Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion

Denmark - Primary country of residence

This chapter provides you with the necessary knowledge in relation to the conditions you must meet to be entitled to social security benefits when your primary country of residence (also known as your habitual residency) is Denmark.

In what situation can I claim?

The expression habitual residency refers to the country where you have your usual place of residence, i.e. the country where you have your most important interests.

Some social security benefits in Denmark are or may be conditional upon habitual residency.

The assessment of the country in which you have your habitual residency includes in particular:

  • your family status and family ties;
  • the duration and continuity of your presence in the country;
  • your employment situation (in particular the place where you normally perform your job, the employment stability and the employment contract duration);
  • where you perform any unpaid activity;
  • if you are a student, your income;
  • the stability of your housing situation;
  • the country where you pay taxes;
  • reasons for moving;
  • your intentions, as revealed by all the circumstances.

Other relevant factors may also be taken into account. Population registration is not in itself of significance.

Evidence that you are habitually resident depends to a great extent on facts. If you have lived in Denmark all your life, you are unlikely to have any difficulty in satisfying the factors that indicate habitual residence.

Forms you may have to fill in

At the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) you can book an appointment and apply for residence as an EU/EEA citizen or a Nordic citizen.

Notification of change of address to the national municipality.

What am I entitled to and how can I claim?

If you move to work in another EEA country, you will generally no longer be part of the social security system in the country you leave, and you will be subject to the laws of the new country. This may concern a range of benefits, such as:

  • sickness and maternity, e.g. sickness insurance, sickness benefit and maternity/paternity benefit;
  • incapacity, including benefits aimed at preserving and improving capacity for work, e.g. pension and rehabilitation;
  • old age and benefits for survivors;
  • accidents at work and occupational diseases, e.g. compensation for permanent injury;
  • death, e.g. death grant;
  • unemployment, e.g. unemployment insurance;
  • family, e.g. family benefits.

Note that if you have paid social security contributions in another EEA country, the contributions you have paid there can be taken into account when your benefits are calculated in Denmark.

Jargon busters

  • The Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) is a public agency under the Ministry of Immigration and Integration. Among other things, SIRI issues EU residence documents to EU/EEA citizens.
  • An EU residence document is your proof that as an EU citizen - or as a family member of an EU citizen - you have a right to reside in Denmark.
  • The population registry is called the Civil Registration System (CPR). It was set up in 1968 and contains information on all people who live/have lived in Denmark.

Know your rights

The links below you can get information on your legal rights. They do not refer to European Commission websites and therefore do not represent the views of the Commission:

European Commission publications and website:

Who do you need to contact?

Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration (SIRI) (Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration)
Carl Jacobsens Vej 39

2500 Valby

EU office tel.: +45 72 14 20 04
Phone hours
Monday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesday closed
Wednesday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Friday 9 a.m. - 12 noon


Other ways to contact SIRI

You can submit your application to one of SIRI’s five branch offices, located in Copenhagen, Odense, Aalborg, Aarhus, and Aabenraa. If you are located in Bornholm, you can submit your application for an EU residence document to the police in Rønne. You can find the branch office addresses here.

You can also apply at the International Citizen Service (ICS) in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense or Aalborg.

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