SU – State Educational Grant

As a foreign citizen you need to apply for SU and apply for equal status in order to receive SU

Read more and self-services

SU, State Educational Grant, is an economic aid to cover living expenses for students at youth and higher educations in Denmark.

As a starting point, you have to be a Danish citizen in order to receive SU. If you are a foreign citizen, you have to fulfil some specific requirements in order to obtain equal status with Danish citizens. You can apply for equal status based on 2 set of rules: You can apply for equal status under the Danish rules or under the EU law. It is important that you acquaint yourself thoroughly with the rules, before you apply for equal status.

Besides fulfilling the requirements for equal status, you also need to fulfill general requirements in order to receive SU:

  • You have to be accepted to a youth education or a higher education in Denmark, which has been approved for SU.
  • You have to have turned 18 years of age, if you wish to receive SU for a youth education.
  • You must not receive any other public benefits for covering living expenses.

In order to apply for and receive SU it is a condition that you:

  • are in possession of MitID (for you to apply for SU)
  • have a NemKonto (for us to pay out your SU on)
  • have access to Digital Post (for you to read decisions and messages from The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science).

Read more about SU as a foreign citizen:

When you want to apply for equal status in order to receive SU for an education in Denmark, you have to log in to our self-service system minSU with your MitID.

In minSU you have to fill out 2 separate applications:

  • an application for SU
  • an application for equal status with Danish citizens.

You can apply for SU, when you have been accepted to a Danish education, which has been approved for SU, and when you have received MitID.

Deadlines for SU application

You can apply for SU 3 months before you wish to receive SU at the earliest. However, if you wish to receive SU from January, you will be able to apply from 1 December the year before at the earliest, when the application for the upcoming year is available in minSU.

The closing date for making a SU application in a year is 5 December. If you apply after 5 December, you can only apply to receive SU from January the following year at the earliest.

You can receive SU from the month in which you make your application at the earliest. You cannot apply for SU retroactively.

If your education starts after the 20th in a month, you can receive SU from the following month at the earliest.

Deadlines for equal status application

You can apply for equal status 3 weeks after making your SU application in minSU at the latest. You have to attach documentation, which appear from the application for equal status. If you apply later, we will consider the application for SU as received from the date, you apply for equal status.

If you obtain equal status with Danish citizens, there are additional factors, which determines how much you will receive in SU.

SU rates depend on:

  • Whether you attend a youth education or a higher education
  • How old you are, if you attend a youth education
  • Whether or not you are living with one or both of your parents.

If you have any questions regarding your SU, you have to contact the SU counsellor at your educational institution.

If you have any questions regarding your equal status with Danish citizens, you have to contact the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science via Digital Post on lifeindenmark.dk, the Digital Post app or mit.dk. 

Log in with MitID and do the following:

  • Go to Digital Post
  • Choose 'New message' in the top left corner
  • Now you have to choose authority – choose 'State authorities'
  • Choose 'Uddannelses- og Forskningsstyrelsen'
  • Choose the subject category that fits your enquiry
  • When you have  written your email, click 'Send'.

It is possible to upload up to 4 MB per email.

If you are dissatisfied with a ruling, you can complain.

It is your Danish place of study that makes the decision on whether or not you are eligible for SU.

It is The Agency for Higher Education and Science that makes the decision on whether or not you can obtain equal status with Danish citizens.

Written by Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science

Last updated: 08 November 2024

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