Guest PhD

You will be participating as a guest PhD in a study programme linked to a Danish educational institution.

Normal processing time
1 month

Processing fee
DKK 2,255,-

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Who can apply for a residence permit as a guest PhD?

You can be granted a Danish residence permit as a guest PhD if you are enrolled in a PhD programme abroad and wish to do a part of your programme at an educational institution in Denmark.

If you are a citizen of a EU/EEA country or Switzerland, you do not need to apply for a residence permit, but must instead apply for a EU residence document.

Read more about EU residence here

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What are the conditions?

It is a requirement that you are enrolled in a PhD programme abroad and that you during your residence as a guest PhD are associated with an educational institution in Denmark. 

The educational programme must be a full-time study.

You must be able to speak and understand the language of instruction.

You must be able to understand either Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, English or German with a reasonable level of proficiency.

You must have sufficient funds to support yourself during your stay in Denmark.

You have sufficient funds if your disposable amount corresponds to DKK 7,086 (2025 level) for each month you will be a guest PhD student in Denmark - only for a maximum of 12 months, however.

For example, if you wish to stay in Denmark for 1 year or longer, you must have a disposable amount corresponding to 12 times DKK 7,086 (2025 level). That means a maximum of DKK 85,032 (2025 level).

Documentation of your ability to support yourself and any family members accompanying you, can be in the form of a bank statement.

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 on the statement. Should you choose to enclose more than one bank statement, all statements must be issued on the same day. 

Read more about the requirement for self-support here

 

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What rights do I have, if I am granted a permit?

What are you allowed to do with a Danish residence permit as a guest PhD student? – and what are you not allowed to do?

A residence permit allows you to stay and study in Denmark for the period your permit is valid.

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

If you stay in Denmark as a guest PhD (that is, you are enrolled in a PhD programme in another country and only do part of your PhD studies in Denmark) you must not give up your Danish address or stay abroad for more 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 a longer period of time, you can apply for a dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing.

You can read more about permit lapse and dispensation options here

 

You are allowed to work full-time at the university in which you have been enrolled. This only applies to work tasks that are part of your PhD programme and only for the period while you study.

In addition to your residence and work permit as a guest PhD student, you are also granted a limited work permit allowing you to take up additional employment besides your full-time job as a guest PhD student

The limited work permit allows you to work:

  • for up to 90 hours per month during the normal period of study from September to May, and
  • full-time through June, July and August

It will be regarded as illegal work, if you work more hours than you are allowed to. If you work illegally you can receive a warning, a fine or your residence permit as a student can be revoked.

You can read more about illegal work here

Your residence permit also allows you to carry out unpaid voluntary work.

Read more about unpaid voluntary work here

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

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. Therefore, there are certain public benefits that you are not allowed to receive. Which benefits depend on your residence permit.

As a guest PhD student, you are not allowed to receive public assistance. For example, you are not allowed to receive maternity or paternity benefits, housing benefits or state study grants, and there might be other benefits that you are not allowed to receive.

Any family members accompanying you are not allowed to receive benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act, e.g. social security benefits either.

If you or your family member receives benefits in violation of the terms of your residence permit, 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

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 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 

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How long can I stay in Denmark?

You can stay in Denmark for the standard (nominal) duration of your PhD programme, provided that you participate actively in the programme.

If you do not complete your PhD programme within the nominal period of study, it is important that you apply for an extension of your permit.

If you change your PhD programme, you must apply for a new residence permit based on the new programme.  You are allowed to start your new programme while you wait for us to reach a decision in your case.

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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Can my family be granted a residence permit?

A residence and work permit based on PhD studies 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 guest PhD studies is processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI). If you are in Denmark when submitting the application, you must be staying here legally.

Read more about legal stay here

You must be enrolled in your home university as a PhD student to be able to apply.

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, PHD1.

The educational institiution must first complete their part. When the educational institution has completed their part, they will receive a reference number and a password for the second part of the form. The educational institution will pass this information on to you in order for you to be able to open the application and complete your part.

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 educational institution if we need further information to process your case.

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It is a good idea to gather the necessary documents before you start to complete the application form. You can use the check list below.

If you submit documents not written in English, German, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish, you must also submit certified translations into Danish or English.

You must submit:

Expect to use

30 minutes

per person to complete the application

2 persons

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

In this step you and your educational institution have access to the relevant application form.

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.

Your educational institution must complete the first of the two parts of the form. When your educational institution has completed their part, a reference number and password will be shown, which the educational institution must pass on to you. You are then able to open the online application and complete your part.

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 NemID/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 PHD1

 

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.

Please note that it is mandatory to fill in your passport number in this application form. If you are not in possession of a valid passport, you can contact us for guidance. You can find our contact information 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 (opens in a new window)

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.

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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Responsible agency

Contact SIRI

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