Profile

Herdsmen and farm managers

Route status

Active as of 2026-06-29[2]

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Residency route facts

Identity

Identity
Official name (local)Fodermestre og driftsledere as of 2026-08-22[2]
Heading of the Danish-language edition of this route's own page on nyidanmark.dk, transcribed as published. The Aliens Act enumerates the grounds by section number and gives the permits no names of their own, so the authority's published Danish heading is the local name.
Official name (English)Herdsmen and farm managers as of 2026-06-29[2]
Legal basisUdlaendingeloven (Aliens Act), LBK nr 1183 of 25 September 2025, section 9 a(2)(9) as of 2026-06-29[2][5]
SIRI's scheme page cites no statutory section anywhere in its text. The identification is made from the consolidated Aliens Act's own wording: section 9 a(2) enumerates the employment and self-employment grounds as numbered items, and item 9 is a job in agriculture as a herdsman (fodermester) or farm manager (driftsleder) – which is this scheme's distinguishing condition as SIRI states it. Both sources are Tier-1 and describe the same rule; nothing is inferred from silence. The statutory wording and the scheme name are the same two occupations.
Instrument typeresidence permit as of 2026-06-29[2]

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial durationup to 4 years as of 2026-06-29[2][4]
A maximum of 4 years at a time, and never longer than the job contract. Entry buffer of 1 month before work starts where self-support is declared, 14 days if not.
RenewableYes as of 2026-06-29[2][4]
Renewal durationup to 4 years as of 2026-06-29[2]
The 4-year maximum is stated 'at a time', so it governs extensions as well as the first grant.
Work rightsown activity only as of 2026-06-29[2]
Only the named job and workplace. Sideline employment needs a separate permit. Unpaid voluntary work is allowed. No right to work in other Schengen states.

Permanent residence and citizenship

Permanent residence and citizenship
Counts toward permanent residenceYes as of 2026-07-07[2][5][6]
Permanent residence requires eight years' uninterrupted legal residence held throughout on a permit under Aliens Act sections 7-9 f, 9 i-9 n, 9 p or 9 q (1) or (2), which the Immigration Service enumerates on its permanent-residence page. This route's permit is granted under section 9 a, which falls inside that range, so time on it counts. Whether the holder also meets the separate employment and supplementary conditions is a question about the individual, not about the route.

Requirements

Requirements
Job offer requiredYes as of 2026-06-29[2]
As a general rule an employment agreement with a company registered in Denmark.
Salary threshold
    • Measured against: collective agreement
    • Amount: DKK 35,705.18 as of 2026-06-29[2]
      DKK 35,705.18 from 1 June 2026 for a herdsman. SIRI publishes no period for the figure – neither monthly nor annual is stated on the page – so no 'per' is recorded rather than one being assumed; on its face the figure is a monthly salary, but the record does not say so. The basis is stated: it is an indicative level applying whether or not the employment is covered by a collective agreement, determined from Regional Labour Market Council registrations and based on the salary increase stipulated in the collective agreement for skilled agricultural workers. There is no indicative level for farm managers – their salary is determined individually but must in total exceed a herdsman's. Fritvalgskonto payments and employer-paid pension count towards the total.
Labour-market testNo as of 2026-06-29[2][5]
None. SIRI asks a Regional Labour Market Council for an assessment only where stipulations in the employment contract other than salary indicate a need.
Qualification requirementNot established from a qualifying source[2]
Employer sponsorshipYes as of 2026-06-29[2]
AR1 or AR6.
Job-search routeNo as of 2026-06-29[2][3]
Not a job-search route; SIRI's overview table records no job-seeking entitlement for it.

Process

Process
Where to apply fromeither as of 2026-06-29[2][5]
Aliens Act section 9 a(5).
Observed processing time1 to 2 months as of 2026-06-29[2]
Fees
    • Kind: application
    • Amount: DKK 6,810 as of 2026-06-29[2]
    • Charged per: application
    • Paid by: applicant
    • Condition: Sole Tier-1 publisher (SIRI).

Physical presence

Physical presence
maximum consecutive absence6 months · to keep the permit as of 2026-06-29[2]
SIRI states the standard Danish lapse rule for this permit: the holder must not give up their Danish address or stay abroad for more than 6 successive months, and a breach makes the permit lapse. A dispensation can be applied for in advance. As on the internship scheme, SIRI states that a dispensation is granted only in exceptional cases, with critical illness in the nearest family as the example.

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be includedYes as of 2026-07-23[1][2]
Eligible relationsspouse, registered partner, unmarried partner, minor child as of 2026-07-23[1][2]
Spouse, registered or cohabiting partner, and children under 18 living at home. SIRI's accompanying-family page adds the conditions the scheme page does not state: the family member must live at the same address as the sponsor, a cohabiting partner needs 1.5-2 years of documented cohabitation, and one case order ID, one fee and one application form are required per family member. SIRI's accompanying-family page carried a live notice at the time of research that certain applications as accompanying family to herdsmen and farm managers are suspended.
Family members' work rightsfull as of 2026-07-23[1]

Your next step

Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.

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Verification

Verification
Sources cited6
of which official (tier 1)6
Oldest as-of date2026-06-29
Newest as-of date2026-08-22
Reviewed on2026-08-22
Schema version1.1

Sources

  1. [1] Accompanying family member to an employee
    Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-23 · Accessed 2026-08-20 · Archived copy
  2. [2] Herdsmen and farm managers
    Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-29 · Accessed 2026-08-20
  3. [3] Job seeking permit
    Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-18 · Accessed 2026-08-20
  4. [4] Work schemes in SIRI – an overview
    Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-01-06 · Accessed 2026-08-20
  5. [5] Bekendtgoerelse af udlaendingeloven (Aliens Act, consolidated), LBK nr 1183 af 25/09/2025
    Udlaendinge- og Integrationsministeriet / Retsinformation · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2025-09-25 · Accessed 2026-08-22
  6. [6] Apply for a permanent residence permit
    The Danish Immigration Service · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-07 · Accessed 2026-08-19

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