Job seeking after completed educational programme

You can be granted a residence permit for job seeking in Denmark, if you hold a residence permit as a student in a Danish higher educational programme or PhD programme and you have completed your educational programme.

Normal processing time
3 months

Processing fee
No fee

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Who can apply for a job seeking permit?

You can apply for a residence permit for job seeking, if you have completed a Danish professional bachelor degree, bachelor degree, master's degree or PhD degree.

Please note that you, before you apply, must make sure whether your current residence permit already includes 6 months job seeking. SIRI automatically grants a 6 months job seeking permit along with your study permit if the validity of your passport allows it. You should therefore only apply for a job seeking permit if

  • the validity period of your residence permit as a student was shortened due to the expiry date in your passport, or
  • if you have completed your educational programme in Denmark later the nominal period of study.

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What are the conditions?

It is a requirement that you have completed your educational programme in Denmark.

The educational programme must be at one of the following levels:

  • Professional bachelor degree

  • Bachelor's degree

  • Master's degree

  • PhD degree

If you have not yet completed your educational programme in Denmark and your residence permit i about to expire, you can apply for an extension of your residence permit as a student.

Read more about extending your study permit here

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What are my rights, if I am granted a permit?

What are you allowed to do with a Danish residence permit for job seeking after completion of your educational programme – and what are you not allowed to do?

A residence permit allows you to reside in Denmark for the period of time your permit is valid.

In addition, a permit allows you to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within a 180 days period. However, the permit does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

You must not give up your Danish address or stay abroad for more than 6 successive months. A violation will result in the lapse of your permit. This means that you will lose your right to stay in Denmark.

You can read more on how your permit can lapse here

If you need to stay abroad for a longer period of time, you can apply for a dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing

Holding a residence permit for job seeking after a completed educational programme, you have been granted a limited work permit.

You are allowed to work:

  • for up to 20 hours per week during the normal period of study from September to May, and 

  • full-time through June, July and August.

It will be regarded as illegal work, if you work more hours than you are allowed to. If you work illegally you can receive a fine or your residence permit can be revoked. You can read more about illegal work here

If you are offered a job, in which you must work more hours than allowed by your limited work permit, you have two options:

  • You can apply for an Establishment Card
  • You can apply for a residence and work permit based on the job, you have been offered

Establishment Card

 If you have completed a Danish professional bachelor's, bachelor's, master’s (candidatus) degree or PhD degree, you can apply for an establishment card.

You cannot be granted an Establishment Card based on an educational programme not approved by a state authority, where only a statement from the Danish Evaluation Institute (EVA) exists.

If you have a residence permit as a student and you apply for an establishment card, you have the right to start working as soon as you have submitted your application for an establishment card.

Read more about Establishment Card here

Residence and work permit based on an job offer

If you are offered a job, in which you must work more hours than allowed by your limited work permit, you must submit an application for a residence and work permit based on your new job. You may only begin to work more hours than allowed by your limited work permit, when and if you are granted a new residence and work permit.

Read more about residence based on work here

A Danish residence and work permit does not give you the right to work in other Schengen countries. You can find a list of the Schengen countries here

You must be able to support yourself and your family during your stay. Therefore, you are not allowed to receive public benefits, e.g. benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act, state study grants, housing benefits or unemployment benefits - and there may be other benefits you are also not allowed to receive.

If you receive such benefits during your stay, your permit can be revoked – and you will lose the right to stay in Denmark. 

Please also note that your accompanying family member also cannot receive cash benefits, start help or any other benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act.

If an authority, e.g. a municipality, disburses benefits to foreign nationals, SIRI will be notified.

You can see a list of benefits that you are not allowed to receive here

With a residence permit in Denmark, you are entitled to free Danish lessons. However, you must have turned 18 years and have your Danish address registered in the Danish National Register.

If you have a residence permit in Denmark based on work, study, etc. you have to pay a deposit before you can start receiving lessons. Be aware that you can lose your deposit if you do not pass the different modules within a specific timeframe.

