PhD study in Greenland

You will be participating in a PhD study programme linked to a Greenlandic educational institution.

Normal processing time
3 months

Processing fee
No fee

Who can apply?

You can apply for a residence permit in Greenland as a PhD if: 

  • you are enrolled as a PhD student at a Danish or Greenlandic university and receive a salary from the university or a company affiliated with the PhD programme, 
  • you are enrolled in a PhD programme without receiving a salary or
  • as a visiting PhD if you are enrolled in a PhD programme abroad and wish to do a part of your programme in Greenland.

As Greenland is not part of the EU/EEA, you must apply for a residence permit with SIRI if you are a citizen from an EU/EEA country.

What are the conditions?

It is a requirement that you have been enrolled in a PhD programme in Greenland, if you are doing a full degree.

If you are only going to do part of your programme in Greenland as a visiting PhD student, it is a requirement that you are enrolled in a PhD programme abroad and that you are associated with a Greenlandic educational institution. 

As a PhD student, you can be employed by a university or by a company and receive a salary while you are enrolled in the PhD programme.

You can also be a PhD student without employment and salary. 

If you are employed by a university or by a company, your self-support is secured by your salary.

Please note that if you do receive a salary as a PhD student, then we will send your case for hearing at the Government of Greenland. 

If you are not employed and, thus, do not receive any salary, you must have sufficient funds to support yourself during your residence in Greenland. 

You have sufficient funds if your disposable amount corresponds to DKK 50,000. If you are applying for a residence permit for less than a year, you must have at your disposal an amount equivalent to DKK 4,200 a month for the number of months the residence permit is valid. 

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

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 a reasonable level. 

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

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

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

A residence permit does not give 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 Greenland up to 6 months. 

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

You are allowed to work full-time at the university in which you have been enrolled or in the company affiliated to your PhD programme. 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 PhD student, you are also granted a limited work permit allowing you to take up additional employment besides your full-time job as a PhD student or visiting PhD student. 

The limited work permit allows you 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 hours than allowed, it will be regarded as illegal work. Illegal work can result in a warning, a fine, or your residence permit as a student can be revoked. You can read more about that here.

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

If you or your family member receives any public benefits during your stay, your residence permit will be revoked – and you will lose the right to reside in Greenland. 

How long can I stay in Greenland?

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

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

Make sure to apply for an extension before your permit expires, however not earlier than three months before the expiration date. 

If you change to a different PhD programme, you must apply for a new residence permit based on the new programme.  You can, however start your new programme while you wait for us to reach a decision regarding the new application.

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.

Can my family be granted a residence permit?

A residence and work permit based on PhD 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.

Read more about accompanying family members here. 

What more do I need to know before I apply?

An application for a residence permit on the basis of PhD studies is processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI). If you are in Greenland when submitting the application, you must be here legally. 

You must either be enrolled at a Greenlandic university as a PhD student or at your home university (only for visiting PhD student) to be able to apply. 

You can submit the application by clicking on the tab ’How to apply’ on the right. There, you will also have access to the relevant application form, PHD1.

Your educational institution must fill in one of the two parts of the application form, and it is often the institution that begins the application process. 

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

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.

Please note, it is not possible to apply for a residence permit as an au pair in the Faroe Islands by using our online application form. Please use our paper based application form. 

 

You must submit:

Expect to use

30-40 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 read all the relevant information on the tab 'Need to know' and gather 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.

 

In the application form PHD1 your educational institution must complete part 2. When your educational institution has completed their part, you must complete part 1. 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 application form in Word format can be completed on screen before you print. The application form in PDF format should first be printed and then completed by hand.

 

Download the printable form PHD1 (Word format) 
Download the printable form PHD1 (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 the application at a Norwegian diplomatic mission, you must at the same time submit two facial images.

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

Your residence card will automatically be sent to the address that has been registered under your name in the Civil Registration System (CPR). It is important that your name is written on your mailbox. If your name is not written on your mailbox, there is a chance that the residence card will not be delivered to you, and that it will be sent back to SIRI instead.

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Last updated 08-01-2025 - Published by: SIRI