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VISAS

What is a Danish Working Holiday visa and who can apply?

Citizens from seven different countries outside of Europe can apply for a Working Holiday residence permit in Denmark.

Published: 28 February 2024 14:56 CET
What is a Danish Working Holiday visa and who can apply?
Illustration photo. People from seven different countries can apply for Denmark's Working Holiday visa. Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

The seven countries whose nationals are eligible for the one-year Working Holiday visa are Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

The criteria for application vary depending on the country of your citizenship.

What is a working holiday?

Working Holiday visas allow the holder to reside in Denmark and to work to a limited extent.

Specifically, this means being allowed to work a set number of months withing the one-year period that the visa is valid. They also allow you to attend an educational course of limited duration.

They can only be granted once – so it’s best to only apply for the visa if you are sure of your plans.

Under the terms of the Working Holiday arrangements, Danish nationals can apply for working holidays in any of the seven countries covered by Denmark’s Working Holiday visa.

Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and South Korea

The conditions for each of these countries follow the same basic structure but with differences in the individual criteria.

You must be within a certain age range: 18-36 for Australians and Canadians and 18-31 for people from New Zealand, South Korea and Japan.

You must have a certain amount of funding up front for food and accommodation during the first part of your stay. If you are from Canada, Japan or South Korea this is 15,000 kroner. For Australia, it rises to 18,000 kroner and is 24,000 kroner if you come from New Zealand. For all countries, you must also have a return ticket or an additional 5,000 kroner to pay for it.

Various types of health insurance are also required, with specifics depending on your nationality.

The working rights provided by the visas also vary slightly between each country. Australians and New Zealanders can work for up to six months, but no more than three months for a single employer. Canadians and Japanese can work for up to six months provided the job is “not regular”, meaning it is a limited employment. For South Koreans, nine months of limited employment is permitted.

You can study on the visa for either three months (Australia, Canada) or six months (New Zealand, South Korea. For Japan, the maximum duration of courses you attend is not specified, but like the Working Holiday visa is valid for one year as with all other eligible countries.

The processing time for the application is three months and the fee for citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and South Korea is 2,490 kroner. If you are from Japan, there is no fee.

The application portals for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea; Japan;  can all be found via the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

Chile and Argentina

For Chile and Argentina, the Working Holiday visa provides similar rights to the other five countries, some specifics of which are given below.

The main difference is that the visas for these two countries are quota-based. So, for example, up to 75 residence permits for citizens of Chile and up to 75 residence permits for citizens of Argentina can be granted under the Working Holiday scheme between March and August this year (2024). Permits are granted on a first come, first served basis.

Additionally, Chileans and Argentinians must apply for the visa with agencies based in their home countries (rather than using the Danish authority SIRI’s online portal). This is done at VFS Buenos Aires (Argentina) and VFS Santiago (Chile).

These two agencies will make appointments available for the March-August 2024 quotas on March 1st, 2024, SIRI announced in a recent statement.

Chileans and Argentinians must be aged over 18 and under 31 to be eligible for the visa.

You must have a certain amount of funding up front for food and accommodation during the first part of your stay: 15,000 kroner as well as a return ticket or an additional 5,000 kroner to pay for it.

Health insurance is also an obligation for nationals of both countries.

No set time limits on working are specified, but SIRI states that the purpose of the visa “must primarily be to be on holiday for an extended period of time” and that you can “carry out salaried work in order to supplement your travel funds”.

The processing time for the application is three months and the fee is 2,490 kroner. Detailed information on the conditions can be found for both Chile and Argentina on SIRI’s website.

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EU

How would a ‘youth mobility scheme’ between the UK and EU really work?

The EU and the UK could enter into a 'youth mobility' scheme allowing young people to move countries to work, study and live. Here's what we know about the proposal.

Published: 18 April 2024 17:09 CEST
How would a 'youth mobility scheme' between the UK and EU really work?

Across the 27 countries of the EU, people of all ages can move countries to work, study, spend a long visit or chase the possibility of love – and all this is possible thanks to EU freedom of movement.

That freedom no longer extends to the UK. As a result of Brexit, a UK national who wants to move to an EU country, or an EU citizen who wants to move to the UK, will need a visa in order to do so.

However, a new ‘mobility scheme’ could re-create some elements of freedom of movement – if the EU and UK can come to an agreement. The signs of that are not good, with the current UK government rejecting the proposal before it had even been formally offered, but here’s what we know about the proposal.

Who would benefit?

First things first, it’s only for the youngsters, older people will have to continue with the time-consuming and often expensive process of getting a visa for study, work or visiting.

The Commission’s proposal is for a scheme that covers people aged 18 to 30. 

Their reasoning is: “The withdrawal of the UK from the EU has resulted in decreased mobility between the EU and the UK. This situation has particularly affected the opportunities for young people to experience life on the other side of the Channel and to benefit from youth, cultural, educational, research and training exchanges.

“The proposal seeks to address in an innovative way the main barriers to mobility for young people experienced today and create a right for young people to travel from the EU to the UK and vice-versa more easily and for a longer period of time.”

How would it work?

The proposal is to allow extended stays – for young people to be able to spend up to four years in the EU or UK – under a special type of visa or residency permit. It does not, therefore, replicate the paperwork-free travel of the pre-Brexit era.

The Commission states that travel should not be ‘purpose bound’ to allow young people to undertake a variety of activities while they are abroad.

Under the visa system, people must travel to a country for a specific purpose which has been arranged before they leave – ie in order to study they need a student visa which requires proof of enrolment on a course, or if they intend to work they need a working visa which often requires sponsorship from an employer.

The proposal would allow young people to spend their time in a variety of ways – perhaps some time working, a period of study and then some time travelling or just relaxing.

It would also not be subject to national or Bloc-wide quotas.

It seems that some kind of visa or residency permit would still be required – but it would be issued for up to four years and could be used for a variety of activities.

Fees for this should not be “excessive” – and the UK’s health surcharge would not apply to people travelling under this scheme.

Are there conditions?

Other than the age qualification, the proposal is that young people would have to meet other criteria, including having comprehensive health insurance, plus financial criteria to ensure that they will be able to support themselves while abroad.

The visa/residency permit could be rejected on the ground of threats to public policy, public security or public health.

Will this happen soon?

Slow down – all that has happened so far is that the European Commission has made a recommendation to open negotiations.

This now needs to be discussed in the Council of Europe.

If the Council agrees then, and only then, will the EU open negotiations with the UK on the subject.

The scheme could then only become a reality if the EU and UK come to an agreement on the terms of the scheme, and then refine the fine details – reacting the news reports of the proposal, the UK government appears to have already dismissed the idea out of hand, so agreement at present seems unlikely. However, governments can change and so can the political climate.

But basically we’re talking years if it happens at all – and that would require not only a new government in the UK (which seems likely) but a major change in the whole British political atmosphere.

Don’t start packing just yet.

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