Researchers
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Forskere 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. |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Researchers as of 2026-06-26[3] |
| Legal basis | Udlaendingeloven (Aliens Act), LBK nr 1183 of 25 September 2025, section 9 a(2)(4); job-seeking permit section 9 a(12) as of 2026-06-26[3][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 4 is a job as a researcher at a Danish university or company – 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. |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-06-26[3] |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 4 years as of 2026-06-26[3][4] |
|---|---|
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-06-26[3][4] |
| Renewal duration | Not established from a qualifying source[3] No extension length published. |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2026-06-26[3][4] Tied to the position, but the loosest of the employer-tied schemes: the holder may change position within the same university or company – a promotion or a new research project – without a new work permit, may take sideline employment without a separate work permit, and may do external-examiner work at another university. A change of workplace still needs a new permit. Part-time employment is permitted. Unpaid voluntary work is allowed. No right to work in other Schengen states. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-07-07[3][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
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-06-26[3] A paid position at a research institute or company in Denmark, with a contract or job offer attached. |
|---|---|
| Salary threshold |
|
| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-06-26[3][5] Section 9 a(2)(4) imposes no advertising or vacancy condition. What it does require is that there be particular research-related reasons for offering the position and that the position be closely linked to the individual, which is a test of the post rather than of the market. |
| Qualification requirement | Not established from a qualifying source[3] |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2026-06-26[3] AR1 or AR6. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2026-06-26[2][3] Not a job-search route. A holder who becomes unemployed through no fault of their own may apply for a further 6 months to look for work, no later than two days after the employment ends; no work is allowed during it. |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-06-26[3][5] Aliens Act section 9 a(5). |
|---|---|
| Observed processing time | 1 to 2 months as of 2026-06-26[3] |
| Fees |
|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-07-23[1][3] |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, unmarried partner, minor child as of 2026-07-23[1][3] 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. Family members of a researcher are exempt from the lapse rules on the same terms as the principal. |
| Family members' work rights | full 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.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
- A 30-minute call with our consultant, who reads your profile first.
- An offer for legal support built around your case, covering the whole process.
Verification
| Sources cited | 6 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 6 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-06-26 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-22 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-22 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [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] Job seeking permit
Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-18 · Accessed 2026-08-20 - [3] Researchers
Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-26 · Accessed 2026-08-20 · Archived copy - [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] 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] Apply for a permanent residence permit
The Danish Immigration Service · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-07 · Accessed 2026-08-19