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READER QUESTIONS

READER QUESTION: Do Denmark’s residency rules allow you to take a side job?

A reader asked about what the rules are for taking a second side job if you have a work permit or residency permit in Denmark. Here are the rules.

READER QUESTION: Do Denmark's residency rules allow you to take a side job?
To get a work permit for a sideline job as a chef as a non-EU citizen, your main work permit must also be in the same field. Photo: Søren Bidstrup/Ritzau Scanpix

READER QUESTION: If I came in pre-Brexit on the grounds of self sufficiency, and I’m on a temporary residency permit, am I allowed to do a bit of self employed work to top my funds up?

For this reader, the rules are quite clear.

“A temporary residence permit granted according to the Withdrawal Agreement (Brexit) also includes the right to work in Denmark – even though the person has resided in Denmark on grounds of sufficient resources or as an economically inactive person,” the Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI), told The Local via email. 

But for other non-EU citizens, here under one of Denmark’s many job schemes, such as the Fast-track scheme, Pay limit scheme, and the Positive lists, or under the various researcher schemes, the rules are more complicated. 

READ ALSO: How can you get a work permit in Denmark if you are not an EU national?

You are generally allowed to get a second job, but you may have to apply for a separate work permit for paid sideline employment, (find information from SIRI here), and also fulfil various conditions. 

If you are a researcher with a permit under the Researcher scheme or the Researcher track under the Fast-track scheme, a Guest researcher, a PhD student, a performing artist or a professional athlete or coach, you are allowed to take up unlimited sideline employment without needing to apply for an additional work permit for sideline employment. 

If, however, you are employed as a researcher under the Pay Limit Scheme, then you have to apply for a special work permit for sideline employment.

People who received their residency permits under the Jobseeker scheme are not eligible for a sideline employment permit. 

For the other job schemes, you need to apply for a separate work permit for paid sideline employment, find information from SIRI here.

“For sideline employment, the salary must be the standard one for the job, and within the same area of ​​work as the main occupation,” SIRI said. 

For example, a musician might want a permit for sideline employment as an instructor at an academy of music, or a doctor might want a permit for sideline employment to teach at a medical school. 

You can be granted a sideline permit for as long as as the duration of your main work permit. 

If you lose your sideline job, you must inform SIRI. If you lose the main job that is the basis for your main work permit, your sideline job permit is automatically invalidated. 

Member comments

  1. How is sideline work treated under the Establishment Card rules? For example, if I have been working part-time, and then receive a full-time job, do I still have to apply for a work permit for a sideline job, for example, as a bartender?

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WORK PERMITS

What are the fees for work permits and residency applications in Denmark?

Denmark recently changed several of the fees it charges for various types of work, study and residence permits. We set out what you can expect to pay.

What are the fees for work permits and residency applications in Denmark?

Application fees for several types of work and residence permits in Denmark went up earlier this month after the 2023 budget was passed.

Fees for applying for work and study permits, along with family reunification and permanent residence have changed.

The fee for family reunification applications is reduced from 10,330 kroner to 9,750 kroner, while all other fees go up.

The fee for applying for Danish citizenship is 4,000 kroner as of 2023.

We outline the various application fees for work, study and residence permits, family reunification as well as citizenship.

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The category “work permit” applies to all the pathways by which foreign professionals can apply for a Danish work permit. These include the Pay Limit Scheme, Fast Track Scheme and Positive List, and all other types of work permit.

Study permits include those for people offered positions as PhD researchers, as well as permits for basic and youth study and higher education.

READ ALSO:

The residence permit fees apply to people who are not EU nationals, who must pay fees when applying for residence permits in Denmark. EU citizens do not pay a fee when registering for Danish residence.

All citizenship applicants must pay the application fee regardless of nationality.

READ ALSO: How to apply for citizenship in Denmark

All fees are correct as of May 2023.

Work and study

  • Work permit: 4,670 kroner
  • Study permit: 2,115 kroner
  • Au pair and intern (not connected to a study programme): 4,320 kroner
  • Accompanying family members: 2,635 kroner
  • Job seeking after completing study programme: 1,890 kroner (plus 750 kroner to apply for work permit during job seeking period)

Family reunification

  • Family reunification: 9,750 kroner (plus bank guarantee, deposit of 110,293 kroner)
  • Extension of family reunification: 3,230 kroner

Permanent residence

  • Permanent residence based on family reunification, asylum etc.: 4,835 kroner
  • Permanent residence based on existing work or study permit: 7,355 kroner

Citizenship

  • Citizenship: 4,000 kroner
  • Children under 18: free
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