Special individual qualifications – specialised chef

If you have been offered a job as a specialised chef at a restaurant that has an innovative character and a high gastronomic level, you can apply for a residence and work permit in Denmark.


1 month

Processing fee
DKK 6,810,-

What are special individual qualifications – specialised chef?

The scheme is aimed at you, if you are a chef with a high gastronomic level. You may have siginificant experience from internationally recognised restaurants or you have won gastronomic competitions.

To apply for a residence and work permit, you must have been offered work as a chef in Denmark at a restaurant with either a high gastronomic level and/or an innovative character.

What are the conditions?

It is a condition that you have achieved documented international recognition as a chef. This is the case if, for example, you have won international chef competitions or previously worked to a significant extent in restaurants that have achieved documented international recognition, for example by being included in the Michelin Guide or similar.

It is also a condition that you have the necessary professional qualifications to carry out the work. This means that you must be trained and have experience in the culinary field in which you are offered a job.

You must attach documentation of your education, work experience and any international chef competitions you have won to your application for a residence and work permit.

It is a condition that the restaurant where you are to be employed has an innovative character and/or a high gastronomic level that necessitates the employment of a chef with special individual qualifications. You or your employer must document that the restaurant has a high level and/or innovative character. As an example of this, you can send a menu, reviews or other relevant documentation. 

If you will be working at different restaurants under the same employer (they must use the same CVR number), we need to see documentation that all restaurants where you will be working fulfil the requirement of a high level and/or innovative character. You can only get a work permit for the restaurants that have a high level and/or innovative character.

All physical locations where you will be working must be stated by name and address in your contract.

Your salary and terms of employment must correspond to Danish standards. This means that your salary, holiday entitlements and terms of notice etc. must not be inferior to the standards in the professional field where you are going to work.

Read about the Danish standards for salary and terms of employment

When you apply, you must attach a copy of your employment contract or job offer. All terms of employment must be stated in the contract or the job offer.

Read about what information the employment contract must include

When assessing whether the salary you have been offered corresponds to Danish standards, only the following salary components can be taken into account:

  • Salary in the form of liquid assets, including fixed supplements which are, therefore, guaranteed salary

  • Payments to labour market pension schemes, including the pension contributions paid by both the employer and the applicant

  • Paid holiday allowance

If you earn holiday allowance, which can only be paid to you in the following year, it cannot count towards the annual salary for the year in which you have earned it. Moreover, it is only holiday allowance paid by the employer whom you are currently allowed to work for, that can be counted as part of your salary.

Your employer might offer you, as a supplement to your salary, benefits such as paid canteen, free use of car, paid phone, paid internet and paid living and housing expenses. Note that these salary components cannot be taken into account when assessing whether your salary corresponds to Danish standards.

If SIRI has any doubts on whether your terms of employment correspond to Danish standards, we can ask the regional labour market councils to assess your terms of employment.

Your salary must be paid into a Danish bank account in your own name, and the bank has to be operating legally in Denmark.

It is not a requirement that the salary which is paid into your Danish bank account is transferred from a Danish bank account.

You must contact a bank yourself, in order to create a Danish bank account. There are no immediate restrictions concerning the type of bank account.

If you have not yet received a Danish address or CPR number and you are experiencing difficulties creating a Danish bank account, you can read about your options for creating a basic payment account on www.basalbetalingskonto.dk

Read about basic payment accounts on basalbetalingskonto.dk (opens in a new window)

After you have been granted a residence and work permit, you must open your Danish bank account within 180 days. During your first 180 days in Denmark, you salary can be paid into a foreign account. If you enter Denmark after you have been granted a residence and work permit, you must open a Danish bank account within 180 days from your entry into Denmark. If you already hold a Danish residence permit that is valid for at least 180 days, your salary must be paid into your Danish bank account from your first salary payment.

Read about having your salary paid into a Danish bank account

It is not possible to be granted a residence and work permit for a job encompassed by a legal labour conflict. It is, however, possible to be granted a permit for other jobs in a company or institution involved in a legal conflict, if the jobs, according to the applicable agreements between the labour market parties, are not encompassed by the conflict.

