Fast Track Greenland

You have been offered employment in a company pre-approved by the Government of Greenland. You can together with your employer apply for a residence and work permit via the Fast Track Greenland Agreement.

Normal processing time
1 month

Processing fee
No fee

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What is Fast Track Greenland?

If you apply after the Fast Track Greenland Agreement, you can quickly and easily receive a residence and work permit in Greenland. However, it requires that you are employed by a pre-approved company in Greenland.

You can apply for a residence and work permit after the Fast Track Agreement while in Greenland.

Applications under the agreement are generally not sent for further assessment by the Government of Greenland.

Please note that the agreement does not give the right to work before SIRI has reached a final decision in your case.

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What are the conditions?

The assessment of your application is normally based on whether your labour and your qualifications are in demand in Greenland.

When processing your application, SIRI pays particular attention to the following criteria:

  • Whether there are available professionals residing in Greenland who are qualified to carry out the job in question (applies only to certain types of applications), and
  • whether the nature of the job in question is specialised enough to warrant a residence and work permit.

It is a condition that your employer is pre-approved by the government of Greenland. Your employer must contact the Government of Greenland in order to know more concerning the pre-approval process.

The Government of Greenland publishes the list of all companies that have been pre-approved to employ foreign labour under the fast track agreement.

If your employer is not pre-approved by the time we process your application for a residence and work permit, your case will be processed under the standard rules for Greenland.

This means that your application will be sent for assessment at the Government of Greenland and that the normal processing time can take up to 3 months.

Your salary and terms of employment must correspond to Greenlandic standards. This means that your salary, holiday entitlements, terms of notice etc. must not be inferior to the standards within the professional field in which you are going to work. As a rule, your employment must be full-time, which normally means 40 hours work per week. 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.

SIRI will normally not send your contract for assessment at the Government of Greenland, since a company that has been pre-approved will always employ foreign labour under conditions that correspond to Greenlandic standards.

However, SIRI may send an employment contract for consultation with the government of Greenland, if there are individual terms in a contract that are overtly not customary for Greenland (i.e. if the applicant has been offered part time employment).

In certain cases, it is required that you have a Danish or Greenlandic authorisation. This applies, for example, if you are a medical doctor, who is required to have an authorisation from the Danish Patient Safety Authority.

Please note that if you are applying for a residence and work permit for a job that requires a Danish authorisation, your application will automatically be processed under the Health Agreement for Greenland.

You can read more about the Health Agreement for Greenland here (at the bottom of the page)

Read more bout authorisation of healthcare personnel in Greenland here.

Find more information on regulated professions at The Ministry of Higher Education and Science.

 

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What are my rights if I am granted a permit?

What are you allowed to do with a residence and work permit under Fast Track Greenland – 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.

If you are offered a new job, you must apply for a new permit before you start the new job. 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 and apply here

A residence and work permit allows you to stay in Greenland for the period of time your permit is valid. 

You must not give up your address in Greenland or stay abroad for a longer period of time. A violation will result in the lapse of your permit. This means that you will lose your right to stay in Greenland.

If you have been staying in Greenland legally for less than 2 years, you are allowed to stay outside of Greenland for 6 successive months. If you have been staying in Greenland legally for more than 2 years and you hold a residence permit that can be made permanent, or if you already hold a permanent residence permit, you are allowed to stay outside of Greenland for up to 12 months.

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 lapse and dispensation options here

Staying abroad while serving in the military as a conscript or performing required community service will not be considered time living outside of Greenland.

Stays in Denmark or the Faroe Islands are considered as time spent abroad.

You must be able to support yourself and your family during your stay. You are not allowed to receive public benefits.

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 Greenland.

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How long can I stay in Greenland?

A residence permit in Greenland can be granted with a validity of up to 1 year from the date a decision is made in your case.

If your employment is for 1 year or more, you will normally be granted a residence permit valid for 1 year. If you want to continue to work in Greenland beyond the first year, you must apply for an extension of your residence and work permit based on the extension of your employment contract.

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

If you submit the application for an extension in time, you are allowed to stay in Greenland and continue to work until a decision on your application is made – even though your permit expires.

A residence permit can only be valid until 2 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 2 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 my job or change job?

Your residence permit is linked to your job in Greenland. 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 Greenland, you must submit a new application for a residence and work permit with information on your new employment. You are not allowed to start the new job before you have been granted a new permit.

If your new job is at a company that has been pre-approved by the Government of Greenland, your application will be processed as a new first time application under the Fast Track agreement.

You cannot start your new job before SIRI has granted you a permit.

Please note that if your new employer is not pre-approved by the government, your application will be processed under the standard rules for a residence and work permit in Greenland.

This means that the application will be sent to the Government of Greenland for assessment and that the processing time normally can take up to 3 months.

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Can my family be granted a residence permit?

A residence and work permit based on a job in Greenland allows your family to come with you to Greenland.

A permit can be granted to your spouse, registered or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.

As an accompanying family member to an applicant holding or applying for a residence permit after the Fast Track Greenland Agreement, you have the option of submiting your application in Greenland.

Read more about accompanying family members here

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What more do I need to know before I apply?

An applications for a residence and work permit under the Fast Track Greenland Agreement is processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

Applications can be submitted in Greenland at the Greenlandic Police. Please note that you must have be staying legally in Greenland, if you wish to apply from Greenland

Outside Greenland an application can be submitted at a Danish diplomatic representation or application center that receives applications on behalf of a Danish diplomatic representation. In some countries, you can apply at the local Norwegian representation.

An application can always be submitted via our contact form by attaching the application form and relevant documentation.

You can access SIRIs contact form here

You can find the relevant application form, GL5, under the “How to apply” tab to the right.

Du can also give your employer the right to apply on your behalf by signing a power of attorney.

You can find an approved template for a 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 Greenland. 

If you submit such an application earlier than 6 months before your stay in Greenland will begin, you can expect a refusal to your application. 

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

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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:

You employer must submit:

Expect to use

30 minutes

per persom to complete the application form.

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 form GL5.

Make sure that you have read the instructions in the tab ‘Need to know’ and gathered the relevant documentation according to step 1 before you begin. 

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

In the GL5 application form your employer must complete part 2 of the form. When your employer has completed his or her 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.

If your employer has been granted power of attorney from you he or she may fill out both part one and part two on your behalf.

You must submit the necessary documents together 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 GL5 (Word format)

Download the printable form GL5 (Pdf format)

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

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 Danmark

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
  • is 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 application in one of SIRI’s branch offices.

If you plan to submit in one of SIRI's branch offices, remember to book an appointment

You can also send the application directly to SIRI by attaching the application form and relevant documentation via our contact form (choose “…regarding residence in Greenland or the Faroe Islands.”)

You can access SIRI's contact form here

 

You are submitting the application in Greenland

If you are residing legally in Greenland, you are normally able to submit the application in Greenland. This is the case, if you:

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

A first time application can be submitted in person at the local Greenlandic Police. Please contact the police in order to find where you can apply in person.

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 and your employer if we need further information to process your case.

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Last updated 15-05-2023 - Published by: SIRI