Business Facts Denmark – Living and working in Denmark

Immigration

For citizens of the European Union, immigrating to Denmark is not a problem. You are allowed to live and work in Denmark for three months without a permit. Before this time expires, you have to apply for a residence permit. It is valid for five years and is issued when you can prove that you have a job. After receiving your residence permit, you have to register with the registration office in your Danish municipality of residence. A passport or identification card is mandatory for that. Once you have lived in Denmark for seven years straight, you can apply for Danish citizenship.

Your job prospects

As already mentioned, specialists and academics in particular have good prospects of finding a job in Denmark due to a shortage there. These professions include:

• Doctors and caregivers

• Architects and engineers

• Craftsmen

• IT experts, electricians and installers

• Biologists and chemists

Denmark supports employees who immigrate to Denmark with language courses and thereby makes it easier to settle in. The average regular work week is 37 hours. Master tip: Apply for a tax card early on with authority responsible for you as the employer otherwise has to pay a tax rate of 60%. In general, you should be prepared for higher tax rates. The tax rate is about 30%. In 2015, the top tax rate was 55.41%.

Social protection

Everyone with an income above the tax exemption pays taxes. By paying income tax, you have health insurance and are entitled to medical treatment and hospital treatment. In addition, by paying taxes, you retirement annuity, burial assistance, and benefits in the case of accidents at work and occupational disability. Combining family and career is possible with no problems in Denmark. The work time models there are flexible. Should you nonetheless find yourself unemployed at some point, you will receive a lot of assistance from the state. The unemployment insurance fund (A-kasse) is a kind of insurance from which you receive a daily amount over a period of up to two years if you are unemployed – without taking your private wealth into consideration.

The housing market

Many Danes live in their own property, so they own their own house or apartment. That is why the housing market is limited for rented apartments. In rural areas especially, far away from the big cities, apartment hunting can prove difficult. So here’s a tip: Start off by renting a holiday home and look for the right apartment when you are there.

Cost of living

The cost of living is not exactly low in Denmark. Copenhagen in particular is one of the most expensive cities in the world. On average, food in a restaurant costs 16.07 EUR per person. Beer costs 6.56 EUR for 0.5 l. Expect higher prices when you are shopping as well. The price of milk is about 1.18 EUR per liter, and 1 kg of apples costs 2.50 EUR on average. The high prices are the result of a high VAT of 25%. By the way, school books are free to families in Denmark. How much child care costs depends on your monthly income. Parking is very cheap in Denmark. You pay nothing or only a small fee almost everywhere.