One of the conditions for being granted a residence permit under this scheme is that any spouse, cohabiting partner, children or, in certain circumstances, other family members holding a residence permit as accompanying family members, have not had their residence permit revoked more than once due to lack of a required work permit.

What are my rights if I am granted a permit?

What are you allowed to do with a Danish residence and work permit on the basis of special individual qualifications – specialised chef? And what are you not allowed to do?

You are only allowed to work in the job and in the company that you have been granted a work permit to.

If your employer has several restaurants under the same company registration number (CVR), you can only work at the restaurant(s) that we have assessed to be of a high level and/or innovative nature. They will be stated on your residence and work permit.

If you are offered a new job, you must apply for a new residence and work permit. This also applies if you are offered a new position within the same company.

If you wish to take a sideline job, you have to apply for a separate permit.

Read about sideline employment

You are allowed to carry out unpaid voluntary work.

Read about unpaid voluntary work

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

Read about working conditions in Denmark and 'The Danish labour market model'

A residence and work permit allows you to stay 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 the latest 180-day period. The permit, however, does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

Read about the Schengen agreement

You must not give up your Danish address or stay abroad for longer 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.

If you need to stay abroad for an extended period of time, e.g. if you are stationed abroad for a period of time by your employer, you can apply for a dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing.

Read about the rules concerning a lapse of permit

Read about and apply for dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing

You must be able to support yourself and your family during your stay. You are not allowed to receive benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act.

If you or your family members 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.

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

With a residence and work 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 modules within a specific timeframe.

Your municipality of residence must 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 recently arrived in Denmark.

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

  • MitID

  • The CPR register

  • Health card

  • Tax matters

  • Holiday entitlements

  • School and daycare

  • Housing

  • Danish lessons

  • Car registration and driver’s license.

Find information on lifeindenmark.dk (opens in a new window)

How long can I stay in Denmark?

If you apply from abroad, you can be granted a residence permit that is valid 1 month before you start working. It will give you time to settle in Denmark. When you apply, you must declare that you can support yourself and any accompanying family members during the period.  If you do not declare this, your residence permit will be valid 14 days before you start working.

If you apply in Denmark, your residence permit will be valid from the day you start working.

You can be granted a residence and work permit that is valid for 1 year at a time during the first 2 years of your stay – however, the validity cannot exceed the length of your job contract. Hereafter, you can be granted a permit valid for a maximum of 2 years, and after 4 years, valid for a maximum of 3 years at a time. 

If you find a new job, you must submit a new application based on the new job – it can once again be based on your special individual qualifications or it can be based on another of our work schemes. When you have submitted your application based on the new job, you do not have to wait for your permit before you start working. You can start your new job on the day you submit the new application.

If your employment contract is extended, you must apply for an extension of your residence and work permit.

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

If you submit your extension application on time, you can stay in Denmark and continue your work while you await our decision, even though your residence and work permit 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 otherwise possible period of stay, 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, the earliest this can be done is 3 months before your permit expires.

Read more about the passport requirements

What should I do if I lose or change my job?

If you are granted a permit based on this scheme, your residence permit is linked to your job in Denmark. Your employment is the basis for your permit. 

You must always inform SIRI if you lose or change your job.

Your work permit is limited to the job that is the basis for your permit.  You are not allowed to work in a job other than the one stated in your permit. This also applies if you are offered a new job in the same company.

If you find a new job while working in Denmark, you must submit a new application for a residence and work permit with information on your new employment. When you have submitted your new application, you can start working while you wait for a decision, even though you have not yet been granted a permit.

Read more about the job change rule

Can my family be granted a residence permit?

A residence and work permit based on a job in Denmark allows your family to come with you to Denmark. 

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

Read about accompanying family members

What more do I need to know before I apply?

An application for a residence permit on the basis of work must be submitted to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

As a general rule, you must have an employment agreement with a company registered in Denmark to be able to apply. However, there are certain exceptions, e.g. if you work for a foreign company that provides services in Denmark.

Before you submit 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 to the right. Here you also find the relevant application, AR1.

Your employer must start by completing the first part of the application.

Afterwards, we will send you an email so you can complete your part of the application.  

Your employer must write your email address in their part of the application. You must use the link in the email to sign up as a user with the same email addressto 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 granted your employer power of attorney to handle the application on your behalf, your employer must use the AR6 application. This form is only filled in by the employer.

