How to get started in Denmark

During the first week of your studies at Dania Academy, we arrange trip to Aarhus for all in need of registering with immigration authorities. This registering is mandatory prior to registering with the local authorities in the city you live. Please note that non-EU citizens are not required to register with the immigrations as you already have a residence permit.

You will received you confirmation on the spot, and will hereafter be able to contact the local authorities at your own leasure.

Please check Randers; https://workandlive.randers.dk/work-and-live-in-randers/ or Viborg https://tilflytter.viborg.dk/ for further information on where and opening hours.

After arriving in Denmark and registering there are e few more important things you have to take care of before you can start enjoying your new life here.

All Danes have a personal Social Security Number called a CPR-number. CPR is an abbreviation for det Centrale Person Register, translated to: the civil registration service. You use your CPR-number for almost all of your dealings with Danish authorities, such as the health care system, and is the main information on the national health insurance card (Sundhedskort).

You will need a CPR-number to gain access to the authorities’ self-service online system, to open a bank account, to buy a phone, get a gym membership, and much more.

This CPR-number is sent to you by the local authorities after you have registered with them. It is therefor important that you do so as quickly as possible.

Please note that it is also important for Dania Academy to receive your specific CPR-number. When you receive this, please give the study administration information about the 10-digit number.

NemlD is your personal digital signature. You need NemlD to logon almost everything in Denmark. Eg. to public services, online banking, the tax authorities and many other places, public as well as private. To find out how to get a NemlD, please go to:  www.nemid.nu/dk-en/ Your bank can also issue a NEMID for you when you get a bank account.

All citizens and companies registered in Demark are required to have a NemKonto (Easy Account). A NemKonto is a normal bank account that you/your bank assigns as your NemKonto.

Most Danish citizens and companies occasionally receive payments from the public sector. These payments can be TAX or VAT refunds, child subsidies, pensions, student loans, unemployment benefits, housing support or social welfare payments etc.

All payments from public institutions will be transferred directly to this account. Some private enterprises companies etc. are also able to make payments to your NemKonto as well.

Please see more on this link https://www.nemkonto.dk/Servicemenu/Engelsk

When you get a primary bank account this is as defined as your NemKonto – connected to you Danish CPR-number – social security number. You can at any time change the NemKonto registration, fx. when/if you decide to change to another bank.

e-Boks is your personal online mailbox where you will receive letters from all public authorities in Denmark. Please note that public authorities do not send physical letters anymore – all correspondence will go to your e-Boks! Therefore it is important that you check this regularly, using ou use your NemlD to log on to your e-Boks.

Check your e-Boks regularly! Or, even better, register your e-mail address and/or phone number to get a notification when there are new messages in your e-Boks.

Any information and decisions from the SU Agency will be sent to your e-Boks. Go to https://www.e-boks.com/danmark/en  to find out more.

You get your tax card online through www.skat.dk or by calling SKAT directly by phone (72 22 18 18).

You receive a tax card for the coming tax year along with your preliminary income assessment. You can find your tax card online by logging on to E-tax (SKAT self-service facilities) using your NemID.

- TastSelv) at skat.dk/english (click 'Log on' in the top right corner).

Your employer automatically receives your tax information directly from SKAT in order to be able to calculate how much of your pay must be withheld for tax purposes.

lf you change/add information to your preliminary income assessment, the system automatically generates a new preliminary income assessment and a new tax card.

There are three types of tax cards.

Hovedkort/Primary tax card

The primary tax card shows your withholding rate and the deductions and allowances you are entitled to for the coming tax year. You should apply your primary tax card to where you earn the most money.

Bikort/Secondary tax card

The secondary tax card is used for your part time job or where you earn the least. This tax card only consists of your withholding rate. This means that you will be fully taxed on this income.

Frikort/Tax exemption card

lf you have a tax exemption card, you are not taxed on your pay as long as it does not exceed a certain amount corresponding to the value of your tax deductions and allowances. This amount is stated on your tax exemption card. lf your pay exceeds this amount, you will be fully taxed on the pay exceeding this amount.

What if I do not have a tax card

If you do not have a tax card, your employer must withhold 60% in tax.

Labour market contribution etc.

Please note that labour market contributions (8%) and the labour market supplementary pension fund contributions (a fixed amount pr. month) will be deducted from your pay, even though you have a tax exemption card. Please note that there is not such deduction from your SU, as SU is not defined as an working income, but as a social benefit.

For more information about tax and SKAT go to: http://skat.dk/getFile.aspx?ld=130346

SU is the Danish State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme. As an EU or EEA-citizen you can apply for SU for a fulltime study programme in Denmark. This is a short introduction to the conditions you must fulfil, and the things you need to know before you can apply for SU.

Job

You are required to work a minimum of 10-12 hours per week for a consecutive period of at least 10 weeks; i.e. a total minimum of 43 hours per month. There is no maximum as to how many hours you can work, but there is a limit to how much you can earn besides your SU. Currently (2019) this amount is DKK 13.375 per month (before taxes).

The SU Agency will do random checks to establish that you work enough hours and keep fulfilling the conditions, and it is your personal responsibility to inform them if you lose your job or do not work the required number of hours – or are other changes, fx. change of employer, new contract etc. Failing to do so may result in a demand for repayment of your SU.

The SU Agency may refuse to grant you SU if your hourly wage is too low, i.e. much below the normal minimum wages in Denmark, which is approx. DKK 110 per hour – or if your contract does not fulfill the  general conditions stated on su.dk/English

If you receive SU on the condition that you work in Denmark, please observe that when you are doing your unpaid internship, you cannot keep receiving SU unless you maintain your part time job besides the full-time internship. You have to inform the SU Agency when you start your internship in case you do not keep your part-time job.

You communicate with SU through your e-boks.

Application for SU is done through su.dk/minSU using your nemID.

Please read more about the different conditions for receiving SU as a non-Danish citizen on https://www.su.dk/english/su-as-a-foreign-citizen/ 

Please note that you only have to fulfill one of the conditions relevant for you in order to be qualified for the Danish SU grant. This can differ depending on your personal situation, prior attachment to Denmark etc.