Moving to Denmark from the UK, the British route

Your route in

Since Brexit, UK citizens are treated as non-EU (third-country) nationals and need a residence and work permit for stays over 90 days.

Common routes are the Pay Limit Scheme, the Positive List, family reunification, or the Startup Denmark visa. You can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180 while you arrange things.

Whichever scheme fits, you apply through SIRI (usually online via nyidanmark.dk) with a job contract in hand, and you must have the permit approved before you move. Compare the options in our residence permits guide and check the Positive List and Pay Limit Scheme.

Your first steps after arrival

Once you are in Denmark, the sequence is the same for everyone, and each step unlocks the next:

1. Register your address and get a CPR number - the ten-digit key to everything. See the CPR number guide.
2. Set up MitID, the digital ID you need for banking, tax and public services - the MitID guide walks you through it.
3. Open a bank account and NemKonto so your salary and any refunds can be paid - see opening a bank account.
4. Get your tax card (skattekort) so you are not taxed at the emergency 55% rate - the tax card guide explains it.
5. Register with a doctor using your yellow health card, which arrives after your CPR.

Our first 30 days checklist puts all of this in order with timings.

Tax and your money

The UK and Denmark have a double-taxation treaty; UK citizens are taxed on worldwide income once resident in Denmark (over 6 months). Denmark taxes residents on worldwide income once you have been here beyond six months, but the rate you actually pay is lower than the headline figures suggest once deductions apply.

Work out your real take-home before you accept an offer with the net salary calculator, and if you are a researcher or highly paid specialist, check whether you qualify for the 27% expat tax scheme - from 2026 the salary threshold dropped, so more people qualify than before.

Your driving licence

A UK licence issued before 1 January 2021 can be exchanged without a test; one issued on or after that date can be exchanged for a category B (car) licence. Do it within 180 days of registering.

Full details, including the test and the 90-day window, are in the driving licence exchange guide.

Settling in

One of the largest anglophone communities; established British networks in Copenhagen and Aarhus.

The two things that surprise newcomers most are the cost of getting into a rental (often several months of deposit plus prepaid rent) and how much daily life runs through digital ID. Read up on deposit rules and the cost of living before you commit to anything.

And learning even basic Danish goes a long way socially, even though almost everyone speaks excellent English - see learning Danish.

Common questions