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KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in January 2022

The Local Denmark
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KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in January 2022
Påskeliljeskud i Kongens Have, København, tirsdag den 21. januar 2020.. (Foto: Ida Guldbæk Arentsen/Ritzau Scanpix)

Here's what changes in Denmark in January and how it could affect you.

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Covid-19 restrictions could end or be extended

The restrictions currently in place to limit the spread of Covid-19 in Denmark, including rules requiring a test for travellers arriving in Denmark, are scheduled to expire on January 17th.

Cinemas, theatres, concert halls and museums are among attractions currently closed. A coronapas (Covid-19 health pass) is required at bars, restaurants, cafes, gyms and events of a certain size.

Face masks must be worn at stores and other businesses and cultural locations with public access as well as on public transport.

An assessment will be made by January 5th as to whether it will be necessary to keep the measures in place beyond January 17th.

Schools return on January 5th

Schools are scheduled to return from the Christmas break on January 5th, having switched to online classes just before the end of the autumn term in response to high Covid-19 infection rates.

There are no current plans to change this despite continued high infection numbers during the Christmas holidays, schools minister Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil told newspaper Jyllands-Posten in late December.

A return on January 5th “remains the decision we are looking at,” Rosenkrantz-Theil said.

The minister did however not that there were no “set in stone” guarantees on whether the plan could be changed.

READ ALSO: Denmark has ‘no plans’ to delay return to schools despite Covid-19 cases

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British nationals resident in Denmark encompassed by new rules

British nationals who moved to Denmark under the pre-Brexit EU rules for free movement have applied during 2021 for continued residence status and a new residence document, which takes the form of a photo ID card. The deadline for applications is December 31st this year so if you haven’t submitted an application yet, now is definitely the time to do it.

READ ALSO: Brexit: How UK residents of Denmark can document status for travel without new ID card

According to Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI), “applications submitted after 31st December 2021 will only be processed if there is a reasonable reason why the application has been submitted after the deadline”.

People who moved to Denmark from the UK after December 31st 2020 and do not have residency rights under the EU rules formerly applicable to Britons must apply for residency status as third-country nationals, SIRI notes on its Brexit FAQs page.

Ryanair to operate fewer Danish routes 

Ryanair is to considerably reduce its services out of Danish airports during much of January. The spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and new travel restrictions are reported to be behind the airline’s decision to reduce services.

The low-cost operator will pause 28 of its 59 Danish routes during the month. The suspensions will apply for three weeks from January 10th.

Flights out of Copenhagen, Billund, Aalborg and Aarhus airports will all be affected.

We have more detail on the affected flights in this article.

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New right wing party leader

The anti-immigration Danish People’s Party is set to choose a new leader early in the new year. Current long-serving chairperson Kristian Thulesen Dahl said he would step down after the party was trounced in November’s local elections, paving the way for a new front figure to be selected at a party congress in January.

The party publicly courted former immigration minister Inger Støjberg, who left the Liberal party to become an independent early in 2021. But Støjberg has now been removed from parliament after she was given a 60-day prison sentence, which probably rules her out of contention.

The current deputy leader, Morten Messerschmidt, is a frontrunner after a conviction against him in an unrelated case was quashed, though he must now go through a retrial. Martin Henriksen, a hardliner who lost his seat in the 2019 election, recently threw his hat into the ring.

Taxi drivers to face language requirement under new law

Taxi drivers will be required by law to speak Danish under an amendment to the country’s legislation passed earlier in 2021.

January 1st sees the Taxi Law (Taxiloven) changed to include a language requirement. Under new rules, documentation of Danish language skills will be required for entry onto the national taxi driver’s licensing course.

READ ALSO: What changes about life in Denmark in 2022?

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