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These are Denmark’s entry rules for negative Covid-19 tests

The Local Denmark
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These are Denmark’s entry rules for negative Covid-19 tests
Photo: Niels Christian Vilmann/Ritzau Scanpix

Denmark requires people travelling to the country to provide a recent, negative Covid-19 test, but exact rules vary depending on where and how you arrive. Here are the rules in detail.

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Foreign nationals who are not resident in Denmark and, in some cases, Danish residents and Danish citizens, must show a recent, negative Covid-19 test in order to be able to travel to the country.

The rules came into effect on January 9th and are currently scheduled to expire on January 17th but are widely expected to be extended.

People with clear symptoms, such as fever and a dry cough, will be denied entry to Denmark.

The following rules now apply for:

Foreign nationals who live in Denmark

Foreign nationals who live in Denmark (and people who have valid residence permits) are subject to the same rules as Danish citizens. That means:

  • Entry into Denmark permitted without a valid reason or proof of negative Covid-19 test,
  • However, everyone travelling to Denmark by air must provide a negative Covid-19 test no more than 24 hours old when boarding flights.

It should be noted that the foreign ministry has now issued an exception to the flight ban allowing people who have been recently infected with Covid-19 to board flights if they document a positive Covid-19 test between two and eight weeks old.

Foreign nationals who live in regions bordering Denmark

Non-Danish nationals who live in regions of Sweden and Germany which border Denmark can travel to Denmark with a negative Covid-19 test up to one week old, provided they have a ‘valid’ reason for travel.

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‘Valid’ reasons for entering the country can be related to work, business, study or private matters. They are detailed in full (in English) on the police website. Without a valid reason for travel, a negative Covid-19 test no more than 24 hours old must be provided.

The border regions affected are Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) and Skåne, Halland, Västra Götaland and Blekinge (Sweden).

Foreign nationals who do not live in Denmark or bordering regions

All foreign nationals (apart from residents of the UK and South Africa, see below) who do not come under the previous two categories must present a negative Covid-19 test no more than 24 hours old.

Residents of the United Kingdom and South Africa

Non-Danes who live in the UK and South Africa are essentially banned from entering Denmark at the current time, due to concerns over more infectious variants of Covid-19 found in those countries.

Some exemptions can apply, provided a negative Covid-19 test no more than 24 hours old can be presented. These exemptions are not the same as the ‘valid reasons’ for travel which can apply in other cases (see above). The exemptions for travel from the UK and South Africa can be found here and include:

  • Primary carers for children under the age of consent
  • Family or partners to seriously ill or dying persons in Denmark
  • Inward travel for the purpose of goods transport

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Anonymous 2021/02/05 19:42
I have the same question...how can you provide a test result equal to or less than 24 hours ago, when a person usually doesn’t get results within that timeframe? I’m traveling from the US on an overnight flight and may not get test results before I get on the plane.
Anonymous 2021/01/14 12:31
What I am wondering is, how can you provide a test taken less than 24 hours ago, when you usually don't get results in that timeframe? For the last test I took at an official testing station in Denmark, I did not receive the result until ~36 hours later.

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