International Staff Mobility > Residence permit

Residence and work permit

If you are a Nordic Citizen you do not need a residence permit but are free to enter, live and work in Denmark.

If you are an EU/EEA citizen or Swiss citizen, you must apply for a certificate of registration at the Regional State Administration.

If you are a third country citizen you must apply for a residence and work permit at the Danish Immigration Service. You can submit your application at the Danish diplomatic mission in your country of origin (or the country where you have resided legally for the past three months). The mission will then forward your application to the Immigration Service in Denmark, where it will be processed. If you have been invited as a researcher to teach or give lectures, you may do so without a residence and work permit, provided your stay does not exceed three consecutive months, calculated from the day of arrival in Denmark.

If you are a citizen of a country with a visa requirement to enter Denmark, you must have obtained a visa valid for the entire stay before entering Denmark.

If you expect to stay in Denmark for longer than three months, you must have a residence and work permit covering the entire period, including the first three months. You must have obtained the permit prior to arriving in Denmark.

Please click here for more information concerning residence and work permits:

Extension of Residence and Work Permit

If you wish to apply for an extension of your residence permit, it is now crucial that you submit your application for an extension before the date your current residence permit expires. Otherwise you should expect your application to be rejected because you are residing illegally in Denmark. If your application is rejected, the Immigration Service will not process your application, and you will have to leave Denmark and apply for a new residence permit in your country of origin. Such an application will be regarded and processed as an entirely new application for a residence permit, i.e. it will be processed in accordance with the rules that apply to first-time applicants. In other words, you will lose the right to an extension of your previous residence permit. If you are residing illegally in Denmark you risk being expelled and given an entry ban, i.e. you will be banned from entering Denmark for a certain period of time. You also risk being reported to the police for illegal residence.

Please see this folder for more information.