Establishment Card
You want to stay in Denmark and seek employment after you have completed a Danish higher education programme at the minimum level of professional bachelor.
Who can apply for an establishment card?
If you have completed and been awarded a Danish professional bachelor’s, bachelor’s, master’s (candidatus) degree or PhD degree, you can apply for an establishment card.
Educational programmes not approved by a state authority, where only a statement from the Danish Evaluation Institute (EVA) exists, will not be able to form the basis for an establishment card.
You can apply for an establishment card after each completed Danish professional bachelor’s, bachelor’s, master’s or PhD degree. For example, if you have completed a master’s degree and you have been granted an establishment card and afterwards complete a PhD degree, you can apply for an establishment card again after the PhD degree is completed.
What are the conditions?
You must have completed a Danish higher education programme
It is a requirement that you have been awarded a Danish bachelor’s, professional bachelor’s, master’s (candidatus) degree or PhD degree from a publically accredited educational institution in Denmark.
A master programme (Danish: masteruddannelse) corresponds to a Danish master’s (candidatus) degree.
If you have completed an advanced postgraduate (soloist) programme from one of the Danish Academies of Music or the Opera Academy, your educational level is considered to be equivalent to a PhD degree.
When you apply, you must provide documentation showing that you have completed the educational programme. The documentation must be in the form of your diploma. A pre-authorisation is not sufficient proof that you have earned a graduate or PhD degree.
If you have not yet received your diploma by the time you submit the application, but you have completed your educational programme, you can provide official documentation from the educational institution that you have completed your programme and earned a degree and you are only waiting for the official diploma to be issued.
If you have completed an educational programme not approved by a state authority, where only a statement from the Danish Evaluation Institute (EVA) exists, you cannot be granted an establishment card.
You must apply within 1 year of completing your education
You must apply within 1 year of completing your educational programme.
If you are in Denmark when you submit the application, you must be residing legally.
You must be able to support yourself
It is a requirement that you have sufficient funds to support yourself during the first year of your stay. If you have family applying for a residence permit to stay with you, you must also provide documentation of your ability to support them.
You have sufficient funds if you have an amount corresponding to
DKK 90,624 (2022 level) if you are in Denmark without any family,
DKK 181,248 (2022 level) if your spouse is accompanying you to Denmark
DKK 269,208 (2022 level) if your spouse and any children are accompanying you,
DKK 178,584 (2022 level) if any of your children, but not your spouse, are accompanying you
Documentation of your ability to support yourself (and any accompanying family members) can either be one or more bank statements or one or more employment contracts. A combination of a bank statement and an employment contract will not be accepted.
It is required that the documentation for your support shows the date of the statement and your name.
A bank statement must also show the balance of the account and must not be more than 30 days old. If it is not evident what currency the account is in, the currency must also appear of the statement. Should you choose to enclose more than one bank statement, all statements must be issued on the same day.
An employment contract must show your salary and it must be the contract connected to your current employment. There is no requirement regarding the period of the employment, only the salary is taken into consideration. It is for example accepted if you are able to prove that you earn the required amount of DKK 90,624 in 4 months.
You must not receive graduate allowances (dimittenddagpenge) or benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act during your stay in Denmark.
How long can I stay in Denmark?
An establishment card is initially granted for 2 years.
It is possible to extend your establishment card by an additional 1 year, if you are employed in a job relevant to a completed educational programme, which can form the basis for an establishment card.
Shorter validity because your passport expires
A residence permit can only be valid until 3 months before the expiry date of your passport.
If your passport has a shorter validity than the otherwise possible period of stay, your residence permit will be shortened. This means that the validity of your residence permit will be shorter than it could be. When you have renewed your passport, you can apply for an extension of your residence permit – however, this can only be done 3 months before your permit expires at the earliest.
Can my family be granted a residence permit?
A residence and work permit based on an establishment card allows your family to come with you to Denmark.
A permit can be granted to your spouse, registered or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.
If your family is already in Denmark, they must apply for a new residence permit to be allowed to continue staying with you in Denmark.
What more do I need to know before I apply?
An application for a residence permit based on an establishment card must be submitted to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).
If you are in Denmark when submitting the application, you must be here legally.
Before submitting your application, you must create a case order ID for your application and pay a fee to cover SIRI’s case processing expenses. You can do this on the “How to apply” tab to right. Here you also find the relevant application form (EK1 online).
SIRI will contact you if we need further information to process your case.
If you have a residence permit as a student and you apply for an establishment card, you have the right to start working as soon as you have submitted your application for an establishment card.
