Relocating to a new country also means encountering new official terms. This is a guide to 25 of the most inevitable ones
The chosen terms are typically tricky to translate from Danish to English and this Top 25 dictionary functions as the official list of correct translations. It is made in a collaboration between the relevant Danish authorities.
The description of each term is made by the responsible authority and when relevant contains a link to more information related to the term.
A work permit grants a foreign national from a country outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland the right to work in Denmark.
Work permits are often restricted to employment with a specific employer in a specific job, typically for a limited period of up to 4 years which can be extended. In other instances, the work permit is limited to a specific maximum of hours per week. A work permit can also be necessary for volunteer work or side-line employment.
Foreign nationals covered by EU regulations do not need a work permit in order to work in Denmark.
The Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (in Danish: SIRI – Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration)
In Denmark there are a number of unemployment insurance funds. Danish unemployment insurance funds (in Danish: A-kasse) are private non-profit institutions that are supported by the state. You need to be a member of an A-kasse to be eligible for unemployment benefits ('Dagpenge'). However, it is not enough to be a member, also other requirements apply.
Your municipality’s local Citizen Service (borgerservice) can help you with issues such as change of address, change of family doctor (GP), Digital Post, MitID, CPR number, your yellow health insurance card, how to sign your child up for daycare and more.
Citizen Service can also guide you on which authority to contact in your specific case.
The municipalities
In Denmark each resident has a civil registration number, which is called a CPR number. CPR stands for Central Person Register. The CPR number is essential in relation to any contact with the Danish public authorities and especially in connection to tax and social security issues.
In order to get a CPR number your stay in Denmark must exceed 3 months. Also, you cannot be issued with a CPR number before you have found a place to live and actually live there. If you are a citizen from outside the Nordic countries, you must also have been issued with an EU residence document or have obtained a residence permit in order to be issued with a CPR number.
Your CPR number is issued by Citizen Service in the municipality you are moving to or at one of the International Citizen Service centres. You may have to apply for a CPR number online and book an appointment before appearing in person to complete the registration for your CPR number.
Read more about applying for a CPR number at the pages concerning International Citizen Service:
The municipalities
In Denmark it is mandatory to receive post digitally from public authorities. It is called Digital Post.
You can only be exempted from receiving Digital Post if you meet certain requirements. Your Digital Post includes information from hospitals, pension statements, information about state education grants, changes to housing benefits, replies to applications for childcare, letters from the Danish Tax Authorities etc. Once you have a Danish CPR number and MitID, you will receive Digital Post from public authorities.
The Agency for Digital Government (in Danish: Digitaliseringsstyrelsen)
The EU residence document (also known as the EU registration certificate) confirms that you as an EU/ EEA or Swiss citizen (or family member to such citizen) have registered your right to reside in Denmark according to EU regulations.
The certificate thus confirms your right to reside in Denmark as long as you continue to meet the conditions.
The Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (in Danish: SIRI – Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration)
Trade unions represent their members towards their employers. A trade union can provide you with employment-related legal support and guidance you may need. Unions also negotiate on your behalf to secure you the best possible salary level and working conditions.
The membership of a trade union is not obligated by law. However, if you choose to become a member of a trade union, your choice of trade union depends on your education/position and workplace.
You may be granted family reunification if you are a close family member to a Danish citizen, a person with a permanent residence permit, or a refugee in Denmark and you wish to come to Denmark. You and your family member in Denmark must fulfill some requirements. Family reunification is not the same as accompanying family.
The Danish Immigration Service (in Danish: Udlændingestyrelsen)
When you work in Denmark and are a taxpayer in Denmark, you have the right to holiday allowance. In general, you accrue 12.5 per cent of your salary in holiday allowance. This complies with 2.08 days of holiday for every month that you are employed.
Holiday allowance is the collective term for holiday allowance and salary during holiday.
FerieKonto
FeriepengeInfo
The Civil Registration Office is a municipal department – often a subdepartment to Citizen Service (in Danish: borgerservice). The department takes care of a citizen’s registration on an address in the municipality in the Civil Registration System (CPR).
When moving to a new municipality in Denmark it is the Civil Registration Office, in the municipality you are moving to, that processes your online registration of your new address. When moving from abroad, depending on the municipality you are moving to, it can either be the Civil Registration Office in the municipality you are moving to or the International Citizen Service (ICS) that processes your application for a CPR number and registers you at your address.
The preliminary income assessment is a taxpayer's tax budget. It is an estimate of earnings each month and contains the withholding rate and total tax deductions and allowances.
Your preliminary income assessment is available each year in November on the Danish Tax Agency’s (Skattestyrelsen) website and it shows the tax authorities estimate of your tax for the coming year. If your financial situation changes, you should change your preliminary income assessment in order to pay the right amount of tax throughout the year.
When you make changes to your preliminary income assessment you also make changes to your tax card which is automatically sent to whoever pays your salary or student grant.
The Danish Tax Agency (in Danish: Skattestyrelsen)
Cross-border workers is a term used only for tax.
