PhD studies (full degree)
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Ph.d.-uddannelse (full-degree) as of 2026-08-22[3] 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) | PhD studies (full degree) as of 2026-06-30[3] |
| Legal basis | Udlaendingeloven (Aliens Act), LBK nr 1183 of 25 September 2025, section 9 i(2) as of 2026-06-30[3][4] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-06-30[3] |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | Not applicable[3] The standard (nominal) duration of the PhD programme, provided the holder participates actively. No number: the term is the programme's. |
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| How the initial term is set | length of the programme |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-06-30[3] |
| Renewal duration | up to 2 years as of 2026-06-30[3] Extension depends on which of the two flexible-PhD routes was used. Applying once for a full 4-year or 5-year programme (the 3+5 or 4+4 models) allows extension by a maximum of 2 years. Applying twice – first for the master's, then for the PhD – allows 1 year on the master's permit and 2 on the PhD permit, up to 3 years in total. Changing programme requires a new permit. |
| Work rights | hours capped as of 2026-06-30[3] Full time at the enrolling university or an affiliated company, but only on work tasks forming part of the PhD programme and only while the holder studies; an unlimited right to work in addition to that employment where the work is naturally related to the PhD studies; and on top of both a limited permit for up to 90 hours per month from September to May and full time in June, July and August. Unpaid voluntary work is permitted. INTERNAL CONFLICT ON SIRI'S OWN PAGE, recorded rather than resolved: the work section states the limited permit is also valid during the 3-year job-seeking period, while the duration section states the job-seeking period gives 20 hours per week and full time in June, July and August. 90 hours a month and 20 hours a week are not the same rule and both appear on the same page. The record follows the 90-hours-per-month figure, which is what SIRI's job-seeking pages, its scheme-overview table and the higher-education page all state. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-07-07[3][5] The Immigration Service's permanent-residence page counts 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), and this permit is granted under section 9 i, inside that range – so the residence counts. Two qualifications the same page states: education, including internships and other work forming part of a programme, is expressly excluded from both the regular-employment and the employed limbs of the separate employment requirements; and no source retrieved states whether study time counts in full, in part or not at all towards the naturalisation clock, which the Ministry of Immigration and Integration administers separately. citizenship_counting_factor is therefore omitted rather than guessed. |
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Requirements
| Enrolment status required | enrolled as of 2026-06-30[3] Enrolment – not merely admission – in a full-time PhD programme at a Danish university. Two variants: enrolled with a salary from the university or an affiliated company, or enrolled without a salary. |
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| Means requirement | DKK 7,426 per month measured over 12 months as of 2026-06-30[3] For an unsalaried PhD student: DKK 7,426 (2026 level) for each month as a PhD student in Denmark, capped at 12 months, a maximum of DKK 89,112 (2026 level). Where the university or an affiliated company pays a salary, SIRI states that self-support is secured by the salary and no separate documentation is required. |
| Work-hours cap | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value[3] |
| Post-study route exists | Yes as of 2026-06-30[2][3] |
| Post-study permit duration | up to 3 years as of 2026-06-30[2][3] |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-06-30[3] Application PHD1, online only save in special circumstances, completed in two parts. A commuter applying for a work permit only needs no case order ID and pays no fee. |
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| Observed processing time | 1 to 2 months as of 2026-06-30[3] |
| Fees |
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Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-06-30[3] |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-06-30[1][3] |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, unmarried partner, minor child as of 2026-06-30[1][3] |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2026-06-29[1] |
| Additional means per family member |
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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
| Sources cited | 5 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 5 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-06-29 |
| 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] PhD studies (full degree)
Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-30 · Accessed 2026-08-20 - [4] 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 - [5] Apply for a permanent residence permit
The Danish Immigration Service · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-07 · Accessed 2026-08-19