The Corporate scheme
The corporate scheme makes it easier for companies with operations in Denmark to transfer employees with special abilities or qualifications from the company’s foreign departments to Denmark to work on a project or to carry out work that is innovative or educational in nature.
The
corporate scheme allows an employee from a company’s foreign department to obtain a corporate residence permit in Denmark. While the permit is valid, the employee can alternate between working in Denmark and abroad.
Normally a residence permit will lapse and become invalid when you give up residence in Denmark, or when you have lived outside Denmark for more than six months. To return to Denmark you will then need to apply for a new residence permit. These rules, however, do not apply to corporate residence permits.
If you are a
Nordic citizen, you are free to reside, study and work in Denmark. If you are an
EU/EEA citizen or Swiss citizen seeking residence in Denmark based on the EU regulations on freedom of movement, you may be subject to special rules.
More information about EU/EEA and Nordic citizens.
If you already hold a Danish residence permit based on family reunification or asylum, or hold a residence permit on humanitarian grounds, you do not need a work permit in order to work in Denmark.
It is your own responsibility to obtain a work permit if you are required to. If you work illegally in Denmark, you risk deportation, and you and your employer risk fine or imprisonment.
Conditions
A number of conditions must be met in order for you to get a corporate residence permit. However, a part of these conditions concern the company and its status. Consequently, the company is encouraged to obtain a corporate approval before you apply for a residence permit. The company is not required to do so, but if it does, your application as well as any subsequent applications from other employees can be processed faster.
Corporate approval
A corporate approval can be granted to a Danish company which is part of an international corporation that has a foreign parent or sister company or subsidiary, or has active departments (divisions, branches or offices) abroad. The company must meet the following conditions:
- The company must be able to document that it is part of an international corporation that has a foreign parent or sister company or subsidiary, or that it has active departments (divisions, branches, or offices) in at least one country besides Denmark. The company must identify all relevant corporate relations
- The Danish company must have no less than 10 employees
- The company's general salary and employment conditions must correspond to Danish standards. If the company is not party to a collective bargaining agreement, it must declare that it meets this requirement
- The Danish company must be registered with SKAT, the Danish taxation authority, as responsible for withholding income taxes
- The Danish company may not be involved in a legal labour dispute
- The number of foreign employees should not be disproportional to the number of Danish employees
- The foreign departments must be bona fide businesses
A corporate approval is valid for three years with a possibility for extension. In order to qualify for extension, the company must continue to meet the above conditions.
Corporate residence permit
You can be granted a corporate residence permit if you are employed in a Danish company's foreign affiliate or department, and you are to work in the Danish company in connection with an innovative, developmental or educational purpose. You must meet the following conditions:
- You must document that you are employed full-time in the foreign department of the company or corporation at the time of application. Temps or substitutes do not qualify
- You must document that you remain an employee for the foreign department while working for the Danish company. Working for the Danish company may not entail a change in your employment status with the foreign department
- The work you perform in Denmark must be related to a specific project or be innovative or educational in nature. You may not be employed to carry out ordinary operational tasks. The Danish company must sign a declaration stating this
- While working in Denmark, your salary and employment conditions must correspond to Danish standards
There are no specific educational requirements.
You may not begin working for the Danish company before you have received your corporate residence permit.
Duration
If the relationship between the Danish company and the foreign company ends, your residence permit will normally be revoked.
If you find a new job, you are required to apply for a new residence and work permit. However, you can begin working in the new job before you receive a new residence and work permit if the application is submitted no later than the first day of employment at the new job.
Your residence permit can only be granted or extended up to three months before your passport expires. This means that if your passport expires in 12 months, you can only be granted a permit for nine months, or your permit can only be extended by nine months.
You can be issued a residence permit valid one month prior to your first day of work if you declare that you are able to support yourself and any accompanying family members for the entire month before you begin working. Otherwise, your residence permit will be valid 14 days before your first day of work.
Family members
If you hold a residence and work permit under the Corporate scheme, your spouse, registered partner or cohabiting partner, as well as any children under the age of 18 who are living at home with you, are also eligible for residence permits. Your family members must be able to support themselves and you must live together in Denmark at the same address. Your spouse, registered partner or cohabiting partner is allowed to work full-time for the entire period his or her permit is valid.
How to apply
Read more about how to apply for a residence and work permit.
The contact person arrangement
If you represent a company or business in Denmark with foreign employees, you can be assigned a contact person in the Danish Agency for Labour Retention and International Recruitment who can guide you through the rules and regulations. Read more about the contact person arrangement.