Living in Denmark
Once you have arrived in Denmark and obtained your residence and work permit, a number of practical matters must be attended to before you can get on with your daily life.
First and foremost you need a roof over your head – for practical reasons, obviously, but also because accommodation is required for the issue of your ticket to the Danish welfare state: a civil registration number (CPR) and with it, a medical card and a tax card.
Housing
Finding reasonably priced rented accommodation in Denmark can be difficult, and prices vary greatly from region to region.
If you work for a municipal employer, you may be able to rent one of its council housing units. However, even as employers, local authorities are not generally obliged to offer accommodation to residents who have work and can support themselves financially.
Private employers can also offer accommodation, and some may already have made housing arrangements for you before you come to Denmark. You should pay special attention to the cost of accommodation offered by a private employer.
Civil registration number (CPR)
As mentioned, to obtain a civil registration number you must have a permanent residential address and make a personal visit to your local authority, bringing your residence and work permit, passport, marriage certificate and your children’s birth certificates where applicable. A residence permit or registration certificate is a requirement for the grant of a civil registration number.
Paying tax
A civil registration number is your ticket to a tax card. Anyone resident or living in Denmark for at least six months is liable to pay tax.
Tax allowances
As a foreign national, you may be eligible for various tax allowances.
Tax and transfrontier workers
Transfrontier workers from other countries such as Sweden and Germany have limited tax liability in Denmark. This means that as a cross-border commuter you will be subject to full tax liability in your home country. However, the tax authorities there can reduce the tax payable on the portion of your income that is subject to tax in Denmark.
Travel and transport allowance
If you incur travel expenses in connection with carrying out your work, you can be compensated either through a tax-free allowance paid by your employer or by deducting the actual costs from your taxable income.
Tax-deductible contributions to social security schemes in your home country
Transfrontier workers working in both Denmark and their home country may be eligible in Denmark for tax-deductibility of their contributions to social security schemes in their home country.
Banks
You need to open a current account into which your salary can be paid. As a foreign national you can open an account in a Danish bank.
It is an advantage if your current account is also your NemKonto (Easy Account). NemKonto is a public payment system that enables public authorities to make payments such as tax refunds or social contributions to you.
Driving in Denmark
If you come from another Nordic country you can use your driving licence in Denmark with no problem. EU citizens have to exchange their licence for a Danish one. If you come from a non-EU country (with the exception of Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and Russia), you are required to take a check-up theory test and a practical test before being allowed to drive in Denmark.
Schools
If you bring your children to Denmark, you are entitled to childcare and schooling for them provided you satisfy certain conditions.
• If you intend to stay in Denmark for more than six months, children aged seven and over are subject to compulsory education in Denmark and have the right to attend a local authority school.
• In addition, your children may be offered lessons in Danish as a second language.
Childcare
As a foreign national, you have the same right to childcare and after-school facilities for your children as Danish parents. Childcare is not free in Denmark.
Social security and social benefits
If you are legally in Denmark, you will essentially have the same right to social security as everyone else. However, you should be aware that foreign nationals are not entitled to cash benefits or start help until they have been in Denmark for a total of seven of the eight preceding years.
Health care benefits
Your civil registration number also entitles you to the health services provided by GPs, specialists, children’s dentists, home care and hospitals. If you have a civil registration number, you have free access to these health services just like any other resident in this country.
Commuters can also use the Danish health system even if they do not live in Denmark. If you are a commuter you can be issued with a special medical card, which must be renewed annually.
A number of health services are not free. For example, you are required to pay for physiotherapist, chiropractic and dental treatment.
Family allowance
As a foreign national with children living in Denmark and liable to pay Danish tax, you are entitled to family allowance.
To qualify for Danish family allowance, you must have a civil registration number and a NemKonto, and your children must also be resident in Denmark.
If your children do not live in Denmark but in your home country, it is up to the local authority to make a concrete assessment of whether to pay family allowance.
Housing benefits
If you live all year round in rented accommodation with a kitchen, you have the same entitlement to rent allowance as everyone else.
Sickness benefit
If you are legally resident in Denmark, you are entitled to sickness benefit according to the same rules as everyone else.
Maternity
As a foreign national, you must satisfy a number of conditions to qualify for maternity leave and benefit.
You must have been in the job market for a continuous period of 13 weeks before your absence starts, and during this period you must have been in employment for at least 120 hours. You are not entitled to Danish benefits if you have a right to benefits under the legislation of another country.
If you are looking for a job in Denmark in these areas
- care of the elderly, sick and disabled
- children and young people
- catering and cleaning services
- technical and maintenance services