The Positive List for Skilled Work

You have been offered a job included in the list of skilled professions experiencing a shortage of qualified professionals in Denmark.

Normal processing time
1 month

Processing fee
DKK 6,290,-

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What is the Positive List for Skilled Work?

The Positive List for Skilled Work is a list of skilled professions experiencing a shortage of qualified professionals in Denmark.

If you have been offered a job included in the Positive List for Skilled Work, you can apply for a Danish residence and work permit based on this scheme.

The Positive List for Skilled Work is updated twice a year – 1 January and 1 July.

If you have been offered a job requiring university level qualifications in a profession with a shortage of qualified professionals, then you can use the Positive List for the Highly Educated

If you are an asylum seeker and have found a job included in the Positive List for Skilled Work, then you can use this scheme.

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Is my job on the the Positive List for Skilled Work?

The Positive List for Skilled Work

Here is an overview of all the job titles on the Positive List for Skilled Work arranged according to the professional field.

Each of the job titles is listed with the corresponding classification code (DISCO-08-code). 

You can find information about the occupational classification DISCO-08 and the classification codes on the webpage of Statistics Denmark (opens in a new window)

311110: Laboratory Technician

311200: Foreman

311300: Electrical Contractor

311590: Production Manager

311900: Production Technician

311900: Production Technologist

311800: Draughtsman

313900: Quality Assistant

314200: Agricultural Technician

325730: Inspection Technician, food

325800: Paramedic

331300: Bookkeeping and Accounting Clerk

331300: Bookkeeper

331300: Accountant Assistant

332200: Sales Consultant

332200: Sales and Account Manager

332300: Buyer

332300: Logistic Assistant, sales and purchasing

333110: Forwarding Agent

333190: Forwarding Agent, other (not shipping)

334200: Legal Secretary

334310: Managing Clerk

334400: Medical Secretary

341300: Parish Clerk

341300: Parish Helper

343400: Deputy Manager, Kitchen

343400: Head Chef

343400: Canteen Manager

351200: IT Supporter

351400: Webmaster

411000: Senior Clerk

411000: Office Assistant

412000: Secretary

412000: School Secretary

431100: Finance Assistant

431100: Sales Support Assistant

No professions

512000: Chef

No professions

532110: Social and Health Care Worker, institutions and hospitals (excluding nursing homes)*

532120: Social and Health Care Assistant, institutions and hospitals (excluding nursing homes)
Requirement: Danish authorisation

532210: Social and Health Care Worker, private homes (including nursing homes)*

532220: Social and Health Care Assistant, private homes (including nursing homes)
Requirement: Danish authorisation

*Quota of 1,000 residence and work permits as Social and Health Care Worker. When the quota is reached, the position will be deleted.

611320: Landscape Gardener

711210: Bricklayer

721200: Welder 

721300: Auto Body Technician

722100: Blacksmith

722200: Sheet Metal Worker

722300: Industrial Technician

722300: CNC-operator

723110: Auto Mechanic, passenger cars and vans

723110: Mechanic, passenger cars and vans

723120: Mechanic, lorries

723190: Mechanic, other fields

723300: Service Technician, Iron and Metal

723300: Construction Equipment Mechanic

No professions

741100: Electrician

751200: Baker

818290: Process Operator, other operator work at steam engine plants and boiler plants

818910: Process Operator, operator work at stationary plants within water supply and incineration plants and wastewater treatment plants

831100: Engine Driver

921200: Agricultural Assistant, manual labour in livestock breeding

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What are the conditions?

Your job must be included in the Positive List for Skilled Work. In addition, there are a number of other conditions.

Your salary and terms of employment must correspond to Danish standards. This means that your salary, holiday entitlements and terms of notice etc. must not be inferior to the standards in the professional field where you are going to work.

Read more about Danish standards for salary and terms of employment here

When you apply, you must attach a copy of your employment contract or job offer. All terms of employment must be stated in the contract or the job offer.

You can see which information the employment contract must, at least, include here

SIRI applies statistics based on Danmarks Statistik’s wage register as a guideline to assess whether the offered salary – in your application under the Positive List for Skilled Work – corresponds to Danish standards.

The statistics focus on the qualifications for vocational educations within a specific occupation. This is in order to make sure that you receive a salary that corresponds to the salary a skilled employee in Denmark would receive according to the employee’s level of relevant work experience.     

