Guide: Seasonal work in Denmark

There are job centres all over Denmark where you can apply for work. The job centres are also available online, at jobnet.dk.

Nordjobb is a service for young people aged between 18 and 30 who wish to work for a few months in a Nordic country. Nordjobb facilitates contact between young people and employers in the Nordic region, and also helps to find accommodation and arrange cultural activities in connection with the stay.

If you are a citizen of a Nordic country, you can travel freely to Denmark to live there and work. You do not need a visa, a work permit or a residence permit.

If you are not a Nordic citizen but you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, you are allowed to stay in Denmark for three months. If you are looking for work, you may remain in the country for up to six months.

If you wish to work in Denmark, but you are not a citizen of a Nordic country, an EU or EEA member state or Switzerland, you can read more about your possibilities at nyidanmark.dk.

If you are going to work in Denmark, you will need a tax card and a Danish personal identity number (CPR number). You can apply to the Danish Tax Agency for this. You can apply for a tax card and social security number one month at the earliest before you start work in Denmark.

As a general rule, you are covered by social insurance in the country in which you work.

Being ‘covered by social insurance’ in a country means that there are rules in that country that apply to you in such areas as:

• Unemployment insurance
• Pension
• Sickness benefit
• Child allowance
• Health services
• Parental benefit
• Occupational illness compensation

You can read more in the article “Which country's social security system are you covered by?” Here you can also see which authorities you should contact if you have questions.

You can find information about finding a place to live in Denmark in the Info Norden article “Housing in Denmark”.

You should contact your insurance company to ensure you are insured during your stay in Denmark.

When travelling to Denmark with a pet, you must comply with a number of rules. The rules may vary, depending on which country you are travelling from and how old your pet is. The rules apply both to people going on holiday in or moving to Denmark, to people returning to Denmark after a holiday abroad, and to people who have bought a pet abroad and want to bring it home to Denmark.

Please note that certain breeds of dog are banned in Denmark, and that all dog owners in Denmark must have dog liability insurance. This also applies to short stays.

You should inform the taxation and social security authorities in the country where you live that you will be staying and working in Denmark for a period of time.

Work In Denmark has compiled an overview of your rights in the Danish labour market.

If you live in another Nordic country and work in Denmark for a Danish employer, you will as a general rule be covered by Danish health insurance. This means, for example, that you have the right to use the Danish health service on the same terms as Danish citizens. Your documentation for this is “the special health card”. You must apply to Udbetaling Danmark to have this card issued, and show the card every time you are in contact with the healthcare system.

You will either be considered a “cross-border worker” or an ordinary employee in Denmark. This will be decided by Udbetaling Danmark on the basis of whether or not you travel back to your residence in another Nordic country at least once a week. In either case, you will have full access to Danish health services – but if you have family members who are to be covered by health insurance with you, it will make a difference to their health insurance whether you are considered a cross-border worker or an ordinary employee.

The special health card is issued for a maximum of two years. You can apply for the card at borger.dk, and you can use the self-service system without having a MitID.

Companies can apply for special health cards on behalf of their employees at virk.dk.

You can read more about the special health card at borger.dk. If you have any questions on international health insurance, contact Udbetaling Danmark, International Sygesikring. You can read more about the Danish health insurance system at borger.dk, and at the website of the Danish Patient Safety Authority.

In most cases, if you are working in Denmark, the Danish social security regulations will apply. This means that you must join an unemployment insurance fund (A-kasse) if you wish to be insured against unemployment.

It is not compulsory to attend school in Denmark, but all children of primary school age who are residing  in Denmark have the right and the obligation to receive education.

Contact the municipality in which you are staying for further details.

Anyone who is legally resident in Denmark or a country within the EU/EEA has the right to set up a basic deposit account and a basic payment account with a Danish bank. This also applies to consumers who do not have a residence permit, but who cannot be deported.

All persons resident in Denmark must have a so-called ‘NemKonto’. This is an ordinary bank account that the public authorities and certain companies can use when they need to make a payment to you, such as family allowance, pension, social welfare payments or a tax rebate. You can use a basic payment account or basic deposit account as your NemKonto. You must notify your bank of which of your accounts will be used as your NemKonto. You can also choose a foreign bank account as your NemKonto.

MitID is an electronic personal identification system that you can use to communicate with the public sector in Denmark, as well as in services such as online banking and online purchases. In most cases, you can obtain MitID via a Citizen Service Centre (Borgerservice).

If you are a foreigner or are resident outside Denmark, MitID recommends that you always bring a witness along, as there may not be enough information about you in the CPR register. Always make sure to have the necessary documentation with you at the Citizen Service Centre. This is particularly important if you need a MitID with which you can access most self-service solutions, or if you need to use MitID for business.

If you are not registered in the Danish Civil Register and are staying in the country for less than 185 days within a period of 12 months, you can drive on foreign number plates without paying Danish registration tax.

As a rule, you must be registered with the Danish Civil Register if you wish to set up a Danish phone subscription or internet subscription.

You should inform the taxation and social security authorities in the country where you live that you are no longer staying and working in Denmark.

In the spring, you will receive a tax assessment notice from the Danish Tax Agency. This will show what income and deductions you have had, and how much you have paid in tax in the previous calendar year.

You can see the calculation at skat.dk. You should ensure that the information is correct.

If you have paid too much in tax, any excess tax will be paid in to your NemKonto account. If you have paid too little in tax, you will be required to pay the remainder via skat.dk.