The Pay Limit Scheme

Conditions you must meet

• Annual salary must meet the pay limit — DKK 552,000 for 2026DKK 552,000 minimum annual salaryThe single defining condition of the scheme, with the year it applies to and the date it is re-set.

  You must have been offered a job with an annual salary that meets, at least, the minimum amount. The minimum amount for 2026 is DKK 552,000. The minimum amount is regulated every year on 1 January.

• Only three salary components count towards the pay limitThe admissible components, quoted with the sentence that scopes them.

  When assessing whether the salary that you have been offered meets, at least, the minimum amount, only the following salary components can be taken into account: Salary in the form of liquid assets, including fixed supplements which are, therefore, guaranteed salary Payments to labour market pension schemes, including the pension contributions paid by both the employer and the applicant Paid holiday allowance

• Canteen, car, phone, internet and housing do NOT count towards the pay limitThe exclusion that decides borderline cases. Without it the threshold reads as reachable by adding benefits.

  Your employer might offer you, as a supplement to your salary, benefits such as paid canteen, free use of car, paid phone, paid internet and paid living and housing expenses. Note that these salary components cannot be taken into account when assessing whether your salary meets the minimum amount.

• Unpaid holiday does not lower the threshold, and holiday allowance counts in the year it is paidTwo timing rules on the same figure, quoted together because the authority states them together.

  Your annual salary must meet, at least, the minimum amount even if you take holiday without pay. If you earn holiday allowance, which can only be paid to you in the following year, it cannot count towards the annual salary for the year in which you have earned it. Moreover, it is only holiday allowance paid by the employer whom you are currently allowed to work for, that can be counted as part of your salary.

• Salary must be paid into a Danish bank account in your own nameThe account must be in the applicant's own name at a bank legally operating in Denmark.

  Your salary must be paid into a Danish bank account in your own name, and the bank has to be operating legally in Denmark.

• The Danish bank account must be opened within 180 daysAll three cases in one sentence: granted abroad, entering after grant, and already holding a permit valid 180 days or more.

  Your Danish bank account must be opened within 180 days of your residence and work permit being granted. If you enter Denmark after you have been granted a residence and work permit, you must open a Danish bank account within 180 days from your entry into Denmark. If you already hold a Danish residence permit that is valid for at least 180 days, your salary must be paid into your Danish bank account from your first salary payment.

• The offered salary must correspond to Danish standardsA second, separate salary test: meeting the pay limit does not satisfy it.

  The salary that you have been offered must not be inferior to the standards within the professional field in which you are going to work.

• Terms of employment must correspond to Danish standardsHoliday entitlement and notice periods, assessed by the regional labour market councils where SIRI is in doubt.

  Your terms of employment, such as your holiday entitlements, terms of notice, etc. must not be inferior to the standards within the professional field in which you are going to work.

• Working hours must be at least 30 hours a weekA part-time job at the full salary does not qualify.

  It is a requirement that your working hours are at least 30 hours a week.

• The job must not be encompassed by a legal labour conflictQuoted whole, because the same sentence carries the exception for other jobs at an affected employer.

  It is not possible to be granted a residence and work permit for a job encompassed by a legal labour conflict. It is, however, possible to be granted a permit for other jobs in a company or institution involved in a legal conflict, if the jobs, according to the applicable agreements between the labour market parties, are not encompassed by the conflict.

• A Danish authorisation is required for regulated professionsApplies before the permit can be granted, not after arrival.

  In some cases, before you can be granted a residence and work permit, it is required that you have a Danish authorisation or a temporary authorisation for employment for adaption and training purposes.

• An accompanying family member must not have had a permit revoked more than once for lacking a work permitA condition on the MAIN applicant's permit that depends on a family member's history, which is easy to miss.

  One of the conditions for a residence permit under the Pay Limit Scheme is that your spouse, cohabiting partner, children or, in certain circumstances, other family members holding a residence permit as accompanying family members, have not had their residence permit revoked more than once due to lack of a required work permit.

• You are not allowed to work during the job-seeking periodThe rule that most contradicts what the permit's name suggests.

  You are not allowed to work during your job seeking period.

• A residence permit can only be valid until 3 months before the passport expiresA short passport silently shortens the permit.

  A residence permit can only be valid until 3 months before the expiry date of your passport.

• Apply for a job-seeking permit no later than two days after employment endsThe shortest deadline on the page, and the one a reader is most likely to learn too late.

  You must apply for a job seeking permit no later than two days after your employment ends.

• Losing the job revokes the permitStated plainly by the authority; the six-month job-seeking permit is the remedy, not an automatic continuation.

  You must inform SIRI if you lose your job. Your residence and work permit will be revoked as it is based on this exact job.

• You must support yourself and may not receive benefits under the Active Social Policy Act

  You must be able to support yourself and your family during your stay. You are not allowed to receive benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act, e.g. social security benefits.

• Giving up your Danish address or staying abroad over 6 successive months lapses the permit

  You must not give up your Danish address or stay abroad for longer than 6 successive months. A violation will result in the lapse of your permit. This means that you will lose your right to stay in Denmark.

• The permit does not allow work in other Schengen countries

  In addition, a permit allows you to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within the latest 180 days period. The permit, however, does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

• A sideline job requires a separate permit

  If you wish to take a sideline job, you have to obtain a separate permit.

• As a general rule the employer must be a company registered in DenmarkQuoted with the exception the authority states in the same sentence.

  As a general rule, you must have an employment agreement with a company registered in Denmark to be able to apply. However, there are certain exceptions, e.g. if you work for a foreign company that provides services in Denmark.

Government fees

• Processing feeDKK 6,810Payable before the application is submitted, to cover SIRI's case processing.

  Processing fee DKK 6,810,-

Also stated by the authority

Not requirements in themselves. These are alternatives, exemptions, rights and warnings the authority publishes alongside the requirements — quoted here because they can change what applies to you.

• No educational background or professional field is requiredWhat distinguishes this scheme from the Positive Lists, stated by the authority rather than inferred from their absence.

  It is not required that you have a specific educational background or that your job is within a specific professional field.

• Normal processing time, and the longer time if information is missingBoth figures quoted together, because the one-month figure alone reads as a commitment.

  Normal processing time 1 month If further information is needed, the processing time can be up to 3 months

• One month before starting work — but only if you declare you can support yourselfFourteen days without the declaration. The consequence sits in the same sentence as the condition.

  If you apply from abroad, you can be granted a residence permit valid for 1 month before you start working. It will give you the time to settle in Denmark. When you apply, you must declare that you can support yourself and any accompanying family members during this time. If you do not declare this, your residence permit will be valid for 14 days before you start working.

• Four-year permit where the employment is four years or longer

  If your employment is for a period of 4 years or more, you will normally be granted a permit valid for 4 years. If you wish to continue to work after the first 4 years, you must apply for an extension of your residence and work permit based on the extension of your employment.

• Shorter employment gives a permit for its duration, plus an automatic 6-month job-seeking permit

  If you are employed for a shorter period than 4 years, your residence and work permit will normally be valid for the period of your employment. If you wish to continue working in Denmark after this time, you must apply for an extension of your residence and work permit. In addition, you will automatically be granted a 6 month job seeking permit allowing you to look for a new job in Denmark.