The Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme – extension

You want to extend your residence permit based on the Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme. You continue to be employed in the same position and by the same employer.

Normal processing time
3 months

Processing fee
DKK 6,810,-

Can I extend my permit?

You can extend your residence permit based on the Pay Limit Scheme if you still have the same job.

Your employment must not have been subject to any changes. This means that you must be employed in the same position, by the same employer and under the same or improved terms of employment.

It is very important that you apply for extension before your current work permit expires.

You can apply for an extension of your permit no earlier than 3 months before it expires.

If you do not apply for an extension before your permit expires, you no longer have the right to stay in Denmark and an application submitted in Denmark will usually be rejected.

If the Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme’s minimum amount has changed since you were granted your permit

The pay limit is adjusted every year in January. As long as you continue with unchanged terms of employment and you receive your salary in accordance with your contract, you can apply for an extension even though your annual income might be below the present minimum amount.

What are the conditions for extending a permit?

An extension of your permit requires that you have met the conditions of your residence permit during the entire period of your stay.

You must be in compliance with your employment contract

You can apply for an extension of your residence and work permit if you are still employed by the same employer. You must also have both worked and received your salary in accordance with your contract for the entire validity period of your latest permit.

If you have not received full pay and/or worked in accordance with your contract during certain periods, your application must provide information and documentation explaining why you have not done so. In some cases, SIRI may accept that there have been minor deviations in your working hours during the period of validity of your permit. However, in connection with an application for a permanent residence permit, the Danish Immigration Service may assess your working hours differently than SIRI in relation to their calculation of periods of regular employment.

Below, you can read about some of the cases where SIRI may assess that you can get an extension of your residence and work permit, even if you have had periods where you have not received full pay and/or worked in accordance with your contract.

Note that the EU working time directive stipulates that over a period of 4 months you must have an average weekly working time of no more than 48 hours. If your employment is covered by a valid collective agreement, this rule may be waived.

As a rule, you are allowed to take an unpaid leave of absence or vacation without pay, within reasonable limits. In order for SIRI to assess whether your leave of absence or vacation is within reasonable limits, we need information and documentation regarding:

the length of your unpaid leave of absence or vacation
how often you have taken an unpaid leave of absence or vacation
the reason why you have taken an unpaid leave of absence or vacation.

If you have been on maternity or paternity leave, you are allowed to have received maternity/paternity benefits.

You are allowed to be either on full-time or part-time sick leave or have other absences due to serious illness affecting you or your immediate family for a period of time. During such a period, you may receive, for example, sickness benefits, care allowance or compensation for loss of earnings. However, the benefit must not be granted under the Active Social Policy Act (LAS). Please also note that this can only be a temporary situation in which you are unable to work your contractual hours or receive your contractual salary. In order for us to accept your absence, you must intend to return to work full-time.

Example: You are on part-time sick leave due to stress and your doctor recommends that you reduce your working hours from 37 hours per week to 20 hours per week for a period of 3 months. We will accept that your working hours and salary are reduced in such a temporary situation.

Your salary and terms of employment must correspond to the Danish standards

In order for us to extend your permit, your salary and terms of employment must correspond to the Danish standards. If we are not sure whether they correspond to the Danish standards, we can ask the Regional Labour Market Councils (RBR) to assess them.

Read SIRI’s page on Danish standards for salary and terms of employment

If your salary or terms of employment have changed for the worse, you must inform SIRI of this.

You must be in compliance with the Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme’s minimum amount

The Pay Limit Scheme’s minimum amount is absolute, and we cannot therefore, as a rule, grant an exemption if you have not met it for a period of time. It is a condition that you have received your salary in compliance with the pay limit that your permit is based on for the entire validity period of your latest permit.

The only exception to this condition is if the missing salary that prevents you from meeting the amount limit is due to maternity leave. The same exception does not apply if, for example, you have been absent due to illness affecting yourself or your immediate family.

If you have been absent from work for a period of time due to illness affecting you or a close family member and have received benefits such as sickness benefits, compensation for loss of earnings and care allowance, these may be included in the calculation of whether you meet the income limit. Maternity benefits may also be included in this calculation. You can read more about which benefits you are not allowed to receive in the section ‘You must not have received public benefits’.

See a list of benefits that you are not allowed to receive

When SIRI has to ensure that you have complied with the pay limit that applies to your permit, we calculate the period continuously from the date of your last permit and 12 months onwards.

Example: You received your last residence and work permit on 1 August 2020. You applied for an extension of your permit on 1 August 2023. SIRI calculates 12 months continuously from 1 August 2020, i.e. 1 August 2020 – 31 July 2021, 1 August 2021 – 31 July 2022, etc.

Please note, if you received your first residence and work permit on 1 August 2020 but did not enter the country before 1 September 2020, the 12 months are calculated continuously from 1 September 2020 onwards.

