Normal processing time
1 month

Processing fee
DKK 2,490,-

What does a stay for authorisation involve? – and is it necessary?

If you have been trained as a medical doctor, dentist or a nurse in a country outside the EU/EEA, you can apply for a residence permit in Denmark, which makes it possible for you to learn Danish and pass the professional tests. necessary to obtain a Danish authorisation as a doctor, dentist or nurse.

A residence permit granted for the purpose of obtaining authorisation does not grant you the right to work.

You must therefore apply for a separate work permit in connection with the so called ‘employment for adaptation and training purposes’ (evalueringsansættelse) that is a part of the authorisation process.

Read more about work here

If you already have a Danish residence permit, e.g. as an accompanying family member to a foreign national working or studying in Denmark, you do not need to apply for a new permit. You can use your current permit to complete the process required by the Danish Patient Safety Authority for you to be able to obtain a Danish authorisation as a doctor, dentist or nurse.

What are the conditions?

You must meet certain conditions to be granted a permit to stay in Denmark for the purpose of obtaining Danish authorisation as a doctor, dentist or nurse.

 

The Danish Patient Safety Authority must have assessed your primary qualifications to be eligible for testing in order to obtain a Danish authorisation as a doctor, dentist or nurse. You must submit a copy of the assessment along with your application for a residence permit.

You can read more on the Danish Patient Safety Authority's website

You must provide documentation that you have sufficient funds to support yourself and any accompanying family members during your stay in Denmark. You must submit the documentation along with your application.

You must document that you have:

  • DKK 39,318 (2024 level) if you do not have any family accompanying you to Denmark
  • DKK 78,636 (2024 level) if you bring your spouse with you to Denmark
  • DKK 94,338 (2024 level) if you bring your spouse and one or several children with you to Denmark 
  • DKK 78,630 (2024 level) if you bring one or several children with you to Denmark (but no spouse)

Documentation of your ability to support yourself and any accompanying family members could for example be a bank statement. Such a bank statement must not be more than 30 days old.

You can read more about the self-support requirement here

 

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

What are you allowed to do with a Danish residence permit for the purpose of obtaining authorisation as a doctor, dentist or nurse? – and what are you not allowed to do?

 

A residence permit for the purpose of obtaining a Danish authorisation as a doctor, dentist or nurse does not give you the right to work.

You must therefore apply for a work permit to be allowed to work – also if it concerns ‘Employment for adaptation and training purposes’ (evalueringsansættelse).

You can read more about and apply for a work permit for Employment for adaptation and training purposes here

You can also apply for a permit for other work. If you apply, you must submit a specific contract or job offer with salary and terms of employment corresponding to Danish standards.

There are no requirements for the type of job, and it does not have to be full time employment.

If you are granted a permit for other work, it will not be valid for longer than the period of time you have been granted a residence permit for the purpose of obtaining a Danish authorisation. The permit makes it possible for you to receive an income during the authorisation process.

However, 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

A residence permit allows you to stay in Denmark during the period when your permit is valid. 

In addition, a permit allows you to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within the latest 180 days period. The permit, however, does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

You must not give up your Danish address or stay abroad for longer 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 an extended period of time, you can apply for dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing.

You can read more about permit lapse and dispensation options here

You must be able to support yourself and your family during your stay. Therefore, you are not allowed to receive public benefits, e.g. benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act and housing benefits – and there might be other benefits that you cannot receive. 

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 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 and work 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:

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

If you are offered employment for adaptation and training purposes (evalueringsansættelse)

If you are offered so-called ‘employment for adaptation and training purposes' (evalueringsansættelse) at a Danish hospital, you must apply for a work permit. You must not begin working before you have been granted a permit.

Salary and terms of employment must correspond to Danish standards during your employment for adaptation and training purposes.

More about labour conditions here

You can read more about how to apply for a work permit for an evaluation employment here

Before applying for a work permit, you must apply for an ‘evaluation authorisation’ as either a doctor, a dentist or a nurse at the Danish Patient Safety Authority.

How long can I stay in Denmark?

As a general rule, you can be granted a residence permit for 3 years.

The permit can be extended for 2 more years if you can provide documentation that you have passed the Danish 3 Exam with the scores required to obtain a Danish authorisation.

Read more about the requirements for the Danish language test for doctors at the Danish Patient Safety Authority

Read more about the requirements for the Danish language test for dentists at the Danish Patient Safety Authority

As a general rule, it is not possible to extend your permit beyond a total period of 5 years.

It is very important that you apply for an extension before your permit expires – this applies to your residence permit as well as to any work permit you may have applied for.

If you submit your application for an extension in time, you are allowed to stay in Denmark and continue to work while we process your case. This applies also in case your permit expires before SIRI has made a decision in your case.

You can be granted a residence permit for 3 years.

You can extend your residence permit, if your first permit as a nurse was granted for less than 3 years counting from the date on which the Danish Patient Safety Authority approved your formal qualifications as a nurse.

As a general rule, the permit cannot be extended beyond 3 years in total.

A residence permit can only be valid until 90 days 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 be done, at the earliest, 3 months before your permit expires. 

Read more about the passport requirements

Can my family be granted a residence permit?

A residence permit with the purpose of obtaining authorisation in Denmark allows your family to come with you to Denmark. 

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

Penalty risk - If I am already residing in Denmark on a visiting visa

If you have already entered Denmark and reside here on a visiting visa when you file your application, you have to be aware of the risk of a penalty period.

If you file your application for a residence permit with the purpose of obtaining Danish authorization while you are residing in Denmark on a visiting visa, it can have have as a consequence that for a period of 5 years you will not be able to receive further visiting visas to Denmark. This will have consequences for you if your application for a residence permit with the purpose of obtaining Danish authorization is denied, and you after your return to your home country again wish to visit Denmark.

You can read more about risk of visa penalty period here

 

What more to know before I apply?

An application for a residence permit for the purpose of obtaining a Danish authorisation as a doctor, dentist or nurse must be submitted to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI). If you are in Denmark when submitting your application, you must be here legally. More about submission here.

You can find the relevant application form, XG1, on the “How to apply” tab to right.

If you are offered ‘employment for adaptation and training purposes’ (evalueringsansættelse) you must apply for a work permit. You can find more information 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 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 employer 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, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish, you must also submit certified translations into Danish or English.

You must submit:

Expect to use

50 minutes

completing the application

1 person

You complete the application form by yourself.

In this step you have access to the relevant application 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

 

Use the form XG1

 

Please note that it is mandatory to use this application form. Under special circumstances, you can be exempted from the requirement to use an online application form. You can read more here. 

Please note that it is mandatory to fill in your passport number in this application form. If you are not in possession of a valid passport, you can contact us for guidance. You can find our contact information here.

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 must have your biometric features recorded no later than 14 days after you submitted your application.

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

You are abroad

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

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 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 if we need further information to process your case.

Read more about what you can expect while you are waiting for an answer

Responsible agency

Contact SIRI

Also relevant for you