KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in March 2022?

Covid-19 testing capacity to be reduced

All of Denmark’s rapid antigen Covid-19 test centres are to close by March 6th. The test centres, which have been phased out throughout February with more emphasis placed on home testing, will be decommissioned completely in the first week of March.

READ ALSO: Denmark to close Covid-19 rapid test centres by March

The capacity for PCR tests is also to be scaled down, the Danish Critical Supply Agency (Styrelsen for Forsyningssikkerhed) said on February 28th.

The decision to reduce PCR testing capacity was made in response to a reduction in demand after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted at the beginning of February. Fewer tests are being conducted daily than they were one month ago.

PCR test capacity will be reduced from 200,000 tests to 140,000 tests per day nationally, the agency said.

All restrictions on travel from EU and Schengen zone lifted

Travel to Denmark from any part of the EU and Schengen aone will no longer be subject to any restrictions from March 1st. That means no restrictions on any travellers from the EU, regardless of Covid-19 vaccination status.

Under outgoing restrictions, unvaccinated travellers were required to take a Covid-19 test within 24 hours of arrival in Denmark.

That no longer applies to people from the EU or Schengen area as of March 1st, though it will still apply to people travelling from outside those regions (unless vaccinated with an approved vaccine).

Russian aircraft banned from Danish airspace

Denmark has closed its airspace off to Russian aircraft in response to the latter country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, in a decision confirmed by Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod on February 27th.

For Danes and residents of Denmark, that could cause difficulties travelling to and from Russia, given that Russia on February 28th reciprocated European countries’ flight bans by blocking aircraft from 36 countries, including Denmark, from entering its airspace.

The bans make travelling between the two countries by air impossible without rerouting through a third country which is unaffected by the decisions.

Preliminary tax returns published

The release of the årsopgørelse (annual tax return, calculated and displayed on the SKAT website at the beginning of March) is possibly the most important event on the Danish tax calendar.

Accessing the annual tax return is possible from March. Within a set deadline which falls at the beginning of May, taxpayers can edit their tax information, such as by changing income or tax exemption information.

Around three out of four taxpayers in Denmark get refunds after the yearly annual return although others have to pay money back to the tax authority, however.

Prior to the publication of the annual return, you can check how much tax you’ve paid or are due to pay during the course of the year and edit your income and deductions details on the preliminary version of the return, the forskudsopgørelse. 

Switch to summertime means light evenings are back

The change to GMT+2 or summertime on Sunday, March 27th means an end to dark evenings for another season. Clocks go forward by one hour at 3am on the 27th, meaning one hour less of sleep that weekend to offset the change.

Politicians in Denmark and the EU have in recent years discussed scrapping the twice-yearly changing of the clocks for daylight saving, but it continues for the time being at least.