Denmark job-seeking residence permit for up to three years after graduating 2026

A student residence permit in Denmark can be followed by a job-seeking residence permit for up to three years after the studies are completed. It is open to people who hold a residence permit as a student in a Danish professional bachelor, bachelor, master or PhD programme and have completed it, provided that the programme is approved by a state authority. Students in a master's programme for working professionals are eligible only for a shorter job-seeking period, and the same shorter permit applies when a programme has an advisory statement from the Danish Evaluation Institute or the Accreditation Council secretariat instead of a state approval.

In most cases the three-year job-seeking period is granted automatically together with the study permit when the validity of the passport allows it. An application is therefore needed only if the study permit was shortened because of the passport's expiry date, if a shorter job-seeking period was granted, or if the programme was completed after the prescribed period of study. An extension can be requested no earlier than four months before the permit expires.

The permit allows the holder to reside in Denmark and comes with a limited work permit that caps the hours worked during the study months and allows full-time work in June, July and August. The holder must not give up the Danish address or stay abroad for more than six consecutive months, although PhD students and students of Erasmus Mundus, Erasmus+ or Nordic Master programmes are exempt from that rule. When a job requires more hours, the holder can apply for a work permit without limitations, which is available only after a state-approved programme, or for a residence and work permit based on the job offer, and may start working while that application is processed. The permit does not give the right to work in other Schengen countries.

There is no application window; applications can be submitted whenever the conditions are met.