In this regard, SIRI must inform you that – even if it is stated in the application that the employment is compliant to the applicable collective agreement – the employment conditions will not automatically be considered as equivalent to Danish standards.

  

You can find the wage statistics for the Positive List for Skilled Work valid from 1st of August 2023 here

If SIRI is unsure whether your salary and employment conditions correspond to Danish standards, we may ask the relevant authority, such as the Regional Labor Market Council, to assess whether the offered salary and employment conditions correspond to Danish standards. 

In order to be granted a residence permit based on the Positive List for Skilled Work, it is a condition that your employer has met their educational obligations regarding training of apprentices. Thus, your employer must be covered by Læreplads-AUB (Arbejdsgivernes Uddannelsesbidrag).

In addition to this, at the time of the submission of the application your employer must:

  • have reached the target number of trained apprentices that your employer has been required to train by Læreplads-AUB, in the latest calculated contribution year. You employer must also not have been required to pay additional contribution (merbidrag), which is an amount employers are required to pay, if they do not reach the target number, in the latest calculated contribution year. At present, the latest calculated contribution year is 2023.

    Or

  • have reached the target number of trained apprentices that your employer has been required to train by Læreplads-AUB, in two out of the latest three calculated contribution years. You employer must also not have been required to pay additional contribution (merbidrag), which is an amount employers are required to pay, if they do not reach the target number, in two out of the latest three calculated contribution years. At present, the three latest calculated contribution years is 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Please note that if your employer only expects to meet their educational obligations regarding training of apprentices from 2024, and have not previously met their educational obligations regarding training of apprentices in 2021 and 2022, your employer does not met the condition regarding educational obligations of training of apprentices.

Remember to consult your employer to make sure they are covered by Læreplads-AUB before you apply.

Frequently asked questions:

Your salary must be paid into a Danish bank account in your own name, and the bank has to be operating legally in Denmark.

It is not a requirement that the salary which is paid into your Danish bank account is transferred from a Danish bank account.

You must contact a bank yourself, in order to create a Danish bank account. There are no immediate restrictions concerning the type of bank account.

If you have not yet received a Danish address or CPR number and you are experiencing diffuclties creating a Danish bank account, in order to find out what options you have in terms of creating a basic payment account, you can read more on www.basalbetalingskonto.dk (opens in a new window)

Your Danish bank account must be opened within 180 days of your residence and work permit being granted. If you enter Denmark after you have been granted a residence and work permit, you must open a Danish bank account within 180 days from your entry into Denmark. If you already hold a Danish residence permit that is valid for at least 180 days, your salary must be paid into your Danish bank account from your first salary payment.

Read more about having your salary paid into a Danish bank account

Your salary can only consist of:

  • Salary in the form of liquid assets
  • Payments to labour market pension schemes
  • Paid holiday allowance

 Only paid holiday allowance from the employer whom you are currently allowed to work for can be counted as part of your salary.

If you earn holiday allowance paid to you in the following holiday year, the holiday allowance cannot be counted as a part the annual salary of the year in which you earned the holiday allowance.

Salary components like the following cannot be taken into account when assessing the wage level:

•Paid living and housing expenses

•Per diems

•Free use of car

•Paid phone

•Paid internet

•Benefits-in-kind

•Subscriptions

•Other services offered to you by your employer.

 

The list is not complete.

 

One of the conditions for a residence permit under this scheme is that an accompanying family member (spouse, cohabiting partner, children or in certain circumstances other family members) has not had its residence permit revoked more than once due to lack of a required work permit.

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What are my rights if I am granted a permit?

What are you allowed to do with a Danish residence and work permit based on the Positive List for Skilled Work? – and what are you not allowed to do?

You are only allowed to work in the job and in the company that you have been granted a permit to work in.

Furthermore you are allowed to carry out unpaid voluntary work

If you are offered a new job, you must apply for a new permit. This also applies if you are offered a new position within the same company.

If you wish to take a sideline job, you have to obtain a separate permit.

You can read more about sideline employment here

A Danish residence and work permit does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

You can read more about working conditions in Denmark and 'The Danish labour market model' here

You must be able to support yourself and your family during your stay. For instance, you are not allowed to receive benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act – and there might be other benefits that you cannot receive.

If you or your family members receive such benefits during your stay, your permit can be revoked – and you will lose the right to stay in Denmark. 

If an authority, e.g. a municipality, disburses benefits to foreign nationals, SIRI will be notified.