Your municipality of residence is obliged to offer you Danish lessons and refer you to a language centre. If you have not been offered Danish lessons within a month after registering your address in Denmark, you can contact your municipality.

You will (typically) be taught together with other foreign nationals who have arrived in Denmark recently.

While staying and working in Denmark, there are a number of things to acquaint yourself with. Depending on your personal situation, you might need other important information and options.

The portal lifeindenmark.dk provides you with information, links and in many cases also options concerning the most important subjects such as:

  • NemID
  • The CPR register
  • Health card
  • Tax
  • Holiday
  • School and child care
  • Housing
  • Danish lessons
  • Car registration and driver’s license

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How long can I stay in Denmark?

If you have completed a higher educational programme in Denmark, you can be granted a residence permit valid for 6 months for job seeking in Denmark.

The residence permit for job seeking grants you the same right to work as you had during your stay as a student: 20 hours a week and full time in June, July and August.

A residence permit can only be valid until 3 months before the expiry date of your passport.

If your passport has a shorter validity than the otherwise possible period of stay, your residence permit will be shortened. This means that the validity of your residence permit will be shorter than it could be. When you have renewed your passport, you can apply for an extension of your residence permit – however, this can only be done 3 months before your permit expires at the earliest.

Read more about the passport requirements

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Can my family be granted a residence permit?

A residence permit for job seeking after you have completed your educational programme in Denmark makes it possible for your family to extend their stay in Denmark.

Accompanying family members already holding a residence permit in Denmark as acommpanying family to you can have their residence permit extended.

Family members not alreasy holding a residence permit as accompanying family to you cannot be granted a residence permit while you are in the job seeking period.

However, if you have a child born in Denmark, the child can be granted a residence permit as an accompanying family member to you, even if you are in your job seeking period.

Residence permit can be granted to your spouse or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.

Please note that you must pay a fee to apply for extension of a residence permit as an accompanying family member.

Read more about extensions for accompanying family members here

What do you want to print?

What more do I need to know before I apply?

An application for a residence permit on the basis of job seeking after a completed educational programme must be submitted to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

If you are in Denmark when submitting the application, you must be residing here legally.

Read more about legal submission here

On the tab "How to apply" to the right you have access to the relevant application form ST5. The form only exists as a printable form in PDF og Word format.

SIRI will contact you if we need further information to process your case.

You do not need to pay a fee for an application for a residence permit for job seeking after a completed educational programme.

What do you want to print?

It is a good idea to gather the necessary documents before you start to complete the application form.

You can use the check list below.

You must submit:

Expect to use

15 minutes

to complete the application.

1 person

You complete the application form yourself.

In this step you have access to the relevant application form ST5

The application form contain careful instructions on how to complete the form and what kind of documents you must submit along with the form.

Download the printable form ST5 (Word format) 

Download the printable form ST5 (Pdf format)

You can read more about how we process your personal data here

 

You can submit the application by appearing in person in one of SIRI's branch offices in Copenhagen, Odense, Aarhus, Aalborg or on Bornholm.

If you wish to submit the application in one of SIRI's branch offices, you must remember to book an appointment here

You are also able to submit the application to SIRI using our contact form.

You can access SIRI's contact form here

When you apply for a residence permit, you must have your biometric features recorded. This means that you must have a facial photo taken and your fingerprints recorded. The facial photo and your fingerprints will be stored on a microchip embedded in the residence card, which will be issued to you if you are granted a permit.

You must have your biometric features recorded no later than 14 days after you have submitted your application.

Your biometric features can be recorded in one of SIRI’s branch offices or at a Danish diplomatic mission or visa application center abroad.

You have submitted your application correctly, if you have:

  • Submitted the applicatoin

  • Had your biometric features recorded

You can see the normal case processing time to the right on this page. When we make a decision in your case, you will receive an answer.

SIRI will contact you, if we need further information to process your application.

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Last updated 21-03-2022 - Published by: SIRI