When Lavanya* returned to the room that she rented in her landlord’s apartment in Brønshøj on the outskirts of Copenhagen, something felt odd.

Her personal belongings were not organised in the way she had left them.

It was not the first time Lavanya’s landlord had apparently been in her room – or otherwise made unusual demands – since she arrived from Bangladesh to study at the University of Southern Denmark in 2021.

In addition to the intrusions in her room, Lavanya was also instructed to stay in the room or pretend to be “a friend” when, for example, a midwife visited after the landlord’s wife gave birth.

That’s because her landlord could or would not formally register Lavanya as a tenant — meaning she had to create false pretences for being in the apartment.

What could the international student do? Who could she complain to? As an undeclared tenant, whose landlord did not want to register her with Danish authorities, her options were slim.

Lavanya was however registered with Copenhagen authorities, just at a different address.

Whilst her undeclared rented room was located in Brønshøj, she was officially registered at an address in Østerbro. The reason?  The need to obtain an Danish personal registration (CPR) number.

A CPR number – the Danish equivalent of a social security number – is needed to access the Danish healthcare system, open a bank account, get a mobile phone plan, attend Danish language classes, and use the MobilePay payment app.

Crucially, it is also needed for tax registration and to receive a salary, so international students in Denmark need it so they have a right to work.

READ ALSO: What are the rules on summer jobs for international students in Denmark?

But the lack of available housing in Copenhagen makes getting one difficult for many.

The CPR number is tied to the address you legally live at. Without securing a place to stay, you can’t apply for a CPR number. Without it, you are not allowed to work legally in Denmark, which is crucial for many incoming South Asian students looking to finance their stay to complete their university degrees.

“Many new arrivals don’t understand the importance of a CPR number because we don’t have this concept in our country,” said Saiful Azim, a Bangladeshi national working as a researcher at the University of Copenhagen.

Navigating solo into the Danish bureaucratic jungle as a newcomer to Denmark in 2017, Azim initially dedicated time to guiding and sharing advice to help incoming Bangladeshi students via Facebook groups.

“Around 2021, many new students arrived, and the topics changed to selling and buying CPR addresses. It became annoying. Despite understanding that it’s illegal, people were desperate due to the housing crisis and stopped caring. I tried to convince them, made several posts, but they didn’t appreciate them and argued against me. I got fed up and left,” he said.

READ ALSO:

• No CPR and no end in sight: The struggle to get a Danish residency permit
• Deposits, landlords and CPR registration: The worst things about renting a home in Denmark
• CPR number: When do you get a Danish registration number after moving?

A check of the Facebook group “Bangladeshi Student Association in Denmark” shows that various profiles, often anonymously or behind a fake account, offer their own addresses as a place to register students for a monthly fee.

Students pay for this to gain access to a CPR number while living at another unregistered address, which for various reasons won’t be accepted as a legal residence to stay at by a municipality.

The Facebook posts often mention “CPR for sale,” meaning that an address for CPR registration is available for a fee. 

“Selling CPR addresses is unfortunately common among South Asians, especially Bangladeshis and Nepalese,” Azim said, adding that many providing and buying the service are not aware it’s illegal.

As a non-EU national, Lavanya was liable for tuition fees of some 32,600 kroner per semester. As the housing crisis marched on, apartments requiring a deposit of three months’ rent in advance were not an option for her without a job.

READ ALSO: Renting in Denmark: Four things worth knowing about your deposit

She settled on a room in her landlord’s shared apartment in Brønshøj priced at 2,200 kroner per month. She brought with her enough money to cover rent, groceries and transport costs for three months. It was not until Lavanya was about to board the flight to Denmark that her soon-to-be landlord said she had to find an alternative address for CPR registration.

There can be many reasons a landlord might not want to register tenants legally: it can affect social welfare eligibility, they might not want to pay taxes or they may be renting out to more than one person, which can also affect welfare eligibility. In some cases, properties are only approved for business, rather than residential use.

“My CPR cost 600 kroner,” Lavanya said.

“When I had post to pick up, I had to make the journey to Østerbro. It was half an hour by train and bus. I had classes and work, and he [the person who she paid for CPR registration in Østerbro, ed.] also had work, so it was time-consuming and sometimes impossible to coordinate,” she said.

According to the CPR register office, you can’t legally assign an address to the CPR registry if you don’t genuinely live there. A housing confirmation for CPR registration provided by the city of Copenhagen cites the CPR law’s paragraph 57, section 1, subsection 5, stating that a landlord providing false information is liable to a fine.

A spokesperson for Copenhagen Police told The Local that they were not aware of the illegal scheme to sell addresses for a CPR number and they were unclear about whether the law says the landlord and/or tenant is to blame and what they can be charged under. 

Bjarke Dalsgaard Madsen, a senior police inspector with the economic crime department in Copenhagen, said that the police would look into the issue if a resident reports it.

“It’s something you could feel outraged about, because it seems to be taking advantage of others’ vulnerable position,” he said.

Are you an international student in Copenhagen? Have you paid for a CPR address registration? If so, we’d like to hear about your experiences. Get in touch here.

*Lavanya is not her real name. She agreed to contribute to the article anonymously and is no longer living in Denmark. The authors are aware of her real identity.

Additional reporting by Benjamin Nordtømme, Alexander Maxia (Nordljud), Maya Lagerholm (spionen.se), Jazz Munteanu (spionen.se). This article was developed thanks to a collaboration between Nordljud and Spionen.se with the support of Journalismfund Europe.