You can see a list of benefits that you are not allowed to receive here

A residence and work permit based on the Positive List allows you to stay in Denmark for the period of time your permit is valid.

In addition, a permit allows you to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within the latest 180 days period. The permit, however, does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

Read more about Schengen here

You must not give up your Danish address or stay abroad for longer than 6 successive months. A violation will result in the lapse of your permit. This means that you will lose your right to stay in Denmark.

If you need to stay abroad for an extended period of time, e.g. if you are stationed abroad for a period of time by your employer, you can apply for a dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing.

Read more about how your permit can lapse here

You can read more about applying for dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing here

With a residence permit in Denmark, you are entitled to free Danish lessons. However, you must have turned 18 years and have your Danish address registered in the Danish National Register.

If you have a residence permit in Denmark based on work, study, etc. you have to pay a deposit before you can start receiving lessons. Be aware that you can lose your deposit if you do not pass the different modules within a specific timeframe.

Your municipality of residence is obliged to offer you Danish lessons and refer you to a language centre. If you have not been offered Danish lessons within a month after registering your address in Denmark, you can contact your municipality.

You will (typically) be taught together with other foreign nationals who have arrived in Denmark recently.

If you are going to stay and work in Denmark, there are a number of things to acquaint yourself with. Depending on your personal situation, you might need other important information and options.

The portal lifeindenmark.dk provides you with information, links and in many cases also options concerning the most important subjects such as:

  • MitID
  • The CPR register
  • Health card
  • Tax matters
  • Holiday entitlements 
  • School and daycare
  • Housing
  • Danish lessons
  • Car registration and driver’s license

Go to lifeindenmark.dk by clicking here

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How long can I stay in Denmark?

If you apply from abroad, you can be granted a residence permit valid for 1 month before you start working. It will give you the time to settle in Denmark. When you apply, you must declare that you can support yourself and any accompanying family members during this time.  If you do not declare this, your residence permit will be valid for 14 days before you start working.

 If you apply in Denmark, your residence permit will be valid from the day you start working.

If you are employed for a shorter period than 4 years, your residence and work permit will normally be valid for the period of your employment.

If your employment is for a period of 4 years or more, you will normally be granted a permit valid for 4 years.

If you have an extended contract and wish to continue working in Denmark after the permit period, you must apply for an extension of your residence and work permit.

It is very important that you apply for an extension before your permit expires.

If you submit your application for an extension in time, you can stay in Denmark and continue to work even though your permit is expiring.If you find a new job, you must submit a new application based on the new job – it can once again be according to the Positive List for Skilled Workers or it can be based on one of our other work schemes. When you have submitted your application based on the new job, you do not need to wait for your permit before you start to work. You can start your new job on the day you submit the new application.

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. 

Read more about the passport requirements

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What should I do if I lose or change my job?

When you are granted a permit based on the scheme, your residence permit is linked to your job in Denmark. Your employment is the basis for your permit.

You must always inform SIRI if you lose or change your job.

Your work permit is limited to the employment that is the basis for your permit.  You are not allowed to work in other positions than the one stated in your permit.

This also applies if you are offered a new position in the same company.

You must inform SIRI if you lose your job. Your residence and work permit will be revoked as it is based on this exact job.

If you find a new job while working in Denmark, you must submit a new application for a residence and work permit with information on your new employment. When you have submitted your new application, you can start working even though SIRI has not granted you a permit yet.

Read more about the job change rule

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Can my family be granted residence permit?

A residence and work permit based on a job in Denmark 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.

Read more about accompanying family members here

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What more do I need to know before I apply?

An application for a residence permit on the basis of work must be submitted to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

As a general rule, you must have an employment agreement with a company registered in Denmark to be able to apply. However, there are certain exceptions, e.g. if you work for a foreign company that provides services in Denmark.

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 the right. Here you also find the relevant application form. Here you also find the relevant application form, AR1

Your employer must fill in one of two parts of the form. Your employer must be the first to fill in his or her part. When your employer has completed his or her part, a reference number and password will be shown, which your employer must pass on to you. You are then able to open the online application and complete your part.

If you have granted your employer power of attorney to handle the application on your behalf, must use the AR6 form. This form is only filled in by the employer.

You can find the approved standard form for power of attorney here

Please note that, as a rule, SIRI will refuse your application for a residence permit on new grounds, if the application is submitted prematurely in relation to the wished for start date for your stay in Denmark.

