Basic and youth study programmes

You are going to study at a basic or youth study programme in Denmark.

Normal processing time
2 months

Processing fee
DKK 2,490,-

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Who can apply for a residence permit?

If you are admitted to a basic or youth study programme in Denmark, you can be granted a permit to stay and study 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 have been admitted to an approved basic or youth study programme.

Please note that after regular practice, a residence permit is not granted to follow a lower grade level than the 9th grade.

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

You have sufficient funds, if your disposable amount corresponds to DKK 6,820 (2024 level) per month. You must multiply the amount with the number of months you will be studying in a basic or youth study programme in Denmark – for a maximum of 12 months, however. 

If you wish, for example, to stay in Denmark for 6 months, you must have a disposable amount corresponding to 6 times DKK 6,820 (2024 level).

The monthly amount corresponds to the monthly state study grant (SU) for students not living at home with their parents. The grant is adjusted every year. You can find the current rates for study grants (SU) on the website of the Danish Agency for Institutions and Educational Grants.

Documentation of your ability to support yourself 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 of the statement. Should you choose to enclose more than one bank statement, all statements must be issued on the same day.

If you are required to pay a fee for your study programme in Denmark and the fee includes tuition as well as food and accommodation you do not need to provide documentation showing that you have sufficient funds to support yourself during your stay in Denmark.

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.

The educational programme must be approved by a state authority. 

If the educational programme has not been approved, but the education institution has been approved by a state authority, a valid statement from the Danish Evaluation Institute, EVA, on the content of the programme must be presented.

You can only be granted a residence permit  to follow 1 year of a high school programme  if you meet one of the following three conditions:

  • the stay must be arranged by a student exchange organisation,
  • you have started your high school programme in your home country and want to do 1 year of your education in Denmark, or
  • you wish to start your high school programme in Denmark, and you are able to provide documentation showing that you will continue the programme in your home country.

You cannot be granted a residence permit in order to follow a basic programme at a trade school.

However, you can be granted a permit in the special case where the educational stay is part of an international collaboration or exchange agreement.

If you have not yet turned 18, both of your parents must sign a declaration of consent to allow you to study in Denmark.

You must provide documentation of who your custody holders are, e.g. by submitting a copy of your birth certificate along with a copy of the data page in your parents' passport.

The school must declare that it will ensure that you will have proper residence and study conditions in Denmark.

You will find the declaration of proper residence and study conditions here

If you are under 18 years of age and wish to give power of attorney to a person or a company, e.g. an exchange organisation, you and both your parents/guardians must sign the power of attorney.

You will find the power of attorney here

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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 as a student? – and what are you not allowed to do?

A residence permit allows you to reside and study 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 a 180 days period. However, the permit does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

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.

As a rule, you must not work in Denmark as a student at a basic or youth study programme. 

If you work without a permit, it is regarded as illegal work. If you work illegally you can receive a fine or be imprisoned and your residence permit as a student can be revoked.

In special cases, if you apply, you can be granted a work permit - for example for getting vocational experience as a part of a basic study programme.

Additionally, you are permitted to take unpaid voluntary work for an organisation or association, if the work is a benefit to society. You do not need to apply for a work permit to take unpaid voluntary work. Read more about unpaid voluntary work here. 

You must be able to support yourself during your stay. You are not allowed to receive public benefits, e.g. benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act, state study grants and housing benefits.

If you 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.

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 
  • Housing
  • Danish lessons
  • Car registration and driver’s license 

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How long can I stay in Denmark?

As a student at a basic or youth study programme, you can be granted a residence permit valid for no more than 1 year.

You cannot be granted a permit to complete a full high school programme.

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 permit as a student at a basic or youth study programme does not allow your family to come to Denmark with you.

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What more do I need to know before I apply?

An application for a residence permit on the basis of 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 here legally. More about submission here.

 You must be admitted to an education in Denmark 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, ST1. You can choose between an online form and a paper form.

Your place of study must fill in one of two parts of the form.

If you use the paper form, the application process is generally initiated by your place of study. 

If you use the online form, your place of study must complete their part first. When your place of study has completed their part, they will receive a reference number and a password for the second part of the form. The place of study will pass on this information 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 place of study 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.

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:

If you are going to study in a high school programme, you must also submit:

If you are below the age of 18, you must also submit:

Expect to use

30 minutes

completing 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 forms. You can choose between an online form and a print 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.

 

Online applications

If you apply online, you must choose the application form ST1 online.

In the ST1 online form 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.

 

Use the online form ST1

 

Printable application forms

In the printable application form ST1 your educational institution must complete part 2 of the form. When your educational institution has completed their part, you must complete your part. Once parts 1 and 2 have been completed, they must be submitted together – read more in the next step.

You must submit the necessary documents with the application.

The printable application form in Word format can be completed on screen before you print. The application form in pdf format must be printed first and then completed by hand.

Download the printable form ST1 (Word format)

Download the printable form ST1 (Pdf format)

You have applied online

If you have applied online, your application has already been submitted. Read more about having your biometrics recorded in the next step.

You are submitting the application abroad

The application can be submitted to a Danish diplomatic mission or an application centre in the country where you are residing.

See the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ list of diplomatic missions or application centres where you can hand in your application (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.

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 submitting the application in Denmark

If you are residing legally in Denmark, you are normally able to submit the application 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 submit the applicaton in SIRI’s branch offices.

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

You can also send the application to SIRI.

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 have applied online

If you have submitted an online application form, you must have your biometric features recorded no later than 14 days after you submitted your application.

Your biometric features can be recorded at:

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 by email of the appointed time you will have your biometrics recorded. This way you can avoid having your application rejected.

You are are submitting the application abroad

If you submit an printable application form, 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 submitting the application 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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Last updated 05-07-2024 - Published by: SIRI