You may be taxed as a cross-border worker and have the right to certain deductions so that you can get deduction for expenses that do not relate to your income in Denmark, if you meet some requirements.
The Danish Tax Agency (in Danish: Skattestyrelsen)
You are a commuter, if you live in another country and work in Denmark.
Since you are not living in Denmark, you do not need to apply for a residence permit or an EU residence document in Denmark.
However, if you are not a citizen of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, you are not allowed to work in Denmark without a valid work permit.
The Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (in Danish: SIRI – Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration)
You can apply for residence as an accompanying family member, if you are the spouse, cohabiting partner or child of a foreign national who is in Denmark to work or study. To apply for residence as an accompanying partner, both you and your partner must be citizens of a country outside the EU/EEA area.
Please note that applying for a residence as an accompanying family member is not the same as applying for family reunification.
Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (in Danish: SIRI – Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration)
The Danish national eID, MitID, is every resident’s personal key to digital services in Denmark, including self-services provided by the public sector.
For example, you need MitID when you:
You can apply for MitID by contacting your local municipality’s Citizen Service (borgerservice). Remember to book an appointment.
The Agency for Digital Government (in Danish: Digitaliseringsstyrelsen)
All citizens and companies registered in Denmark are required to have a NemKonto to receive salary and payments from the public sector. A NemKonto is a bank account that you assign as your NemKonto.
The Agency for Digital Government (in Danish: Digitaliseringsstyrelsen)
If you are a foreign national and you wish to reside in Denmark for longer than the 90 days a short-term visa allows you to, you must apply for a residence permit.
Other rules apply if you are covered by the EU rules.
The Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (in Danish: SIRI – Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration) and the Danish Immigration Service (in Danish: Udlændingestyrelsen)
The tax card contains information about your withholding rate, your monthly tax-free allowances, and deductions. The tax card is digital and can be found on your preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelsen). If you have income from Denmark or from abroad during your stay in Denmark, no matter how long it is, you must apply for a tax card.
Employers or other parties, such as pension providers, automatically get a copy of the card from the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen), once it has been issued.
If you do not have a tax card, you will have to pay 55 per cent in taxes on your salary.
The Danish Tax Agency (in Danish: Skattestyrelsen)
If you do not have a permanent address in Denmark, but must pay tax in Denmark, you apply for a personal tax number. Your tax number also works as your civil registration number (CPR number).
If you move to Denmark later, your personal tax number will be converted into a CPR number and you will be registered as a resident with this number.
Please note that whether you hold a personal tax number or a CPR number, the digits are the same and valid for life. This means that if you leave Denmark and return, your CPR number/personal tax number still applies and can be reactivated.
The Danish Tax Agency (in Danish: Skattestyrelsen)
The yellow health insurance card is documentation that you are entitled to the services offered under the Danish national health insurance scheme.
When you register for a civil registration number (CPR number), a health insurance card is also issued and sent to your Danish address. The card will show your name and address, your CPR number and the name and address of your family doctor (GP, general practitioner).
It is advisable always to carry this card with you as it is required whenever you need to see a doctor or go to the hospital – or when you want to take out books from the library.
The municipalities
A person who works in Denmark and is covered by social insurance in Denmark without living here is entitled to a special health insurance card.
The special health insurance card shows that you have the right to medical treatment in Denmark on the same terms as if you are a resident in Denmark.
Udbetaling Danmark
A worker posted to Denmark is an employee who is usually employed in another country and is sent to Denmark by their employer to work for a limited period. A posted worker might need to apply for a work permit or register under EU regulations depending on citizenship.
The Danish Working Environment Authority (in Danish: Arbejdstilsynet)
Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (in Danish: SIRI – Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration)
If you wish to visit Denmark for a short period of time and you are a citizen of a country with a visa requirement, you must have a short-term visa. A visa normally grants you the right to stay in the entire Schengen region for up to 90 days. A short-term visa is not the same as a residence permit.
The Danish Immigration Service (in Danish: Udlændingestyrelsen)
It is normally a requirement for family reunification of spouses that the spouse living in Denmark post collateral guarantee in the form of a financial guarantee on a locked account. The guarantee must be set aside in order to cover social benefits if the spouse with residence permit is given such in the future.
The Danish Immigration Service (in Danish: Udlændingestyrelsen)
The tax assessment notice is a summary of your tax for the past year, showing your income, deductions and allowances and tax paid.
The Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen) generates your personal tax assessment notice in early March. You can check and correct it by logging on to skat.dk.
The tax assessment notice tells you if you are entitled to a refund of overpaid tax or if you have paid too little tax. If too much has been paid, you are entitled to a tax refund. If you have paid too little tax, the outstanding tax will be charged on your taxes for the following year, or you will receive a form from the tax authorities in order to pay the outstanding tax.
Please note: It is your responsibility to check your tax assessment notice. You must correct it if amounts or information is missing or incorrect.
The Danish Tax Agency (in Danish: Skattestyrelsen)