If you submit such an application earlier than 6 months before your stay in Denmark will begin, you can expect a refusal to your application. If you have paid SIRI's case processing fee, you will not receive a refund of the fee.

SIRI will contact you or your employer if we need further information to process your case.

What do you want to print?

Below you will find a step-by-step guide to submitting an application to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

It is important that you have carefully read the conditions for being granted a residence permit before you begin step 1. You can do this on the tab “Need to know” on the left.

If you are a commuter and will not be residing in Denmark and for this reason will only apply for a work permit, you do not need to create a case order ID or pay a fee. Instead you kan go directly to step 3. Read more about commuting here.

You must submit

You can see which information the employment contract must include here

Expect to use

30 minutes

completing the application

2 persons

You and your employer are each required to complete a part of the form.

In this step you and your employer have access to the relevant application forms.

Make sure that you have completed all the preceeding steps before you begin.

All our application forms contain careful instructions on how to complete the form and what kind of documents you must submit along with the form.

You can read more about how we process your personal data here.

You can choose between these two online application forms:

  • AR1, in which you and your employer each are required to complete separate parts of the form
  • AR6, in which you grant your employer power of attorney to apply on your behalf

In the AR1 form your employer must complete the first of the two parts of the form. When your employer has completed his or her part, a reference number and password will be shown, which your employer must pass on to you. You are then able to open the online application and complete your part.

In the AR6 form only your employer must complete the form

Read more about power of attorney and download an approved power of attorney standard here.

Make sure you have all documents ready in digital form, in order to attach them as you complete the application form.

If you do not have a MitID, you must sign, scan and attach to the application the document 'Sworn declarations and information'.

You can download the document 'Sworn declarations and information' here (also available in the form)

 

Use the form AR1                    Use the form AR6

 

Please note that it is mandatory to use this application form. Under special circumstances, you can be exempted from the requirement to use an online application form. You can read more here.

When you apply for a residence permit, you must have your biometric features recorded. This means that you must have a facial photo taken and your fingerprints recorded. The facial photo and your fingerprints will be stored on a microchip embedded in the residence card, which will be issued to you if you are granted a permit.

If you do not agree to have your biometric features recorded, your application will be rejected. This means that your application will not be processed.

Read more about biometrics here.

You must have your biometric features recorded no later than 14 days after you submitted your application.

If you are unable to have your biometric features recorded within the time limit of 14 days, because you are unable to book an appointment at a Danish diplomatic mission, you can inform us of the appointed time you will have your biometrics recorded. This way you can avoid having your application rejected.

You are abroad

You can have your biometric features recorded at a Danish diplomatic mission or an application centre in the country, where you reside.

See the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ list of diplomatic missions or application centres where you can have your biometric features recorded

In certain countries Denmark does not have a diplomatic mission or application centre. In these instances the list will refer you to one of the Norwegian missions with which Denmark has made an agreement or to the nearest Danish diplomatic mission or application centre in the region.

If you submit your application to a Norwegian diplomatic mission, you must also submit one passport photo. If you are granted a residence permit based on your application, you must within a specific time frame afte you entry to Denmark have your biometric features recorded.

We recommend that you visit the local diplomatic mission’s webpage to get more information before you submit the application. The individual diplomatic mission can have additional requirements regarding payment of additional fees, submission of additional passport photos or additional copies of the application.

You are in Denmark

If you are residing legally in Denmark, you are normally able to have your biometric features recorded in Denmark. This is the case, if you:

  • hold a valid visa
  • are exempt from the visa requirement or
  • already hold a valid residence permit.

Read more about the legal residence requirement and submission of your application in Denmark. 

You can have your biometric features recorded in one of SIRI’s branch offices

If you plan to have your biometrics recorded in one of SIRI’s branch offices, you must remember to book an appointment. 

If you are a commuter and does not reside in Denmark and for this reason will only apply for a work permit, you do not need to have your biometrics recorded. Read more about commuters here

You have submitted your application succesfully if you have:

  • created a case order ID
  • paid the fee
  • submitted the application
  • had your biometric features recorded

You can see the normal case processing time to the right on this page. When we make a decision in your case, you will receive an answer.

SIRI will contact you or your employer if we need further information to process your case.

Read more about what you can expect while you are waiting for an answer.

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Last updated 29-10-2024 - Published by: SIRI