Your salary must be paid into a Danish bank account in your own name

Your entire salary must be paid into a Danish bank account in your own name.

You must not have been receiving public benefits

You must not have received any public benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act, e.g. social security benefits.

If you have received benefits under the Active Social Policy Act, you cannot expect to have your residence permit extended.

You are allowed to receive benefits granted under other legislation, e.g. sickness benefits, maternity benefits, compensation for loss of earnings, child and youth benefits, etc.

See a list of the benefits you are not allowed to receive

You must not be fined DKK 3,000 or more according to the Aliens Act and the Criminal Code

In the validity period of your latest permit, you must not have been fined DKK 3,000 or more according to the Aliens Act, the Act on Weapons and Explosives etc. or the Act on Euphoriant Substances.

You must also not be fined after you have submitted your application for an extension.

If you have received a fine of DKK 3,000 or more after you have submitted your extension application or after you have had your residence and work permit extended, SIRI can withdraw your permit and you will lose the right to stay in Denmark.

You must declare that you meet the above-mentioned conditions, and the declaration must be attached to your application.

Download sworn declaration that you have not been fined (PDF)

What are my rights if I am granted an extension of my permit?

What are you allowed to do with a Danish residence and work permit based on the Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme? – and what are you not allowed to do?

Work

If you are granted an extension of your permit based on the Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme, your permit is still dependent on your job in Denmark.

If you lose your job, you must always notify SIRI.

You are allowed to carry out voluntary, unpaid work.

If you wish to take another job as a sideline employment, you must apply for a sideline employment permit. You can read more about sideline employment here.

A Danish residence and work permit does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

If you get a new job

If you find a new job, you must submit a new residence and work application.

You can start your new job on the day you submit the new application.

Residence

A residence and work permit allows you to stay in Denmark for the period when your permit is valid.

In addition, a permit allows you to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within the past 180 days. 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 months at a time. If you do so, your permit will lapse, and you can no longer stay in Denmark.

If you need to stay abroad for an extended period (more than 6 months), e.g. if you are stationed at a sister company, you can apply for dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing.

Read about how you can apply for dispensation to prevent a permit from lapsing.

Danish lessons

With a residence permit in Denmark, you are entitled to free Danish lessons. However, you must be 18 years old 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. Please note that you will lose your deposit if you do not pass certain modules within a specific timeframe.

The municipality you live in has a duty 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 receive lessons with other foreign nationals who have arrived in Denmark recently.

Additional information

When you live in Denmark, there are a number of things you have to know about. Depending on your personal situation, you could need even more information and options.

You might already have done what is necessary, but if you still have any questions, the website lifeindenmark.dk provides you with information, links and courses of action concerning the most important subjects (opens in a new window), such as:

MitID
the CPR register
health card
tax matters
holiday entitlements
School and daycare
housing
Danish lessons
car registration and driver’s license

How long can I stay in Denmark?

The duration of your permit if your employment is 5 years or more

If your employment contract is still valid for 5 years or more, you will normally be granted a 5-year extension of your residence permit.

It is very important that you apply for an extension before your permit expires.

The duration of your permit if your employment is less than 5 years

If your employment contract is valid for less than 5 years, your residence and work permit will normally be valid for the period of your employment.

It is very important that you apply for an extension before your permit expires.

Shorter validity if your passport expires

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 residence permit you would otherwise be granted, your residence permit will be shortened accordingly. 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 be done no sooner than 3 months before your permit expires.

What are my rights while I wait for a decision?

If you have applied for an enxtension of your residence permit in time, you can stay in Denmark under the same rights as your latest permit gave you.

If you have any questions while you wait for an answer, you can find more information here.

Can my family’s residence permits be extended?

An extension of your residence and work permit based on a job in Denmark allows any accompanying family members to extend their residence permits as well.

If you do not already have your family with you in Denmark, we can inform you that a permit can be granted to your spouse, registered or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.

What more do I need to know before I apply for an extension?

An application for an extension of a residence permit based on work is processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

You can apply for an extension of your residence permit no sooner than 3 months before your current permit expires.

Before submitting your application, you must create a case order ID for your application and pay a fee to cover SIRI’s case processing expenses. You can do this on the “How to apply” tab, where you can also find the relevant applications, AR3 and AR7.

In AR3, your employer must complete the first of the two parts of the application. We will let you know by email when your employer has completed their part and you can begin your part.

Your employer must write your email address in their part. You must use the link in the email to sign up as a user with the same email address to access your part.

Make sure that the email address your employer writes is the same email address that you intend to sign up with

If you have given your employer a power of attorney to handle the application on your behalf, the employer must use the AR7 application. This application is only filled in by the employer.

You can find our approved templates for power of attorney here

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