Denmark work permit routes for newcomers: SIRI Pay-Limit, Positive-List, Fast-Track, Researcher

Step-by-Step

1. 1

   (Applicant and Employer) Select the SIRI route that fits the position, salary and qualification combination

   1. Identify the route candidates. The eight pathways are: Pay Limit Scheme (salary-based, no occupation restriction); Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme (mid-salary, no occupation restriction); Positive List for People with a Higher Education (university-level shortage occupations); Positive List for Skilled Work (vocational shortage occupations); Fast-Track Scheme (requires SIRI-certified employer; four internal tracks at pay-limit, supplementary, researcher and educational levels plus a short-term ninety-day track); Researcher Scheme (paid research positions); Establishment Card (graduates of Danish institutions within one year of completion); and EU/EEA registration certificate (free-movement nationals).
   2. Check the employer's certification status against SIRI's list of certified companies where the Fast-Track Scheme is under consideration. Where the employer is not certified the Fast-Track route is not available and the ordinary Pay Limit, Supplementary Pay Limit, Positive List or Researcher route is the substitute.
   3. Check the current Positive Lists where the qualification-based route is under consideration. The lists are revised on 1 January and 1 July of each year. Confirm the job title is on the relevant list at the date the complete filing will be made.
   4. Where the position is in a regulated healthcare profession (doctor or nurse), confirm with the Danish Patient Safety Authority that the authorisation-application quota for the relevant year is open. Where the quota is set to 0 (zero) SIRI may not grant the permit regardless of route during the effective window; applications filed during the window are rejected and the fee is refunded.

   💡 Tip: Route selection is the gating step. Choosing the wrong route is the most common cause of refusal on bona fide employment. Where the applicant's situation could plausibly fit more than one route — for example a high-salary university-level shortage occupation that fits both the Pay Limit Scheme and the Positive List for People with a Higher Education — choose the route that gives the most flexibility for renewal and onward applications, which is typically the salary-based route where the position-corresponds-to-qualification limb is comfortably met.

   ⚠️ Watch out: Filing under a route for which the applicant is not eligible (for example the Pay Limit Scheme with a salary below the threshold, or the Fast-Track Scheme with a non-certified employer, or a Positive List route for a job title that is not on the current list) triggers a refusal. Recovery is to refile under the correct route at the full fee.

   SIRI — Pay Limit Scheme (English) (nyidanmark.dk ↗) SIRI — Fast-Track Scheme (English) (nyidanmark.dk ↗)
2. 2

   (Applicant or Employer) Create a case order ID on the SIRI self-service portal and pay the processing fee

   1. Log into the SIRI self-service portal at newtodenmark.dk. Create a new case for the route selected. The portal issues a unique case order ID.
   2. Pay the processing fee online in connection with case creation. The fee is paid before submission of the AR1 (joint applicant-and-employer) or AR6 (employer with power of attorney) application form. Without the receipt the application is not considered submitted.
   3. Confirm the fee schedule for the relevant case category against SIRI's overview-of-fee-rates page. The schedule is set annually by ministerial executive order on case-processing fees. Turkish nationals benefit from a fee waiver under the EU-Türkiye Association Agreement and Decision 1/80 of the EU-Turkey Association Council.

   💡 Tip: The case order ID is the link between the payment and the eventual application submission. Keep the receipt; the documentary file at submission must include the receipt evidence.

   SIRI — Fee overview of fee rates (English) (nyidanmark.dk ↗)
3. 3

   (Applicant and Employer) Assemble the documentary file for the selected route

   1. Common to all SIRI work-permit routes: copy of all pages of the passport; signed employment contract stating role, gross annual salary in Danish kroner, working hours, contract duration, insurance arrangements and start date; receipt for the processing-fee payment; power of attorney from the employer where the AR6 form is used.
   2. Pay Limit, Supplementary Pay Limit and Positive List routes: education documentation (diploma and transcript) supporting the position-corresponds-to-qualification limb; documentation of work experience; certified translation of documents not in Danish, English, German or a Scandinavian language.
   3. Positive List routes specifically: evidence that the position is among the listed titles on the current Positive List for People with a Higher Education or the Positive List for Skilled Work; recognition of the foreign degree by the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science where required.
   4. Fast-Track Scheme: confirmation that the Danish-registered employer is on SIRI's list of certified companies.
   5. Researcher Scheme: institutional invitation or research-project description establishing the research-related reasons and the close link to the applicant.
   6. Establishment Card: Danish degree certificate from a publicly accredited Danish educational institution; documentation of financial self-support for the first year (Danish bank account statement, scholarship letter or equivalent) at the SIRI published reference level; for extension, documentation that the current employment is relevant to the completed Danish educational programme.
   7. EU/EEA registration certificate: passport or national identity card; employment contract or employer declaration signed within sixty days of submission (not as image file); or self-employment registration; or student enrolment; or evidence of own funds and comprehensive sickness insurance.

