DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Lise Lauridsen and Sandro Ratkovic, Bech-Bruun
4. Foreign Workers 4.1 Limitations on Foreign Workers EU/EEA, Nordic Nationals
However, employees who are granted a work and residence permit under the so-called Positive List, are only allowed to work in the job to which they have been granted a permit. A work and residence permit allows the employee to stay in Denmark for the period that the permit is valid. In addition, a permit allows the employee to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within the latest 180-day period. The permit, however, does not allow the employee to work in other Schengen countries. The Danish Immigration Authorities may at any time revoke or refuse to extend a work and residence per - mit if the legal grounds on which it was issued have changed – for example, if the individual from a third country has been terminated from employment, or if the work and residence permit was obtained through fraud or the like. Employees, who change jobs while staying in Den - mark, must apply for a new work and residence per - mit and must be submitted to the Danish Immigra - tion Authorities before commencing work for the new employer. However, in some situations – according to “the job change rule” – the individual from a third country, who changes from one job in Denmark to another job in Denmark, may commence the new job upon submission of an application for a new work and residence permit based on the employment with the new employer. Consequently, the individual may commence work for the new employer before the pro - cessing of the application has been completed by the Danish Immigration Authorities. A valid work and residence permit will usually lapse if the individual from a third country leaves Denmark for an extended period or is no longer residing in Den - mark. If the employee needs to stay abroad for an extended period, for example, if the person is sta - tioned abroad for a period, the employee may apply for a dispensation to prevent the permit from lapsing. However, with a work and residence permit based on the so-called Fast-Track scheme, the employee is exempted from these rules that can cause the permit to lapse and, accordingly, the employee is allowed to give up the Danish address if the person stays abroad for a period.
Individuals from other Nordic countries (Finland, Ice - land, Norway, and Sweden) are free to reside and work in Denmark pursuant to an Intra-Nordic Agreement. Individuals from EU member states, the EEA and Swit - zerland are also free to reside and work in Denmark pursuant to EU rules on freedom of movement of per - sons and services. Such individuals performing work in Denmark, are obligated to apply for an EU residence document within the first three months of the stay in Denmark if the individual expects or intends to stay in Denmark for more than three months. These individuals are also obligated to register with the Danish authorities if the individual expects or intends to stay in Denmark for more than six months. The above individuals cannot and should not apply for a Danish work and residence permit. Third-Country Nationals For an individual from a third country to be eligible for working and residing in Denmark, he or she must apply for a Danish work and residence permit through the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (in Danish: “ Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration ”). Various special business schemes have been designed to make it easier for highly qualified and/ or skilled employees to obtain a work and residence permit in Denmark. When working with these special schemes, it is essential that the individual from a third country (ie, the employee) obtains the Danish work and residence permit before commencing any work in Denmark. With a Danish work and residence permit, the employ - ee’s job profile may change within the same company which does not require the company to apply for a new work permit. The salary and employment condi - tions must still correspond to the Danish standards.
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