The Positive List for Skilled Work - extension

You want to extend your residence permit based on the Positive List for Skilled Work. You continue to be employed in the same job and by the same employer.

Normal processing time
3 months

Processing fee
DKK 6,055,-

Can I extend my permit?

You can extend your residence permit based on the Positive List for Skilled Work, if you continue to have the same job.

You must be employed in the same position by the same employer, and your salary and terms of employment must correspond to Danish standards when you apply for an extension of your permit.

Furthermore, your employer must have met their educational obligations regarding training of apprentices.

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

You can apply for an extension of your permit no earlier than 3 months prior to the expiration.

If you do not apply for an extension before your permit expires, you no longer have the right to stay in Denmark – and an application submitted in Denmark will usually be rejected.

What are the conditions for extending a permit?

An extension of your permit requires that you have met the conditions of your residence permit during the entire period of your stay and that your salary and terms of employment correspond to Danish standards when you apply for the extension of your permit.

 

You can apply for an extension of your residence and work permit if you are still employed in the same position by the same employer. You must also have both worked and received your salary in accordance with your contract for the entire validity period of your latest permit.

If you have had periods where you have not received a full salary and/or if you have not worked in accordance with your contract, your application must provide information and documentation explaining why you have not done so.

Note that the EU working time directive stipulates that over a period of 4 months you must have an average weekly working time of no more than 48 hours. If your employment is covered by a valid collective agreement, this rule may be waived.

 As a rule, you are allowed to take an unpaid leave of absence or vacation without pay, within reasonable limits. In order for SIRI to assess whether your leave of absence or vacation is within reasonable limits, we need information and documentation regarding:

  • the length of your unpaid leave of absence or vacation

  • how often you have taken an unpaid leave of absence or vacation

  • the reason why you have taken an unpaid leave of absence or vacation.

If you have been on maternity or paternity leave, you are allowed to have received maternity/paternity benefits.

In order for us to extend your permit, your salary and terms of employment must correspond to the Danish standards. If we are not sure whether they correspond to the Danish standards, we can ask the Regional Labour Market Councils (RBR) to assess them.

Read SIRI’s page on Danish standards for salary and terms of employment.

If your salary or terms of employment have gotten worse, you must inform SIRI of this.

Your entire salary must be paid into a Danish bank account in your own name.

Read more about having your salary paid into a Danish bank account

You must not have received any public benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act, e.g. social security benefits.

Read more about public benefits here

In order to be granted an extension of a residence permit based on the Positive List for Skilled Work, it is a condition that company that employs you has met its educational obligations regarding training of apprentices.

Thus, your employer must be covered by Læreplads-AUB (Arbejdsgivernes Uddannelsesbidrag).

In addition to this, at the time of the submission of the application for an extension your employer must have reached the target number of trained apprentices that your employer has been required to train by Læreplads-AUB in one of the last two calculated contribution years. You employer must also not have been required to pay additional contribution (merbidrag) which is an amount employers are required to pay, if they do not reach the target number, in one of the last two calculated contribution years. At present, the last two calculated contribution years are 2022 and 2023, and your employer must have met their educational obligations of training of apprentices in one of these two years. 

Remember to consult your employer to make sure they are covered by Læreplads-AUB before you apply.

The Positive List is updated twice every year – on 1 January and on 1 July.

As long as you continue to work under the same terms of employment and you receive salary corresponding to Danish standards, you can apply for an extension even though your profession is no longer on the current Positive List for Skilled Work.

You can see the current Positive List for Skilles Work here

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

What are you allowed to do with a Danish residence and work permit based on the Positive List for Skilled Work? – and what are you not allowed to do?

You can only work in the position and in the company that you have been granted a permit to work in.

No significant changes can be made to your employment, unless you apply for a new residence and work permit. 

You can read more about changes in your job situation which require an new permit on the page Your situation is changing - Work

A Danish residence and work permit does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

Read more about the Schengen countries here

If you are offered a new job, you must submit a new application. This also applies if you are offered a new position within the same company.