Find our approved power of attorney templates

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

Below, you will find a step-by-step guide to submitting an application to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

It is important that you have carefully read the conditions for being granted a residence and work permit before you begin step 1. You can do this on the tab “Need to know” on the left.

If you are a commuter and will not be residing in Denmark and for this reason will only apply for a work permit, you do not need to create a case order ID or pay a fee. Instead, you can go directly to step 3. 

Read about commuting

 

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It is a good idea to gather the necessary documents before you start to complete the application form. You can use the checklist below.

If you submit documents written in other than English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish, you must also submit certified translations into Danish or English.

You must submit

See which information the employment contract must include

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Expect to use

30 minutes

completing the application

2 persons

You and your employer are each required to complete a part of the form.

In this step, you and your employer have access to the relevant application forms.

Make sure that you have completed all the preceeding steps before you begin.

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

Read about how we process your personal data

You can choose between these two online applications:

  • AR1, in which you and your employer each are required to complete separate parts of the application
  • AR6, in which you grant your employer power of attorney to apply on your behalf

In the AR1 application, your employer must complete the first of two parts of the application. When your employer has completed their part, you must complete your part.

If you do not have MitID, you can send AR1 by signing our sworn declaration by hand and attaching it to the application. It is important that you sign and attach our sworn declaration.

Download our sworn declaration (PDF)

You can also download the sworn declaration in the AR1 application.

In the AR6 application, only your employer must fill in the application.

Read about power of attorney and download an approved power of attorney standard

Make sure you have all documents ready in digital form, in order to attach them as you complete the application.

AR1  AR6

Please note that it is mandatory to use this application. Under special circumstances, you can be exempted from the requirement to use an online application. 

Read about application forms


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You can find your ongoing and completed applications for 30 days from your last login.

Log in to see your applications

 

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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.

If you do not agree to have your biometric features recorded, your application will be rejected. This means that your application will not be processed.

Read about biometrics

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

If you are unable to have your biometric features recorded within the time limit because you are unable to book an appointment at a Danish diplomatic mission before 14 days have passed, you can inform us of when you have been able to book a time to have your biometrics recorded. This way you can avoid having your application rejected.

You are abroad

You can have your biometric features recorded at a Danish diplomatic mission or an application centre in the country where you reside.

See the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ list of diplomatic missions or application centres where you can have your biometric features recorded

In certain countries, Denmark does not have a diplomatic mission or application centre. In these instances, the list will refer you to one of the Norwegian missions with which Denmark has made an agreement or to the nearest Danish diplomatic mission or application centre in the region.

If you submit your application to a Norwegian diplomatic mission, you must also submit a passport photo. If you are granted a residence and work permit based on your application, you must have your biometric features recorded within a specific time frame after you enter Denmark.

We recommend that you visit the local diplomatic mission’s webpage to get more information before you submit the application. The individual diplomatic mission can have additional requirements, for example regarding payment of additional fees, submission of additional passport photos or additional copies of the application.

You are in Denmark

If you are residing legally in Denmark, you are normally able to have your biometric features recorded in Denmark. This is the case if you:

  • hold a valid visa
  • are exempt from the visa requirement or
  • already hold a valid residence permit.

Read about the legal residence requirement and submission of your application in Denmark

You can have your biometric features recorded in one of SIRI’s branch offices.

If you plan to have your biometrics recorded in one of SIRI’s branch offices, you must remember to book an appointment. 

Book an appointment with SIRI

If you are a commuter who does not reside in Denmark, and for this reason will only apply for a work permit, you do not need to have your biometrics recorded. 

Read about commuters

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You have submitted your application succesfully if you have:

  • created a case order ID

  • paid the fee

  • submitted the application

  • 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 or your employer if we need further information to process your case.

Your residence card will automatically be sent to the address that has been registered under your name in the Civil Registration System (CPR). It is important that your name is written on your mailbox. If your name is not written on your mailbox, there is a chance that the residence card will not be delivered to you, and that it will be sent back to SIRI instead.

Read about what you can expect while you are waiting for an answer

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Last updated 27-01-2026 - Published by: SIRI