Sideline employment

You hold a residence and work permit based on a salaried job with a specific employer and you want to take another job as sideline employment.

Normal processing time
1 month

Processing fee
No fee

Need to know
How to apply

What is sideline employment?

If you hold a residence permit based on a job with a specific employer, and you wish to take a sideline job, you can apply for a sideline employment permit.

A permit for sideline employment is solely a work permit. Hence, sideline employment cannot form the basis for a separate residence and work permit.

Please find further information about the rules that apply to you on the page regarding the scheme that forms the basis of your residence permit.

Some types of residence permit includes a right to sideline employment

As a researcher (with a permit under the Researcher scheme or the Researcher track under the Fast-track scheme), Guest researcher or PhD student, you are allowed to take up unlimited sideline employment. You do not need to apply for a specific work permit for sideline employment.

This is also the case if you are a practising or performing artist, or if you are a professional athlete or coach.

Your sideline employment must be naturally related to the job that forms the basis of your residence and work permit.

If you are employed as a researcher, but has been granted a residence permit under the Pay Limit Scheme, then you have to apply for a specific work permit in order to take up sideline employment.

The right to take up sideline employment is not included in a residence permit granted for jobseeking.

If you are granted a residence permit as researcher, guest researcher or Ph.D student from 10 June 2018 your rights will be stated in the letter granting you the permit. Please read the letter carefully.

If you are granted a residence permit as a practising or performing artist, or as a professional athlete or coach after 1 June 2019 your rights will be stated in the letter granting you the permit. Please read the letter carefully.

Please note that you are also comprised by the right to sideline employment if your permit were granted before the dates mentioned.

The right to sideline employment does not apply to you if you work in Denmark without a residence permit because you are exempt from the requirement of a work permit.

Please find specific guidance regarding work as an external examiner here.

What are the conditions?

There must be a connection between your main job and your sideline employment

Your sideline employment must be naturally related to the job that forms the basis of your residence and work permit. Examples of this include:

you are a chef and you want a permit for sideline employment within an area of speciality with another employer,
you are a musician and you want a permit for sideline employment as an instructor at an academy of music,
you are a dentist and you want a permit for sideline employment in order to work in an out-of-hours medical service every other weekend, or
you are a researcher wishing to be affiliated with several universities as a researcher. Read more about researchers here.

Special conditions apply to sideline employment if you hold a residence and work permit as a professional athlete or coach. Read more here.

Your salary and terms of employment must correspond to Danish standards

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

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.

You can see which information the employment contract must include here

If SIRI has any doubts whether your salary and terms of employment correspond to Danish standards, we can ask experts in the field, e.g. one of the regional labour market councils, to assess your terms of employment.

Regarding work hours

Normally, you can be granted a permit for sideline employment that allows you to work for 8-15 hours per week.

If you are a researcher, your main job does not have to be full-time employment. Therefore, the number of working hours in your main job influence how many hours of sideline employment you will be permitted to take. This is not necessarily limited to the above-mentioned 8-15 hours per week.

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

You must not take other sideline jobs than the one your permit is granted for.

If you are offered a new sideline job, you must apply for a new permit. This also applies if you are offered a new position within the same company. You must not start working before you have obtained a new permit.

What is the maximum duration of a sideline employment permit?

You can be granted a permit for sideline employment valid for the same period as your main job – however, the validity cannot exceed the duration of your job contract.

You can apply for an extension of your sideline employment permit if you are still holding the same sideline job and if you continue to meet the conditions for your main job permit.

What should I do if I lose my sideline job or find a new one?

You must always inform SIRI if you lose your sideline job or find a new one.

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

If you change your job

If you find a new sideline job while working in Denmark, you must submit a new application for a work permit with information on your new employment.

You must not begin your new sideline job before you have been granted a new permit.

If you lose your permit for your main job

Your sideline employment permit is revoked if your residence and work permit for your main job is revoked or you are denied an extension.

If you are a researcher, and you have been granted a permit for sideline employment as a researcher, you are able to apply for a residence permit based on this job.

What more do I need to know before I apply?

An application for sideline employment is processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

On the “How to apply” tab to the right, you find the relevant application form, AR8.

Your employer must complete part 2 of the form.

If you have granted your employer power of attorney to handle the application on your behalf, the form must be completed by the employer only.

You can find an approved template for a power of attorney here.

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 permit before you begin step 1. You can do this on the tab “Need to know” on the left.

Gather documentation

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.

If you submit documents not written in English, German, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish, you must also submit certified translations into Danish or English.

You must submit:

Copy of all pages of your passport – including all empty pages and the passport’s front and back cover

Employment contract or job offer with information about salary and terms of employment and a job description

Documentation of authorisation, if the job requires a Danish authorisation

CV, if any

You can see which information the employment contract must include here

Complete the application form

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 form.

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.

In the printable application form AR8 your employer must complete part 2 of the form. When your employer has completed his or her part, you must complete your part. Once parts 1 and 2 have been completed, they must be submitted together – read more in the next step.

You must submit the necessary documents with the application.

The printable application form in Word format can be completed on screen before you print. The application form in pdf format must be printed first and then completed by hand.

Download the printable form AR8 (Word format)

Download the printable form AR8 (Pdf format)

Submit the application

You can submit the application in one of SIRI’s branch offices.

If you plan to submit you application in one of SIRI’s branch offices, you must remember to book an appointment.

You can also send the application to SIRI using our contact form.

You can find SIRI's contact form here

You are not required to have your biometrics recorded, but you must have your photo and signature obtained

When you apply for a work permit for sideline employment, you are not required to have your biometric features recorded.

Instead, you must have your photo and signature recorded which will be used to issue documentation of your work permit for sideline employment.

If you submit your application in one of SIRI’s branches, you will have your photo and signature obtained at the same time.

If you submit your application online, you will have to book an appointment to obtain your photo and signature. Book an appointment here.