Higher education in Greenland

You will be studying in Greenland in a higher educational programme.

Normal processing time
3 months

Processing fee
No fee

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Who can apply for a residence permit?

If you have been admitted to a higher educational programme in Greenland, you can be granted a permit to stay and study in Greenland.

You can either complete a full educational programme or do part of your education as a guest or exchange student.

You can also be granted a residence permit to complete a preparatory course for a higher educational programme.

You need to apply for a residence permit with SIRU as a student, even if you are  a citizen of a EU/EEA country. Citizens of Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland) do not need visa or permit to reside and work in Greenland. 

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What are the conditions?

It is a requirement that you have been admitted to a higher educational programme at a publicly accredited educational institution in Greenland.

The educational institution must be publically accredited.

The educational programme must be approved by a Greenlandic authority.

An educational programme is considered to be a higher educational programme if the admission requirement is to have completed a high school programme. However, this does not apply to programmes where admission is based on an entrance examination.

The educational programme has to be a full-time study.

You must have sufficient funds to be able to support yourself during your stay in Greenland.

You have sufficient funds, if your disposable amount is in accordance with the monthly grant amount awarded by Ilinniagaqarnersiuteqartitsivik (Uddannelsesstøtteforvaltningen - USF) for the number of months you plan to stay in Greenland.    

Documentation of your ability to support yourself and any accompanying family members could for example be in the form of a bank statement (in your name). 

If you have to pay a tuition fee for your educational programme, and if you have already paid tuition for the first semester, then these payments are considered to be documentation of sufficient funds - and you will not need to provide additional documentation.

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 at reasonable level. 

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What are my rights, if I am granted a permit?

What are you allowed to do with a residence permit as a student in Greenland? – and what are you not allowed to do?

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

A residence permit does not grant you the right to reside in the Schengen area.

If you have been living legally in Greenland for less than two years, you can reside outside of Greenland for up to 6 months.

If you need to stay abroad for a longer period of time, you can apply for a dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing.

In addition to your residence permit as a student, you will be granted a limited work permit.

You are allowed to work:

  • for up to 15 hours per week during the normal period of study from September to May, and 
  • full-time through June, July and August.

If you work more than allowed it will be regarded as illegal work. 

If you work illegally you can receive a warning, a fine or your residence permit as a student can be revoked. Read more about illegal work here.

If you are doing an internship you must apply for a full-time work permit valid for the period of your internship. This is the case only if you will be working full-time during your internship. You must apply for a residence permit for the internship through the ST4 application form.

You must attach the following documents with the application:

  • Contract with the place of internship. 
  • Documentation from the educational institution stating that the internship is a mandatory part of your education. 

An internship must be part of your education, and the place of internship has to be approved by your educational institution. 

You cannot begin working full-time at your internship before you have been granted the internship work permit. 

You can find the application form for an internship work permit here.

During your stay you must be able to support yourself and your family. Thus, you are not allowed to receive public benefits. 

If you or your family member 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?

You can stay in Greenland for the standard (nominal) duration of your educational programme, but not more than 1 year from the date of the permit. The permit can subsequently be extended for up to 1 year at a time.

If you do not finish your education within the nominal time, then it is important that you apply for an extension of your permit.  

You must apply for an extension before your permit expires – however, not earlier than 3 months before the date of expiration.

If you change your educational 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 regarding the new case.

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.

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Can my family be granted a residence permit?

A residence and work permit based on studies 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 a student you must be able to document that you have a disposable amount equivalent to DKK 25,000 for each family member. If an accompanying family member applies for a residence permit for less than a year, you must have a disposable amount equivalent to DKK 2,100 a month for the number of months you plan the family member to stay in Greenland. 

Read more about bringing accompanying family members to Greenland 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 study is processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

As a rule, a residence permit must have been obtained before entry to Greenland.

You can apply by going to the ’How to apply’ tab to the right. Here you also have access to the relevant application form, ST1.

There is no fee. 

Your education institution has to complete the second part of the application.

If SIRI needs more information during the case process, we will contact you.

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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:

Expect to use

30-40 minutes

per persom to complete the application form.

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 read the instructions in the tab ‘Need to know’ and gathered the relevant documentation according to step 1 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. 

 

Your educational institution has to 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 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 ST1 (Word format)

Download the printable form ST1 (PDF format)

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.

If you submit your application at a Norwegian diplomatic missions centre, you must at the same time submit two facial photos. 

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 application in one of 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. 

 

You are submitting the application in Greenland

Generally, you cannot submit the application in Greenland, except if you have a preceding residence permit. 

Only if very special reasons support it, and you have entered Greenland legally, a first time application can be submitted to the police in Greenland.

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 a relevant third party if we need further information to process your case. 

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Last updated 13-03-2024 - Published by: SIRI