   💡 Tip: Run a documentary review against the SIRI checklist for the selected route before submission. Missing-document refusals are the most common cause of applications stalling. Where a foreign-degree recognition decision is required, plan the timing — the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science recognition process can take several weeks.

4. 4

   (Applicant and Employer) Complete and submit the AR1 joint application or AR6 power-of-attorney application form

   1. Complete the AR1 form where both the applicant and the Danish-registered employer file together as joint applicants. Complete the AR6 form where the employer files on the applicant's behalf under a signed power of attorney from the applicant.
   2. Upload the documentary file (passport copy; signed employment contract; receipt; education documentation; route-specific evidence) to the SIRI self-service portal at newtodenmark.dk under the case order ID.
   3. Submit the application. The application is considered submitted only when the fee has been paid and the documentary file is complete; partial submissions stall at the documentary-completeness review.

   💡 Tip: For Fast-Track Scheme applications the employer files the AR6 form on the applicant's behalf in the majority of cases — high-volume certified employers run the filing process internally to compress the elapsed time.

   ⚠️ Watch out: An incomplete documentary file at submission triggers a request for additional information from SIRI; the request pauses the standard one-month processing clock until the requested information is supplied. Recovery is to respond to the request promptly with the missing documents; the case then resumes.

5. 5

   (Applicant) Record biometric features within fourteen days of online submission

   1. Book a biometric-recording appointment at a SIRI office (Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense or Aalborg), a Citizen Service Centre (Borgerservice) in the municipality of residence, an International House, or a Danish embassy, consulate or accepted Visa-Application-Centre partner abroad for applications filed from outside Denmark.
   2. Attend the appointment with the original passport. A photograph and fingerprints are recorded for the residence-permit card (oppholdskort).
   3. The biometric recording must be completed within fourteen days of the online submission. Where the window cannot be met, contact SIRI immediately to schedule the recording and to request an extension where the facts support it.

   💡 Tip: Where the applicant files from outside Denmark, book the biometric appointment at the chosen Danish embassy, consulate or Visa-Application-Centre partner as soon as the case order ID has been issued — appointment lead times at some missions can be material and the fourteen-day window starts at online submission, not at fee payment.

   ⚠️ Watch out: Failure to record biometrics within the fourteen-day window can stall the application. Recovery is to contact SIRI immediately to schedule the recording and to request an extension where the facts support it; the case may still proceed with an explanation where the delay is justified.

6. 6

   (SIRI) Review the application and issue the decision

   1. SIRI verifies the route-specific requirements against the documentary file: salary threshold and salary-components composition for Pay Limit and Supplementary Pay Limit; occupation match against the current list for Positive List routes; employer-certification status for Fast-Track; research-related-reasons and close-link assessment for Researcher Scheme; Danish-institution degree and self-support evidence for Establishment Card.
   2. Standard processing on the salary-based and Positive List routes is one month, extending to up to three months where additional information is requested. Fast-Track Scheme processing is between zero and thirty days where the documentary file is complete and the employer is certified. Researcher Scheme processing is approximately one month. Establishment Card initial-application processing is not published as a fixed window; extension processing is approximately three months after biometric recording.
   3. Decisions are mailed to the applicant's e-Boks (digital post) and/or to the postal address on file.

   💡 Tip: Where the application is filed close to a salary-threshold or Positive List revision date (1 January or 1 July), the assessment is conducted against the rule in force at the date of the complete filing (case order ID issued, fee paid, application submitted).

7. 7

   (SIRI and Applicant) Receive the decision and the residence-permit card

   1. On grant, SIRI produces the residence-permit card (oppholdskort) and delivers it to the SIRI office or to the Danish diplomatic mission where biometric recording took place. The card states the route, the validity period and the employer where the route attaches to a specific employer.
   2. Initial permit duration: up to four years on Pay Limit; up to five years on Supplementary Pay Limit Fast-Track; up to four years on Positive Lists; up to four years on Researcher Scheme; two years initially on Establishment Card extendable by one further year; up to ninety days within a rolling three-hundred-and-sixty-five-day window on the Fast-Track Short-Term track (not extendable). Permits are capped by passport validity less three months.
   3. Where the application is refused the applicant may file an appeal (klage) with the Immigration Appeals Board (Udlændingenævnet) within eight weeks of the decision date. The appeal does not in most cases suspend the duty to leave Denmark; where the applicant is in Denmark at the date of refusal the appeal is filed alongside an application for a stay of enforcement (opsættende virkning) where the facts support it.

