Latest Danish Immigration news

Recent months have seen different updates and initiatives for foreign workers from the Danish government and authorities. Below we have listed the most recent news.

In this newsletter, we will take a look at these changes and what employers need to be aware of to be compliant.

On 2 October 2024, the Danish government announced a new bill to avoid social dumping in Denmark in the future. The proposed bill includes initiatives such as:

• Make it a requirement that foreign companies registered in the RUT system are obligated to ensure that their registered employees can present identification documents to the Danish Working Environment Authority and the Danish Immigration Authorities (SIRI). 

• Housing inspections to assess whether foreign workers are living according to Danish standards.

• Allow the Danish Working Environment Authority (Arbejdstilsynet) to stop contractors from working, if the Danish Working Environment Authority has assessed that the occupational health and safety legislation (Arbejdsmiljøloven) has been broken several times.

• Strengthen SIRI's presence in the cooperation between the police, the Danish Working Environment Authority, and the Danish Tax Agency.

• Make it a requirement for being registered in the RUT system that a service agreement between the posting company and the Danish client, employment contract, assignment letter and, if relevant, Danish work permit is uploaded to the registration.

The 1st processing of the proposed bill is expected to be on 10 October 2024. If the bill is implemented, the first initiative will have effect from 1 January 2025, while the remaining initiatives are expected to have effect from 1 January 2026. 

The EU Commissioner recently announced that the EU is aiming to launch the Entry/Exit System (EES) on 10 November 2024. EES is an automated IT system that will register non-EU nationals’ entry and departure from the Schengen Area and replace the current manual process of stamping passports. The EES will apply to all non-EU nationals who cross the external borders of the Schengen Area. You can read more here – EES - European Union (europa.eu).

The Danish immigration authorities have recently announced that the salary in the employment contract must be stated in Danish kroner (DKK) from 1 September 2024.

Previously, it was only required to state the declared salary in the application form in Danish kroner (DKK), whereas the salary stated on the employment contract could still be in a foreign currency.

The purpose of this new adjustment of practice is not only to speed up the reviewing process from the Danish immigration authorities’ side but also to avoid any discrepancies in the exchange rate. 

For application for an extension of a work permit, where the original permit was granted before 1 September 2024, the Danish immigration authorities will accept if the salary is stated in a foreign currency and the central bank of Denmark will be used as their primary source for converting the exchange rate.

The Danish immigration authorities have recently published an updated version of the practice note that is used to assess whether an offered salary in certain work cases corresponds to Danish standards. This practice note will replace the original practice note from 2022.

The updated version of the practice note applies to cases under the ordinary- and supplementary Pay Limit Schemes, the Researcher Scheme, the five tracks of the Fast-track Scheme, the Positive List for People with a Higher Education and work permits for accompanying family members – Ny i Danmark.

What does the updated practice note mean?

In order for a third country national to be granted a Danish work permit, one of the requirements is that the offered salary must correspond to Danish standards. According to the updated practice note, the Danish immigration authorities will generally not assess whether offered salary corresponds to Danish standards if the employment is covered by a collective agreement. If the employment is not covered by a collective agreement but the employer is a member of an employer’s organisation, the Danish immigration authorities will assess whether the offered salary corresponds to Danish standards if the salary does not meet the given salary threshold. For cases that do not fall under the previously mentioned categories, the Danish immigration authorities will assess whether the offered salary does correspond to Danish standards.

Please note that the Danish immigration authorities will no matter what always assess whether the offered terms of employment correspond to Danish standards.

We will follow the proposed bill and the EES system closely. If you need assistance or clarification on this matter, please reach out to us.