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Visas For Members

What is a Danish Working Holiday visa and who can apply?

Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett - [email protected]
What is a Danish Working Holiday visa and who can apply?
Illustration photo. People from seven different countries can apply for Denmark's Working Holiday visa. Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Citizens from seven different countries outside of Europe can apply for a Working Holiday residence permit in Denmark.

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The seven countries whose nationals are eligible for the one-year Working Holiday visa are Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

The criteria for application vary depending on the country of your citizenship.

What is a working holiday?

Working Holiday visas allow the holder to reside in Denmark and to work to a limited extent.

Specifically, this means being allowed to work a set number of months withing the one-year period that the visa is valid. They also allow you to attend an educational course of limited duration.

They can only be granted once – so it’s best to only apply for the visa if you are sure of your plans.

Under the terms of the Working Holiday arrangements, Danish nationals can apply for working holidays in any of the seven countries covered by Denmark’s Working Holiday visa.

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Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and South Korea

The conditions for each of these countries follow the same basic structure but with differences in the individual criteria.

You must be within a certain age range: 18-36 for Australians and Canadians and 18-31 for people from New Zealand, South Korea and Japan.

You must have a certain amount of funding up front for food and accommodation during the first part of your stay. If you are from Canada, Japan or South Korea this is 15,000 kroner. For Australia, it rises to 18,000 kroner and is 24,000 kroner if you come from New Zealand. For all countries, you must also have a return ticket or an additional 5,000 kroner to pay for it.

Various types of health insurance are also required, with specifics depending on your nationality.

The working rights provided by the visas also vary slightly between each country. Australians and New Zealanders can work for up to six months, but no more than three months for a single employer. Canadians and Japanese can work for up to six months provided the job is “not regular”, meaning it is a limited employment. For South Koreans, nine months of limited employment is permitted.

You can study on the visa for either three months (Australia, Canada) or six months (New Zealand, South Korea. For Japan, the maximum duration of courses you attend is not specified, but like the Working Holiday visa is valid for one year as with all other eligible countries.

The processing time for the application is three months and the fee for citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and South Korea is 2,490 kroner. If you are from Japan, there is no fee.

The application portals for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea; Japan;  can all be found via the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

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Chile and Argentina

For Chile and Argentina, the Working Holiday visa provides similar rights to the other five countries, some specifics of which are given below.

The main difference is that the visas for these two countries are quota-based. So, for example, up to 75 residence permits for citizens of Chile and up to 75 residence permits for citizens of Argentina can be granted under the Working Holiday scheme between March and August this year (2024). Permits are granted on a first come, first served basis.

Additionally, Chileans and Argentinians must apply for the visa with agencies based in their home countries (rather than using the Danish authority SIRI’s online portal). This is done at VFS Buenos Aires (Argentina) and VFS Santiago (Chile).

These two agencies will make appointments available for the March-August 2024 quotas on March 1st, 2024, SIRI announced in a recent statement.

Chileans and Argentinians must be aged over 18 and under 31 to be eligible for the visa.

You must have a certain amount of funding up front for food and accommodation during the first part of your stay: 15,000 kroner as well as a return ticket or an additional 5,000 kroner to pay for it.

Health insurance is also an obligation for nationals of both countries.

No set time limits on working are specified, but SIRI states that the purpose of the visa “must primarily be to be on holiday for an extended period of time” and that you can “carry out salaried work in order to supplement your travel funds”.

The processing time for the application is three months and the fee is 2,490 kroner. Detailed information on the conditions can be found for both Chile and Argentina on SIRI's website.

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