EU residence as a self-employed person

You are an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen and have established and now run your own business in Denmark.

Normal processing time
0-30 days

Processing fee
No fee

Who can get an EU residence document as a self-employed person?

You can get an EU residence document if you are an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen and have established and now run your own business in Denmark.

  • You must run your own business and bear the financial risk associated with it. The purpose of the business must be financial gain.
  • You must be the founder or co-founder of the business and be the one who runs the business on a daily basis.
  • The business must be established and registered in Denmark.
  • The business must be actual and real. This means that actual and real work is being carried out under the auspices of the business to a not insignificant extent.

It does not matter what legal status the company has.

You must run your own business and bear the financial risk associated with it. The purpose of the business must be financial gain.

This means that you must be the founder or co-founder of the business and be the one who runs the business on a daily basis.

In addition, the business must be established and registered in Denmark.

The business must be genuine and effective. This means that genuine and effective work is carried out under the auspices of the business to a not insignificant extent.

It does not matter what legal status the company has.

SIRI makes a concrete assessment of the information and documents you submit in your application.

Below are a number of examples of factors that can be included in the assessment of whether you can be registered as a self-employed person:

• registration in the CVR register as a self-employed person
• the size of the turnover
• the business is active roughly regularly and for not a very short period
• information about VAT payments
• excise duties levied quarterly
• invoices
• information about inventory
• accounts
• annual statements 
• lease or other indication of where the business is to be operated from 

In ‘How to apply’ tab you can, amongst other things, see a number of examples of documents that may be relevant to submit together with the application form.

If your business in Denmark is not yet fully established and functioning, it may be difficult in some situations to show sufficient documentation for you to get an EU residence document as a self-employed person.

Instead, you can apply for an EU residence document on other grounds - e.g. as a person with sufficient funds (self-supporting).

Read more about EU residence as a self-supporting person

What are my rights as an EU citizen?

As an EU citizen you have the right to reside and work in Denmark with or without an EU residence document.

You may freely enter Denmark and you may begin to work in Denmark upon arrival. You do not need a permit to work in Denmark.

In Denmark a Civil Registration System (CPR) number is necessary in many situations, e.g. in relation to getting a health card and choosing a doctor, tax and Danish lessons.

To get a CPR number you must show an EU residence document to the municipality in which you reside.

On the website lifeindenmark.dk you can read more about how to get a CPR number and other important matters such as

  • MitID
  • Tax matters
  • Holiday entitlements
  • School and daycare
  • Housing
  • Danish lessons
  • Car registration and driver’s license

Read more on lifeindenmark.dk (links opens in a new window)

As an EU citizen, you may freely enter Denmark and you may begin to work upon arrival. You do not need a permit to work in Denmark.

There is no limit on the number of hours you may work while living in Denmark. This also applies if you are studying in Denmark. 

You do not need an EU residence document in order to begin work. This is the case even if you have – or have applied for – a residence document as a worker, as a self-supporting individual or for some other reason.

If you

  • meet the conditions for being a self-employed person according to EU regulations
  • have kept your status as a self-employed person after stopping running your own business, e.g. if the earnings have been too low to run the business
  • is the family member to a self-employed

you have the same rights to public benefits as a Danish citizen. Therefore, receiving public benefits regulated by the Active Social Policy Act, e.g. cash benefits, will normally not lead to termination of your right to reside in Denmark.

Read more about which public benefits you are allowed to receive and which you are not when you have an EU residence document from SIRI

If you plan to live and work in Denmark, there are several things you need to consider. Depending on your situation, there may be more important information you need to be aware of.

The website lifeindenmark.dk contains information about:

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

How long can I stay in Denmark?

You may remain in Denmark as long as you meet the conditions for grounds for residence according to EU regulations. There is no date of expiry of your residence document.

If you have had grounds for residence according to EU regulations in Denmark for five years, you have the right to permanent residence according to EU regulations.

Read about how to apply for permanent residence according to EU regulations

What do I do if I stop running my own business?

Read more about what to do, if you stop running your own business

Can my family qualify for an EU residence document?

Yes, your closest family can apply for residence in Denmark according to EU regulations.

Read more about EU residence as a family member to an EU citizen

What more do I need to know before I apply?

The ‘How to Apply’ tab on the right provides more information about the application process. Here your also find the application form, you must complete.

SIRI makes its decision based on the information and documents you submit with the application form. SIRI will contact you if we need more information when we process your application.

If you wish for SIRI to be able to give information regarding your case to others than yourself while we process your application, you must grant power of attorney to the person you wish to be able to access the information. The power of attorney must be submitted to SIRI preferably as part of your application.

If you state in your application that you are being represented by a solicitor, you do not need to submit a power of attorney. Solicitors, due to their profession, are automatically granted power of attorney. If you are being represented by a solicitor, SIRI will send all correspondence about your application to your solicitor.

In this tab, you can read about the application process.

You must submit your application to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

As part of the process, you must usually appear in person at one of SIRI’s branch offices in Copenhagen, Odense, Aarhus, Aalborg, Esbjerg, Sønderborg or on Bornholm.

Before reading this tab about submitting an application for EU residence, we recommend that you read about the conditions for residence  as a self-employed person etc. in the ‘Need to know’ tab at left.

Make sure you have all documents ready in a digital format so you can attach them to the online application.

You must attach:

Expect to use

15 minutes

to complete the application form

1 person

You complete the application form yourself

In this step you have access to the relevant application form OD1A.

The form contain instructions on how to complete the form and what kind of documents you must submit along with the form.

You can book an appointment at SIRI using the link in the receipt, you receive once you have completed and submitted the form.

 

Use the online form OD1A (opens in a new window)

If you have started an application before 15 May 2025 that you want to complete, use the previous form OD1. The previous OD1 form will not be available after 1 June 2025. Link to previous OD1 form

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

We recommend that you apply online, since digital applications often can be processed faster.

You can also choose to send a physical application – find a printable form and read more about the process

You can find your ongoing and completed applications for 30 days from your last login.

Log in to see your applications (opens in a new window)

You must appear in person in one of SIRI’s branch offices within 30 days.

You must bring:

  • The receipt for the online application
  • Your passport or national ID card

Only when you have identified yourself this way and been linked to your application, will we consider your application to be fully submitted. 

If you do not appear no later than 30 days after submitting your online application, SIRI will consider your application as withdrawn and close the case.

Addresses and opening hours of SIRI's branch offices

If you attach all necessary documents to the application, and if you meet the conditions for your grounds for residence, SIRI can issue a residence document for you immediately when you appear.

If any documentation is missing the case will take longer to process. Whwn you appear at SIRI, you will normally be informed if any further documentation is needed.

You have the right to reside and work in Denmark while you wait for an answer.

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Last updated 19-05-2025 - Published by: SIRI