When you have submitted your application based on the new job, you do not have to wait for your permit before you start working. You can start your new job on the day you submit the new application.

If you wish to take a sideline job, you have to obtain a separate permit.

You can read more about sideline employment here

A residence and work permit allows you to stay in Denmark for 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 past 180 days. However, the permit does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

You can read more about the Schengen countries here

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 a longer period of time, i.e. if you are stationed abroad for a period of time by your employer, you can apply for dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing.

You can read more about the rules that can cause a permit to lapse here

You can read more about permit lapse and apply for a dispensation here

You must be able to support yourself and your family during your stay. You are not allowed to receive benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act.

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 the 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.

When living 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.

You might already have done what is necessary, but if you still have any questions, the portal lifeindenmark.dk (opens in a new window) provides you with information, links and in many cases also options concerning the most important subjects such as:

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

How long can I stay in Denmark?

You can be granted a residence and work permit valid for up to 4 years at a time, and after 8 years, up to 5 years at a time – however, the validity cannot exceed the duration of your job contract.

If your employment contract is for a shorter period than 4 years, your residence and work permit will normally be valid for the period of your employment. If you wish to continue working in Denmark after this time, you must apply for an extension of your residence and work permit. 

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

Read more about the passport requirements

What are my rights while I wait for a decision?

While you are waiting for a decision to your application for an extension, you are allowed to stay in Denmark with the same rights as granted by your original permit.

If you have any questions while you wait for an answer, you can find more information here

Can my family’s residence permits be extended?

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

Read more about extension of a permit as an accompanying family member here

If you do not already have your family with you in 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 first-time permits for accompanying family members here

What more do I need to know before I apply for an extension?

An application for extension of a residence permit on the basis of work is processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

Before submitting your application, you must create a case order ID for your application and pay a fee to cover SIRI’s case processing expenses. You can do this on the “How to apply” tab to the right. Here you also find the relevant application form, AR3.

Your employer must complete the first of the two parts of the form. When your employer has completed his or her part, a reference number and password will be shown, which your employer must pass on to you. You are then able to open the application and complete your part.

If you have given your employer power of attorney to handle the application on your behalf, the employer must use the AR7 form. This form is completed by the employer only. You can find an approved template for power of attorney here.

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.

If you are a commuter and will not be residing in Denmark and for this reason will only apply for a work permit, you do not need to create a case order ID or pay a fee. Instead you kan go directly to step 3.

Read more about commuting here

It is a good idea to gather the necessary documents before you start to complete the application form. You can use the checklist below.

If you submit documentation not written in English, German, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish, you must also submit a certified translation into either 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 forms

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 must choose between these two application forms:

  • AR3, in which you and your employer each are required to complete separate parts of the form

  • AR7, in which you grant your employer power of attorney to apply on your behalf

In the AR3 form your employer must complete the first of the two parts of the form. When your employer has completed his or her part, a reference number and password will be shown, which your employer must pass on to you. You are then able to open the application and complete your part.
In the AR7 form only your employer must complete the form


Read more about power of attorney and download an approved power of attorney standard here.

Make sure you have all documents ready in digital form, in order to attach them as you complete the application form.

 

Use the form AR3

 

Use the form AR7

 

Please note that it is mandatory to use these application forms. 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 the application form AR3. 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 an extension of your 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.

SIRI can, as a rule, only start processing your application once you have had your biometric features recorded. This must happen  no later than 14 days after you submitted your application.

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 can have your biometric features recorded in SIRI’s branch offices.

If you plan to have your biometrics recorded in SIRI’s branch offices, you must remember to book an appointment. 

If you are a commuter and does not reside in Denmark and for this reason will only apply for a work permit, you do not need to have your biometrics recorded.

Read more about commuters here

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 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 01-02-2025 - Published by: SIRI