The work requirement for permanent residence in Denmark

You need at least 42 months of ordinary full-time work within the 48 months before the decision. You also have to be in ordinary work of at least 15 hours a week when the decision is made.

42 of 48 months

Only ordinary full-time work counts: at least 30 hours a week, or 120 hours a month.
The work must be without a wage subsidy (løntilskud).
Sickness, holiday and parental leave during the employment count as part of the job.

The 48 months are counted backwards from the day of the decision, not from the day you apply.

What does not count

Unemployment benefits (dagpenge).
Education and study.
Work placements (praktik).
Jobs with a wage subsidy.

Self-employment, flex jobs and temporary agency work through an agency are outside the standard assessment entirely.

Work at the time of the decision

Ordinary work of at least 15 hours a week.
Documentation that the employment continues.

This is a separate requirement from the months above, and both have to be met.

Work as a supplementary condition

At least 4 years of work within the last 4 years and 6 months.

This is one of the four supplementary conditions, and it is stricter than the basic requirement.

What makes it complicated

A month only counts if you were employed full time for the whole month.
A gap between two jobs can remove more months than it looks like.
Pensioners are exempt from the employment requirements and from the supplementary conditions about work and income.

Counting the months by hand is where most people make a mistake. The check does the counting from the dates you enter.

Check your own dates

Residence Check compares your answers with the requirements and shows which ones you meet, what you still need to clarify, and the earliest date you can meet all of them. Answering the questions is free.

Start the check