If you are not an EU citizen and want to come to Denmark, you will normally need a visa. Which one turns on two things: how long you intend to stay, and why.
The Schengen visa (Type C)
This is the ordinary short-stay visa. It allows up to 90 days within any 180-day period, and it is valid across the whole Schengen area rather than Denmark alone.
What it covers
- tourism
- visiting family and friends
- business travel and trade fairs
- cultural and sporting events
- urgent medical treatment.
The national visa (Type D)
Used where the stay will exceed 90 days, or where you need to enter Denmark before a residence permit has been finally issued. Unlike the Schengen visa it is essentially valid for Denmark only.
What it covers
- entering while a work or study permit is being processed
- placements under the trainee scheme
- artists’ stays and certain researcher positions
- urgent family reunification in particular circumstances.
Travelling without a visa
Nationals of around 60 countries can enter Denmark visa-free for up to 90 days, the USA, the UK, Japan and Australia among them. The list is set out in EU Regulation 2018/1806.
Working out which applies
- Staying 90 days or less in Denmark or the Schengen area? Schengen visa.
- Staying longer? National visa, or a residence permit proper.
- Planning to work or study? You need a work permit or a study permit, a visa on its own will not do it.
If the application is refused
A refusal is not necessarily the end of it. It has to be reasoned, and it can be appealed to the Immigration Appeals Board within the deadline. What decides an appeal is whether the argument goes at the actual grounds given, which is why reapplying identically almost never works.
If you need help with a visa application, or a refusal has already arrived, tell us what happened.
Wondering where your own case stands?
Immigration law is all we do. Send us the details and you will have a straight assessment back within a working day, free, and with nothing to sign.
