Work in Greenland - extension

You want to extend your permit to work in Greenland

Normal processing time
3 months

Processing fee
No fee

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Can I extend my residence permit?

You can apply for an extension of your work permit in Greenland if there has not been made changes to your employment. This means that

  • your position and your workplace must have been the same during the entire period,
  • you must have been working and receiving salary during the entire period, and
  • your salary and terms of employment must be unchanged.

When receiving your application, SIRI requests a statement from the Government of Greenland  that stresses the following conditions:

  • Whether there are available professionals residing in Greenland who are qualified to carry out the job in question, 
  • whether the nature of the job in question is specialised enough to warrant a residence and work permit, and
  • whether salary and terms of employment correspond to Greenlandic standards.

In Greenland, you are obligated to save for your own person. The requirement applies to people over the age of 18 who are fully taxable in Greenland. Find more information on the Tax Agency's website in Greenland (opens in a new window)

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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 in 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

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. 

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 Greenlandic address 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.

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

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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 on your 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 – 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 foundation 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 working in the new job before you have been granted a new permit.

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Can my family’s residence permits be extended?

An extension of your residence and work permit based on a job in Greenland allows any accompanying family members to extend their residence permits as well. 

The extension of their permit will be for the same period as your extension.

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

Read more about accompanying family members here

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The Health Agreement

Agreement regarding easier access to residence and work permits for foreign health personnel in Greenland

Due to the Health Agreement, you can as health personnel in the Greenlandic health sector get a residence and work permit in Greenland if your employment is covered by a collective agreement. You can apply for a residence and work permit in Greenland if you are applying on a legal basis.

If you are offered employment as health personnel in the Greenlandic health sector, we in SIRI can process your application for a residence and work permit without sending it for further assessment to the Government of Greenland.

If you are offered employment as health personnel in the Greenlandic health sector, you can submit an application for a residence and work permit according to the regulations in the Health Agreement.

Health personnel are trained healthcare professionals.

The employment must be covered by a Greenlandic labour agreement on the certain area of employment.

You can find the relevant application form GL1 under the tab ”How to apply” at the top right corner. The application form can be used for first time applications as well as extensions of permits.

It is not possible to apply online. You can submit the application via our contact form which you find here

There are no application requirements but if you use the application form and attach the required documentation, SIRI will receive the necessary information to process the application.

You can apply from abroad or in Greenland. If you apply after you have entered Greenland, it is a condition that you are legally residing at the time of submission. If this is not the case, your application will be rejected.

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What more do I need to know before I apply?

An application for an extension of a residence and work permit in Greenland must generally be sent directly to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) or be submitted to the police in Greenland. The police will forward the application to SIRI.

It is a requirement that you are staying in Greenland legally at the time of submitting the application.

You can find the relevant application form, GL1, on the “How to apply” tab to the right. 

Your employer must fill in one of two parts of the form.

SIRI will contact you or your employer 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:

Expect to use

30 minutes

completing the application

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 GL1.

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.

In the printable application form GL1 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.

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 GL1 (Word format)

Download the printable form GL1 (Pdf format)

You are submitting the application in Greenland

You can submit the application to the police in Greenland.

You can also send the application to SIRI.

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 22-10-2024 - Published by: SIRI