretical ones. 

“We compare the content of your educational programme with the job tasks which you will be carrying out during the internship,” Siri writes in its guide to internships. 

You cannot be more than 30 years old for an internship in these sectors. 

Interns in these sectors do not need to provide proof that they can support themselves. 

Healthcare 

There are no language requirements for an internship in the healthcare sector, and for medical interns there is no upper age limit (although an age limit of 35 applies for other healthcare interns). 

The internship must be related to the educational programme you are studying in your home or another country, and you need to submit an authorised translation of the list of courses you have studied, along with your application. 

You can receive an internship in healthcare even if your studies have recently been completed, but you must show that the internship is a continuation of your studies and relevant to the future role you intend to take on. 

If you have completed your studies, you should include documentation of any work experience you have had since completing your studies. 

If your internship is unpaid, you need to show that you have at least 6,820 kroner a month to support yourself over the period, which you can document with a bank statement or a copy of a scholarship certificate. It is not enough for someone else, such as a parent, to say they will support you. 

Architecture 

To be eligible for a work permit in the architecture sector, you cannot have completed your education and cannot be more than 35 years old. 

The internship must be related to the educational programme you are studying in your home or another country, and you need to submit an authorised translation of the list of courses you have studied, along with your application. 

If your internship is unpaid, you also need to show that you have at least 6,820 kroner a month to support yourself, which you can document with a bank statement or a copy of a scholarship certificate. It is not enough for someone else, such as a parent, to say they will support you. 

Which employers are eligible to take interns?

Employers need to be approved to take interns, either through a prior praktikpladsgodkendelse, or “place of internship approval”, or through sending detailed documentation to Siri on what the internship will consist of, including details of who will be supervising the intern, and prior experience the firm has with taking on interns or trainees. 

All public hospitals in Denmark are approved as places of internship.

If you are planning on interning at a Danish architecture firm, the firm must use the standard “Internship Agreement and Guidelines” issued by DANSKE ARK, the Danish association of Architectural Firms, and the Danish Union of Architects and Designers.

Architecture firms do not need to receive a separate praktikpladsgodkendelse but when filling in the standard contract, need to state the number of fully-trained architects and number of interns working at the firm. 

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