Working Holiday - Chile

You are a citizen of Chile and wish to spend up to a year on a working holiday in Denmark on the basis of a Working Holiday agreement between Denmark and your home country. The agreement allows you to work to a limited extent.

If you are from Chile, please note that Working Holiday is covered by a
Quota

Normal processing time
3 months

Processing fee
DKK 2,490,-

What do you want to print?

What is Working Holiday?

Denmark has made Working Holiday agreements with a number of countries including Chile.

The Working Holiday agreements have been made to give young citizens from these countries the opportunity to learn about each other’s cultures and ways of living. The purpose is to further mutual understanding between the countries.

The agreements are reciprocal. This means that young danes can be granted a permit to stay in the partner countries in accordance with the rules that apply in the respective countries.

If you are a Danish national and want a Working Holiday stay in one of the partner countries, you should contact the embassy of the country in question.

The countries that have entered into an agreement are:

  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
  • South Korea

What do you want to print?

What should I know about the Working Holiday quota for Chile?

There is a yearly quota of 150 Working Holiday residence permits for citizens of Chile.

The quota begins in March and ends in February the year after. The quota has been divided into two periods:

  • From March until August (1st quota period) SIRI can grant up to 75 residence permits.
  • From September until February (2nd quota period) SIRI can grant residence permit up to the total quota of 150.

Residence permits will be granted on a first come, first served principle. The quota will be reset every year in March (after the 2nd quota period).

 

What do you want to print?

How does the application process work?

An application for a residence permit based on the Working Holiday scheme is processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

Please note that applications for Working Holiday for citizens of Chile are subject to a quota. It is therefore important that you follow the correct application procedure.

The applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis, and applications will be rejected when the quota is full. You will not be refunded the fee you have paid to the embassy if your application is rejected because the quota is full.

You start the application procedure by booking an appointment to submit an application at VFS in Santiago, Chile. It is only when your booking at VFS in Santiago, Chile has been confirmed that you have to pay the fee to SIRI and the embassy in Chile, and you then fill out the application form so that you can bring a printed version to VFS.

Before you begin the application procedure, you should read about the conditions for a residence permit under the Working Holiday scheme.

What do you want to print?

What are the conditions?

It is a requirement that you are a citizen of and live permanently in Chile.

This also means that you must hold a valid passport issued by Chile.

You must submit your application for Working Holiday in Chile. If you submit your application in another country, we will reject your application.

You must submit your application using a printable form. You therefore cannot use SIRI's online application form. If you are a citizen of Chile and you apply using SIRI's online form, we will reject your application.

You must submit your application in person.

It is therefore important that you follow the instructions on the tab 'How to apply'.

The Working Holiday agreements have been made to give young people the opportunity to learn about each other’s cultures and ways of living. It is therefore a requirement that you are of a certain age.

You must be at least 18 years but must not have turned 31 at the time you submit the application for a Working Holiday residence permit.

 

It is a requirement that you have enough money to support yourself during your stay in Denmark.

Documentation that you can support yourself can, for example, be in the form of a statement from your bank.

The documentation must show the date and your name.

Bank statement must show the balance of the account and not be more than 30 days old. If the currency of the account is not evident, the currency must appear in the statement. If you attach more than one bank statement, all statements must be dated the same day.

You must document that you have sufficient funds equal to DKK 15,000. In addition, you must either hold a return ticket to your homeland or sufficient funds to buy one equal to DKK 5,000.

This means that you must show funds equal to DKK 20,000 or DKK 15,000 + a return ticket to your homeland.

The documentation must be translated into English or one of the Nordic languages.

It is a requirement that you have insurance.

You must document that you have taken out an insurance covering hospitalization and transport home in case of injury, disease or death.

The documentation must be translated into English or one of the Nordic languages.

The intention behind the Working Holiday agreements is to give young citizens from the individual countries the opportunity to learn about each other’s cultures and ways of living in order to further mutual understanding between the countries.

The purpose of your stay must primarily be to be on holiday for an extended period of time. With a Working Holiday residence and work permit you are allowed to carry out salaried work in order to supplement your travel funds. This means that you are not allowed to work as an entrepreneur, i.e. you are not allowed to run your own business in Denmark.

What do you want to print?

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

What are you allowed to do with a Danish residence permit for a Working Holiday – and what are you not allowed to do?

In addition to your Working Holiday residence permit you will be granted a limited work permit.

Your work permit only grants you the right to carry out salaried work. This means that you are not allowed to work as an entrepreneur, i.e. you are not allowed to run your own business in Denmark.

Your limited work permit allows you to work for up to 6 months during a 12 months stay.

The number of months is calculated from the number of months in which your employer reports payment of a salary. It is therefore irrelevant for how many days or hours in any given month you have been working.

If you work more than your limited work permit allows you to or if you work as an entrepreneur, the work will be considered as illegal work. Illegal work can, among other things, mean that your residence permit will be revoked.

You are allowed to participate in an educational or study programme with a duration of up to 6 months.

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.

You must be able to support yourself during your stay. Therefore, you are not allowed to receive benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act, study grants or housing benefits.

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

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

If you are going to stay and work 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 (opens in a new window) 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 matters
  • Holiday entitlements
  • School and daycare
  • Housing
  • Danish lessons
  • Car registration and driver’s license

What do you want to print?

How long can I stay in Denmark?

If you are granted a Working Holiday residence permit you are allowed to stay for one year in Denmark calculated from your date of entry. If your residence permit expires before your have stayed for a full year in Denmark, your can apply for an extension.

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.

The permit can only be granted until the date to which your insurance is valid.

If your insurance does not cover you for a full year from the approval date of your permit, your permit will be shortened. This means that the validity of your residence permit will be shorter than it could be.

You can apply for an extension of your residence permit when you have taken out a new insurance.

If you have submitted a return ticket with a departure date sooner than 1 year from the validity date of your permit, your permit will be shortened. This means that the validity of your residence permit will be shorter than it could be. If you buy a new return ticket, you can apply for an extension of your residence permit for up to 1 year from your date of entry into Denmark.

What do you want to print?

What more do I need to know before I apply?

An application for a Working Holiday residence permit is processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

Please note that applications for Working Holiday for citizens of Chile are covered by a quota. It is therefore important that you follow the application process.

First you must succesfully book an appointment to submit an application. You are not able to do this at the moment, as the booking system has closed at the VFS in Santiago, Chile.

Only when you have an appointment to submit an application to the VFS in Buenos Aires, Argentina, should you create a case order ID, pay the processing fee and submit your printable form in person in Chile.

Please note that, as a rule, SIRI will refuse your application for a residence permit on new grounds, if the application is submitted prematurely in relation to the wished for start date for your stay in Denmark. If you submit such an application earlier than 6 months before your stay in Denmark will begin, you can expect a refusal to your application. If you have paid SIRI's case processing fee, you will not receive a refund of the fee.

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

What do you want to print?

On this tab you can read more about how to get access submit your application to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

If you are not a citizen of Chile, you must use one of the other application pages.

You will find an overview of the Working Holiday application pages here

It is important that you have carefully read the conditions for being granted a residence permit before you begin. You can do this on the tab “Need to know” on the left.

VFS in Santiago, Chile, has already received 75 bookings for submitting applications for Working Holiday, and it is therefore no longer possible to book an appointment for submitting an application.

Once the applications have been submitted to VFS in Santiago, Chile, they will be sent to SIRI where the applications will be processed. Should additional appointments at VFS become available during this quota period, you will be able to read about it on this page.

What do you want to print?

Responsible agency

Contact SIRI