Gradual lifting of coronavirus restrictions 

The plan for gradually lifting Denmark’s Covid-19 restrictions, presented by the government last week, begins in earnest in April.

Both April 6th and April 21st will see restrictions eased, should infection rates remain satisfactorily controlled and vaccinations progress as expected. The use of corona passports will play a key role in the new rules.

Schools, youth and adult education, service industries, the culture sector and bars and restaurants are all in line for continued or partial returns next month.

You can read about the planned reopenings in detail here.

Announcement on large-scale events

Although the government has promised to allow at least 11,000 fans to attend Copenhagen’s Euro 2021 football matches this summer, the outlook for other large-scale events is less certain at the time of writing. Clarification is expected in April, however. 

The plan for lifting coronavirus restrictions set down a so-called “fast-working” (hurtigtarbejdende)  expert group, which will provide recommendations for large-scale, corona-safe events. The recommendations will be ready by mid-April, according to the plan.

The director of the Roskilde Festival, Signe Lopdrup, has told news wire Ritzau that she remained positive over the event’s prospects for taking place this year.

“If not, I assume we’d have been informed that it wouldn’t be possible,” she said on March 23rd.

Tax rebates to be paid out

Denmark’s tax authority SKAT opened access to annual tax returns earlier this month.

Årsopgørelsen, literally ‘the annual calculation’ in English, is a summary of income over the preceding tax year, as well as deductions and taxes paid. It can be manually adjusted, such as by changing information related to income, deductions or tax exemption, until May 1st.

Normally, around three in four people receive money back from the tax authorities once the return is finalised. The amount paid back varies and depends on individual circumstances.

Rebates from the tax system are automatically paid back from April 9th onwards, so if you have already logged in and completed yours (or do it soon) you could receive any moneys due in April.

More information on the annual tax return can be found here.

Changes to rules on travel to Sweden 

Sweden introduced strict entry bans on travel from Denmark, Norway and the UK in December, and these will be lifted from March 31st.

Under the adjusted Swedish rules, travel to Sweden from Denmark (and Norway) will be treated the same as other EU/EEA countries, meaning no “special reason” for travel is required, although travellers still need to present a negative Covid-19 test on arrival and should still follow Sweden’s rules for arriving travellers, which include isolating completely for seven days on arrival.

Another change to be aware of is that people crossing the border for studies will now be treated the same as cross-border workers, meaning they need to show a negative Covid-19 test less than a week old, not less than 48 hours.

It’s worth keeping in mind that Denmark’s rules on international travel, including from Sweden, are unchanged.

New rules for tobacco products and vaping

New law relating to tobacco products as well as e-cigarettes, passed by parliament in December, takes effect on April 1st.

Many of the new rules relate to sale and marketing of the products and the new rules are to be phased in gradually. From next month, sales of herbal cigarettes to under-18s are banned; e-cigarettes may not be infused with aromas other than tobacco, even of they are nicotine-free.

The Danish Safety Technology Authority (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen) details the new laws on its website.