Denmark skilled worker visa: the Positive Lists

The Positive List for People with a Higher Education covers graduate jobs such as engineers, doctors, IT and management roles. Each title states the education required, usually at least a three-year bachelor programme, and your degree must be relevant to the job; titles marked with an asterisk also need Danish authorisation or official recognition. Titles added by a Regional Labour Market Council only apply in that council’s municipalities, and each title shows the date until which it stays on the list.

The Positive List for Skilled Work covers trades such as electricians, industrial mechanics, chefs, butchers, bakers and hairdressers, and some technician and finance-officer roles. The lists are updated on 1 January and 1 July, and a title can be removed no sooner than two years after it was added.

There is no fixed salary threshold, but pay, holiday and notice terms must match Danish standards for the field. For the skilled-work list SIRI uses Statistics Denmark wage data for skilled employees as a guideline, and a reference to a collective agreement is not automatically enough. The employer must also meet its apprentice-training obligations under Læreplads-AUB, without exemption. Under both lists the salary is paid into a Danish bank account in your name, opened within 180 days.

Create a case order ID, pay DKK 6,810 and submit AR1 together with your employer, or let the employer file AR6 with your power of attorney. Attach the passport copy, the contract with all terms, documentation of education and, where needed, Danish authorisation. Biometrics are compulsory: after submitting online you have 14 days to give fingerprints and a facial photo, at a Danish mission or at the visa application centre that serves your country of residence. If no slot is available in time, tell SIRI the appointment date so the case is not rejected. Graduates on the higher-education list who are already in Denmark may start working while SIRI processes the case.

After arrival you register your Danish address in the Civil Registration System to get a CPR number, at the latest 5 days after moving in, at the municipality or an International Citizen Service centre. The residence card is posted to your CPR address, so put your name on the mailbox. You must not give up your Danish address or stay abroad for more than 6 consecutive months, or the permit lapses.

Permits run for the contract period, up to 4 years. Apply for an extension in time to keep working. A new job requires a new application, which can be under a Positive List again or any other scheme, and you may start on the day you submit it. After losing a job through no fault of your own you can request a 6-month job seeking permit within 2 days. Under the higher-education list, after 4 years with the permit you may move your main place of work to another region without a new permit.

Appeal to the Immigration Appeals Board within 8 weeks with a new case order ID and the DKK 1,040 appeal fee. If you now meet the conditions, a new application is also possible, but not from inside Denmark once a departure deadline has been set.