Ordinary full-time employment for at least 2.5 years
In order to qualify for a permanent residence permit, you must have had
ordinary full-time employment for at least 2.5 years (30 months) out of the past 3 years (36 months) prior to submitting your application for a permanent residence permit. In addition, you must still be employed at the time of being given a decision about your application. This means that your employment may not have been terminated at the time you apply.
You do not need to have been employed for an uninterrupted period of 30 months. You will still meet the requirement even if you have been unemployed for one or more periods comprising a maximum of six months within the past 36 months, and as long as you are employed at the time of being given a decision about your application.
Ordinary full-time employment
To have ordinary employment means to be working as a paid employee or self-employed person (owner of a business) without receiving any public subsidies or funding. However, so-called flex jobs established according to the regulations laid out in the Active Employment Initiatives Act do meet the requirement, despite being subsidised. Internships or other occupation as part of an educational programme in Denmark are not accepted as ordinary employment.
If you are a paid employee, you must be paid according to a collective bargaining agreement, or your salary and employment conditions must correspond to Danish standards.
You must work full-time, which normally means 37 hours per week.
If your average weekly work hours are slightly below 37 hours, but you are paid in a way that corresponds to a full-time position, you will be regarded as working full-time. This has practical consequences for nurses, social and health helpers and others who - due to changing shifts - have an average work week of under 37 hours, but whose work week is still regarded as full-time.
If you are a self-employed person, your business must have a scope which is equivalent to paid employment for at least 37 hours per week.
If you work as an assisting spouse (in your spouse's business) you will be regarded as working full-time if your pay is taxed and your work has a scope which is equivalent to paid employment for at least 37 hours per week.
Working less than full time
If you work less than full time you need to have worked more than 2.5 years within the past 3 years. You will meet the requirement by having worked 30 hours per week for the past 3 years. This applies regardless of whether you are an employee, a self-employed person, or an assisting spouse in your spouse's business. Please note that you must still be employed at the time of being given a decision about your application. This means that your employment may not have been terminated at the time you apply.
Documentation
You must state the dates you began and ended all periods of employment. You must also document your employment by submitting pay slips covering the entire period of employment or a statement from your employer. Periods of absence from work as a result of illness, holiday, care days, parental leave etc. are included as part of your employment period.
If you are self-employed, you must document that your business has a scope which is equivalent to paid employment for at least 37 hours per week.
You must describe the nature of your work, what type of company you operate, its size, sales, store/office hours, customer base, prices charged etc. Moreover, you must report any profits/losses as well as your VAT balance to the tax authorities.
You will be required, as a minimum, to provide proof that you own the company, proof from the tax authorities that the company is included in the national register of companies (CVR), proof that you are required to withhold VAT and deduct taxes, as well as VAT payment records.