Denmark Visa Information

Learn4good provides general information on study, travel, work visa and business visa requirements and the addresses of embassies worldwide. You should contact your local embassy or consulate for the most up-to-date information or visa forms.

Who requires a visa?
If you wish to visit Denmark for a short period of time, you must obtain a visa prior to entry if you come from a country with a visa requirement for entering Denmark. A visa is only intended to allow a foreign national to visit Denmark and/or the other Schengen countries for a limited period of time. If you wish to reside in Denmark for an extended period of time, you need to apply for a residence permit. If the immigration authorities suspect that you intend to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country without legal grounds, your visa application will be turned down. This applies for instance if you are applying for a residence permit and visa at the same time, or if you have a residence permit application pending with the Immigration Service.

If you are a citizen of one of the following countries, you do not need a visa in order to enter Denmark:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Albania**** (Only citizens with biometric passports are exempt from the visa requirement. Biometric passports have been issued since May 2010), Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina**** (Only citizens with biometric passports are exempt from the visa requirement. Biometric passports have been issued since 15 October 2009), Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (FYROM) (Only citizens with biometric passports are exempt from the visa requirement), Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova**** (Only citizens with biometric passports are exempt from the visa requirement. Biometric passports have been issued since 1 January 2011), Monaco, Montenegro**** (Only citizens with biometric passports are exempt from the visa requirement), Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Northern Marianas, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Serbia**** (Only citizens with biometric passports are exempt from the visa requirement. This does not apply to persons with passports issued by the Serbian Coordination directorate Koordinaciona uprava), Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan (Only citizens with a passport issued by Taiwan which contains an identity card number are exempt from the visa requirement. The same applies to citizens with old Taiwanese passports with "Republic of China" on the front page, if the stated place of birth is Taiwan and the passport contains an identity card number), United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Venezuela.

* Citizens with diplomatic and service passports are exempt from the visa requirement.
** Citizens with a "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" passport, a "Região Administrativa Especial de Macau" passport or a "British National Overseas" passport are exempt from the visa requirement.
*** Citizens with diplomatic, special and service passports are exempt from the visa requirement.
**** Citizens with diplomatic passports are exempt from the visa requirement.
***** Citizens with diplomatic and service passports and "official passports" are exempt from the visa requirement.
The passport and visa promulgation lists the countries whose citizens can travel visa-free, provided they hold certain documentation. For example, holders of a valid convention passport for refugees are not required to obtain a visa if the travel document was issued by an EU or Schengen country, and if the holder is a legal resident of the country that issued the travel document.

General conditions for granting a visa

• Your passport or other form of valid travel document must be valid for three months past the visa expiration date. Moreover, the passport or travel document must have been issued within the past 10 years.
• You must have the necessary means to pay for your stay and return trip. What will be considered as necessary funds will be determined by the Danish diplomatic mission and depends on the length of your stay, and whether you will stay at a hotel or with friends or family. As a general rule, you must have at your disposal approx. DKK 350 per day. A smaller amount may be accepted if you are staying in a private home and your host will cover all costs. If you are staying at a hotel, the amount must be greater, approx. DKK 500 per day.
• You must hold a travel insurance policy to cover possible expenses in connection with a return for health reasons or death, indispensable medical treatment or acute hospitalisation during your stay. The insurance policy must cover all Schengen countries, and the minimum policy coverage is €30,000. The insurance policy must be valid for the same period as the visa. The validity of the visa may be shortened if the insurance policy does not cover the entire period.
• You may not be registered as an undesirable in the Schengen Information System (SIS).You may not have been deported from Denmark and given an entry ban.
• You may not be listed on UN or EU sanction lists.

Tips for the applicant

• Bring the invitation from your Danish host, either in the form of a printed invitation or an invitation ID, if the host submitted an online invitation
• Bring proof that you have travel insurance covering the entire Schengen area which is valid for the expected duration of your stay. The minimum coverage must be 30,000 €
• Bring a valid passport or other form of travel document
• Check the embassy's website to find out whether there are any country-specific requirements, and which documentation you need to bring

Time required to issue visa:
The overwhelming majority of visa applications are processed and decided on by Danish diplomatic missions abroad. These cases will usually be decided within a few days. Some cases, however, may take 10-12 days. Decisions about visa applications must normally be made within 15 days. In some cases applications will require further enquiry. Other applications will take longer time to process because they have been submitted at a third country's diplomatic mission. In these situations, the maximum processing time is 30 days. In some cases further documentation is required. In these cases the processing time can be up to 60 days.

