Job seeking residence permit after a completed educational programme
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Jobsøgningsophold på 3 år efter afsluttet uddannelse 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. |
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| Official name (English) | Job seeking residence permit after a completed educational programme as of 2026-06-26[2][3] SIRI titles the two variants separately – 'Job seeking residence permit for 3 years after a completed educational programme' and the 6-month equivalent. They are one instrument at two lengths, distinguished by which programme the applicant completed. |
| Legal basis | Udlaendingeloven (Aliens Act), LBK nr 1183 of 25 September 2025, section 9 i(18) as of 2026-06-26[2][6] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-06-26[2] |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 3 years as of 2026-06-26[2][3] Up to 3 years for a completed Danish professional bachelor's, bachelor's, master's or PhD programme approved by a state authority. 6 months instead for holders under the Educational Attachment Scheme or the Change of Education Scheme, for Danish Business Academy (AP) programmes, for a master's degree programme for working professionals, and for students in a non-state-approved higher programme who applied for their study permit before 2 May 2025. The one-sided bounds form is used because SIRI's own title says 'for 3 years' while its body says 'up to 3 years'. |
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| Renewable | No as of 2026-06-18[4] SIRI states the ceiling in terms: a residence permit for job seeking cannot be extended beyond 6 months or 3 years respectively. |
| Maximum total duration | up to 3 years as of 2026-06-18[4] |
| Work rights | hours capped as of 2026-06-26[2][3] Up to 90 hours per month during the normal period of study from September to May, and full time in June, July and August, calculated per calendar month. For more than that the holder applies for a work permit without limitations (fee DKK 840, form ST7), which then allows self-employment or work for any employer, with no new permit needed on changing or adding employers, and which is automatically extended with a 3-year job-seeking extension. That permit is available only for state-approved programmes: SIRI states expressly that a holder of an Academy Profession degree, or of a higher programme carrying only an advisory statement from the Danish Evaluation Institute, cannot apply for it. Note the contrast with the job-seeking permit granted after losing a job under a work scheme, which carries the same name and allows no work at all. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
Requirements
| Job offer required | No as of 2026-06-26[2] The permit exists to look for one. |
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| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-06-26[2] None. |
| Qualification requirement | degree as of 2026-06-26[2] A completed Danish professional bachelor's, bachelor's, master's or PhD programme approved by a state authority for the 3-year variant; the 6-month variant reaches Academy Profession programmes and programmes carrying only an advisory statement from the Danish Evaluation Institute. |
| Employer sponsorship | No as of 2026-06-26[2] |
| Own means requirement | Not established from a qualifying source[2] |
| Job-search route | Yes as of 2026-06-26[2][3] The only route in this record for which the flag is true. It is a standalone job-search instrument in its own right, per the v1.0 redefinition of the field, not a sub-feature of the study permit it follows – though SIRI normally grants it automatically alongside that permit. |
Process
| Where to apply from | in-country only as of 2026-06-26[2][3] The applicant is by definition already in Denmark on a study permit. In most cases no application is needed at all: SIRI grants the 3-year job-seeking period automatically alongside the study permit where the passport's validity allows. An application is required only where the permit was shortened by the passport, where only 6 months were granted, or where the programme was completed after the prescribed period of study – and then no earlier than 4 months before expiry and with less than 4 months left. |
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| Observed processing time | 3 to 4 months as of 2026-06-26[2][3] |
| Fees |
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Physical presence
| maximum consecutive absence | 6 months · to keep the permit as of 2026-06-26[2] The ordinary rule applies – no giving up the Danish address, no stay abroad beyond 6 consecutive months – with an express carve-out SIRI states on this page: a permit held as a PhD student or as a student on an Erasmus Mundus, Erasmus+ or Nordic Master programme does not lapse even if the holder gives up their Danish address or stays abroad longer. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-06-29[1][2] Accompanying family already in Denmark may extend for the job-seeking period, on payment of the fee. |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, unmarried partner, minor child as of 2026-06-26[2] SIRI's job-seeking pages name a spouse or cohabiting partner and children under 18 living at home. A registered partner is named on the accompanying-family pages but not on these two, so the relation is not carried across. |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2026-06-29[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.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 7 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 7 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-06-18 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-22 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-22 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Accompanying family members to students, PhDs and persons having or applying for a residence permit to obtain a Danish authorisation
Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-29 · Accessed 2026-08-20 - [2] Job seeking residence permit for 3 years after a completed educational programme
Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-26 · Accessed 2026-08-20 - [3] Job seeking residence permit for 6 months after a completed educational programme
Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-26 · Accessed 2026-08-20 - [4] Job seeking permit
Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-18 · Accessed 2026-08-20 - [5] Work permit during the job seeking period
Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-26 · Accessed 2026-08-20 - [6] 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 - [7] Apply for a permanent residence permit
The Danish Immigration Service · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-07 · Accessed 2026-08-19