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WHAT CHANGES IN DENMARK

KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in July 2022?

A massive sporting event, summer holidays from school and work and an update to preferred professions for work permits are among the changes and events coming up in July.

KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in July 2022?
Denmark is gearing up for the Tour de France in the first three days of July. Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix

Le Tour de France

Returning to its usual mid-summer slot after Covid-19 disruptions, the Tour de France gets under way in Copenhagen on July 1st.

The highly anticipated Danish Grand Départ will make its way through Zealand, pass over the Great Belt Bridge and then charge through hilly Vejle and the verdant South Jutland countryside.

It finishes, as usual, on Paris’s Champs-Elysées on July 24th.

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Summer holidays

Many who go to school and work in Denmark have already begun their annual summer leave. Most schools broke up for the summer on June 24th, although this can vary a little locally.

For those in full or part-time employment who are covered by the Danish Holiday Act (Ferieloven), most will take three weeks off during the next couple of months, with most of this falling in July.

Of the five standard weeks or (normally 25 days) of paid vacation covered by the Holiday Act, the “main holiday period” begins on May 1st and ends on September 30th. During this time, three weeks’ consecutive vacation may be taken out of the five weeks.

Many take three weeks off in a row, sometimes coinciding with the school holidays (although others break it up) – which is why you often hear Danish people who work full time wishing each other a “good summer holiday” as if it’s the end of the school term.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about vacation in Denmark

Update to Positive List

The Positive List is a list of professions for which immigration authorities can issue work permits because Denmark is experiencing a shortage of qualified professionals in those fields.

People who are offered a job included in the Positive List can apply for a Danish residence and work permit based on the Positive List Scheme. An educational background in the relevant field is required.

The Positive List Scheme is one of a number of business schemes used to grant work permits for non-EU and EEA nationals who are unable to move to Denmark under the EU’s right to free movement.

The list is updated twice a year, on January 1st and July 1st.

The updated lists can be viewed on the website of the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

Firms no longer permitted to ask age of job applicants

Companies in Denmark are, from July, no longer permitted to ask the age of candidates applying for jobs with them.

The law, which was adopted in parliament in March, comes into effect on July 1st.

According to the law, applicants should no longer give their age when applying for jobs. The objective of the new law is to prevent employers from rejecting applicants because of their age.

Tax deadline for businesses

If you are a business owner in Denmark you must register your results for 2021 at the beginning of July.

Information submitted up to 9am on July 4th will be considered submitted on time, the tax authority SKAT states on its website.

Companies whose accounting years run to December 31st can submit 2021’s results until July 7th, the tax authority SKAT states on its website, after the original deadline of June 30th was extended.

Self-employed people are still bound by the July 1st deadline.

READ ALSO: So you missed Denmark’s July 1st tax deadline. Now what? (2021)

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WHAT CHANGES IN DENMARK

KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in May 2024?

Sirens (including on smart phones) to be tested, deadline for tax returns, national holidays and a Copenhagen Marathon enjoying record popularity are among events and changes coming this month in Denmark.

KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in May 2024?

Sirens and mobile alert to be tested on May 1st

Each May, Denmark tests the sirens that authorities can use to warn the population if there is an emergency situation.

The 2024 test is scheduled to take place as usual at noon on the first Wednesday of the month – which this year also means the first day of the month, Wednesday May 1st.

A test of a digital warning system, first introduced last year, will also be tested in 2024. The digital system allows authorities to send siren sounds and warning messages to smartphones.

Last year’s version of the digital test did not reach everyone due to it only being compatible with certain phone updates. So you may find you receive this year even if you did not in 2023.

Anyone with a smart phone connected to the Danish network can expect to receive the test siren and message on their devices on May 3rd at 12pm.

The physical and digital test sirens are sent out by the Danish Emergency Management Agency (Beredskabsstyrelen or DEMA) and the Danish National Police. More information can be found in English (and 10 other languages) on the DEMA website.

Deadline for finalising tax returns

Denmark’s tax authority SKAT opened access to annual tax returns on March 11th.

Annual tax returns (årsopgørelser) in Denmark cover calendar years. They are released in March and finalised in late spring, meaning taxpayers have this period to correct the information on their tax returns from the previous calendar year.

The tax returns encompass income over the preceding tax year as well as deductions and subsidies.

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

Rebates from the tax system are sent from mid-April onwards but the final deadline for updating information on the returns is May 1st. This means that, at the time of writing, you still (just about) have time to check whether your return is correct and update any information.

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Public holidays and other days off in May

Great Prayer Day or Store Bededag is no longer a national holiday (and fell in April this year anyway) but there are still a few dates to highlight in the diary for time off work.

Ascension Day, Kristi Himmelfartsdag in Danish, is less than two weeks after Great Prayer Day on Thursday May 9th.

Many Danes take the Friday after Ascension Day as annual leave, giving them a four-day weekend at the cost of only one day of leave.

Then there’s Whitsunday and Whitmonday, known in Danish as Pinsedag and 2. Pinsedag. These fall on May 19th and 20th respectively, so that’s another three-day weekend in the middle of the month.

Meanwhile, Labour Day on May 1st is not a public holiday in Denmark – unlike in the other Nordic countries – but many of Denmark’s workers do have the day off (sometimes half a day), provided by their collective bargaining agreements.

READ ALSO: Why isn’t May 1st a public holiday in Denmark but is in Sweden and Norway?

Switch to summer tyres (if you haven’t already)

Alternating between winter and summer tyres is not a legal requirement in Denmark, but is broadly recommended, including by FDM, the Danish membership organisation for motorists.

Neighbouring SwedenNorway and Germany – where many Danish residents head on skiing and other holidays during the colder months – all have rules requiring winter tyres, meanwhile, meaning the practice is common in Denmark, not least for those who may need to take their cars over the border.

Most people switch back to summer tyres at Easter, which this year fell on April 9th. But the weather was still quite wintry during the early part of April, so some car owners may have held out a little longer.

More about the practice of using winter and summer tyres in Denmark can be found in this article.

Copenhagen Marathon ready to go amid massive spike in interest

The Copenhagen Marathon takes place on Sunday May 7th, so if you’re planning to drive or take a bus through parts of the capital that day you should plan ahead to avoid disruption.

The 42.2-kilometre route through the city includes a start and finish area at Øster Allé near Fælledparken. It will take marathoners past Tivoli, Christiansborg and Kongens Nytorv, as well as the charred remains of the old stock exchange, Børsen.

The marathon takes in each of Copenhagen’s central districts: Vesterbro, the Inner City, Østerbro, Frederiksberg and Nørrebro.

There’s usually a great energy along the route, with Nørrebrogade near Dronning Louises Bro (Bridge) and much of Østerbro, particularly around the Trianglen junction, among good places to lend your support.

This year could be a classic edition of the event: there’s been a surge in interest in the sport in recent years, and this year’s Copenhagen Marathon has been sold out for months – something that has not previously happened in the event’s history.

READ ALSO: Why has the Copenhagen Marathon seen a jump in popularity?

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