What does a visa entitle you to?
A visa normally grants you the right to stay in the entire Schengen region. The Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.A visa grants you the right to spend a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen region.

How to appeal a rejected visa:
If the Immigration Service turns down an application for a visa, the applicant, the reference residing in Denmark, or another party in the visa case can appeal the case to the Ministry of Justice. The appeal must include the case number, full name of the applicant, nationality and date the ruling was given. Any complaints regarding the conduct of a Danish diplomatic mission can be made to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Complaints regarding another country’s diplomatic mission should be submitted to that country’s foreign ministry. You cannot file a complaint about the rejection of a visa application by a Danish diplomatic mission.

How long is the visa valid for?
A visa allows you to stay a maximum of 90 days per 6 months in Denmark.
A visa normally grants you the right to stay in the entire Schengen region. The Schengen countries are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
If you are a citizen of a country with no visa requirement to enter Denmark, you can also stay in the Schengen region for a maximum of 90 days per 6 months.
The six-month period is calculated from the date of first entry into the Schengen region. Both the entire day of the date of entry and the entire day of the date of exit are included in the number of days you have stayed in the Schengen region – regardless of the time of day the entry or exit took place.
The date of ‘first entry’ is:

• - the date on which you entered the Schengen region for the first time, and subsequently
• – the date of any subsequent entry into the Schengen region which takes place after the expiration of a six-month period.

Example of ‘first entry’
If you arrive for the first time in Denmark or another Schengen country on 1 February 2008, you can stay in the Schengen region for a period of three months (90 days) within the six-month period which ends on 31 July 2008.
If you return again on 1 October 2008 – i.e. more than six months after your very first entry into the Schengen region – this date will constitute a new ‘first entry’. Therefore, 1 October 2008 constitutes the beginning of a new six-month period during which you can stay in the Schengen region for a period of up to three months.
If you arrive again on 1 June 2009, it will be this date which constitutes the next date of ‘first entry’, and so on.

Residence permit from another Schengen country
If you are a citizen of a country with a visa requirement to enter Denmark, and you hold a residence permit issued by another Schengen country, you do not necessarily need to apply for a visa in order to enter Denmark. In most cases, your residence permit in the other Schengen country will allow you to enter Denmark without a visa.
Please note that it is your own responsibility to know how long your visa allows you to stay in Denmark.

Other information:
Denmark is very keen to attract foreign students to the country.
If you would like to study at a college of further education etc. in Denmark, you must have been granted a residence permit before your arrival in Denmark. To be granted a residence permit, you must be able to document:

• - That you have been enrolled on a course of further education which is approved by a state authority or which is offered by a state-approved educational institution.
• – That you can support yourself during your stay, or that you have paid tuition fees.
• – That you can speak and understand the language used to teach the course, and that you can speak and understand Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, English or German at a reasonable level.

Basically, as a foreign student, you can obtain a residence permit while you complete your studies/training in Denmark and for participating in part of the education/training as a guest student.
If you complete a higher educational programme in Denmark, you can also remain in the country for six months after you have finished your education/training in order to look for work. You will also be granted a permit to work 15 hours a week alongside your studies as well as for full-time work in June, July and August.

Disclaimer: The contents of these pages are provided as an information guide only, in good faith. The use of this website is at the viewer/user's sole risk. While every effort is made in presenting up-to-date and accurate information, no responsibility or liability is accepted by the owners to this website for any errors, omissions, outdated or misleading information on these pages or any site to which these pages connect or are linked.

Source & Copyright: The source of the above visa and immigration information and copyright owner/s is the:
- Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs - URL: www.um.dk
- Danish Immigration Service- URL: www.nyidanmark.dk

The viewer/user of this web page should use the above information as a guideline only, and should always contact the above sources or the user's own government representatives for the most up-to-date information at that moment in time, before making a final decision to travel to that country or destination.