   ⚠️ Watch out: Common refusal grounds: salary below the applicable threshold (Pay Limit, Supplementary Pay Limit, Fast-Track Pay-Limit and Supplementary Pay-Limit tracks); ineligible salary components (housing, car, phone, internet, per diems) counted toward the threshold; job not on the current Positive List at the date of the complete filing; employer not certified for Fast-Track; foreign degree not recognised; healthcare-profession application during a quota period. Recovery options are route-specific and include renegotiating the salary up to the threshold, restructuring the offer so eligible-only components clear the threshold, switching to the Pay Limit route from a Positive List route, switching to a different Fast-Track-equivalent ordinary route where the employer is not certified, obtaining a Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science degree-recognition decision, and (for healthcare professions) monitoring the Danish Patient Safety Authority quota announcements or switching to a research position that does not require Danish clinical authorisation.

8. 8

   (Applicant) Complete the post-arrival registration, CPR and Danish bank account

   1. On arrival in Denmark register in the population register (folkeregister) at the local municipal office (kommune) or at an International House to obtain a CPR (Central Person Register) number and a recorded address. The CPR number is the Danish national identity number and is the gateway to MitID, the bank account, the healthcare system (sundhedskort), tax-administration registration and most downstream digital platforms.
   2. Open a Danish bank account within one hundred and eighty days of arrival under the Pay Limit Scheme. Branch visits with passport, SIRI permit-grant letter and signed employment contract are accepted by most banks before the CPR number has issued; the bank account is the precondition for MitID enrolment with most Danish banks.
   3. Enrol for MitID through the chosen Danish bank or through MitID Erhverv where the employer arranges the enrolment. MitID is the Danish national digital-identity scheme and the gateway to e-Boks, SKAT, Borger.dk and most public-service portals.

   💡 Tip: Plan the post-arrival sequence: CPR number (from the kommune or International House) → MitID enrolment (with the bank) → Danish bank account (the salary-deposit account) → sundhedskort (the Danish health insurance card, issued by the kommune at CPR registration) → first salary deposit (from the employer). Each step typically takes a few days; allowing two to four weeks from arrival to the first salary deposit is realistic.

9. 9

   (Applicant — EU, EEA or Swiss national) Register with SIRI within three months of arrival where the stay exceeds three months

   Expat New Arrival
   Applicant is a national of an EU member state, of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland

   1. Book an in-person appointment with SIRI through the self-service portal at newtodenmark.dk. The qualifying-category evidence and the identity document are submitted at the appointment.
   2. Attend the appointment with the passport or national identity card and documentary evidence of the qualifying category (signed employment contract or employer declaration signed within sixty days of submission and not as an image file; self-employment registration; student enrolment; or evidence of own funds and comprehensive sickness insurance).
   3. SIRI issues the registration certificate (registreringsbevis) on the same day in most cases. The certificate is free and is issued indefinitely; the holder does not need to re-register if the qualifying category changes.

   💡 Tip: The registration certificate evidences SIRI's record of registration; it does not by itself confirm the holder's right of residence. To evidence right of residence for bank-account opening, accommodation rental or public-service entitlement, present alternative documents (employment contract, payslips, student enrolment confirmation, evidence of own funds and sickness insurance) alongside the certificate. Stays of three months or less require no registration. Nordic nationals (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland) do not require even the certificate.

10. 10

    (Applicant) Renew the permit before expiry or file the onward application for permanent residence or citizenship

    1. Renewal applications must be filed before the current permit expires. The renewal is filed through the SIRI self-service portal under a fresh case order ID; the fee schedule for renewal mirrors the initial-application schedule for the relevant route.
    2. Permanent residence (permanent opholdstilladelse) is administered by the Danish Immigration Service (Udlændingestyrelsen — US), a separate agency from SIRI under the Udlændinge- og Integrationsministeriet. The application is filed when eligibility is reached under the substantive criteria of the Danish residence regime; the criteria are set out in a separate guide.
    3. Danish citizenship (statsborgerskab) is administered under a distinct statutory regime with its own residence, language and other substantive requirements; the application route and criteria are set out in a separate guide.

    💡 Tip: Where the holder is on the Fast-Track Scheme other than the short-term track, the lapse-rule exemption gives material flexibility for periods of work outside Denmark — confirm the absence record before filing a renewal as the exemption is the route's substantive advantage and applies only to the Fast-Track Pay-Limit, Supplementary Pay-Limit, Researcher and Educational tracks.