Buddy programme and events for newcomers
A warm welcome to Aarhus! Thank you for choosing our beautiful city as your home away from home.
Step 1: apply for a residence permit
Step 2: register your address, get a CPR number and a health insurance card
Step 3: request NemID
Step 4: apply for a tax card
If you are moving to Denmark with the intent to work or study the first thing you must do is to find out which residence permit you will need for your stay in Denmark.
Please visit newtodenmark.dk where you will also find information on how to apply for a residence permit. Newtodenmark.dk is the website of the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).
If you are granted a Danish residence permit, you will receive a residence card, which is proof of your right to reside in Denmark.
If you will be staying in Denmark for more than three months, your next step, after having received your residence permit, is to register your address and get a CPR number – your Danish social security number.
You must:
Please have the following documents ready for upload:
Your documents must be in Danish, English or German.
Register for your CPR-number here
Book an appointment with Citizen Service here (one per person)
When you appear in person at Citizen Service, you will also choose a general practitioner (family doctor).
Approximately 14 days after your CPR registration has been completed, you will automatically receive a yellow health insurance card (sundhedskort) by post.
The card is your documentation that you are entitled to the services offered under the Danish national health insurance scheme. It carries your CPR number, your address and the name and address of your GP.
You must bring the card when going to see your general practitioner, a hospital or other health care facilities. It is often also used as an ID.
When you register for a CPR number Citizen Service will provide you with a temporary health insurance card on paper which you must use until you get your actual health insurance card by post.
You must bring the following documents:
Your documents must be in Danish, English or German.
NemID is your personal secure login for:
NemID allows you to log on using the same logon solution whether you are checking your digital post from public authorities, checking your accounts, your insurances or your tax information, etc. Besides using NemID as secure login, NemID also works as your signature online. It is just as valid as the one you put on paper.
Your NemID allows you to log on from different devices.
With NemID you log on using your CPR number, a personal password, and a code card with printed codes. It is a so-called two-factor authentication.
When you have used all of the codes, you will automatically receive a new code card by mail.
Your NemID is issued by Citizen Service and can be issued in relation to when you register for a CPR number or later.
Getting a NemID that is ready to use (your NemID is activated and you are issued with the code card) requires that you:
If you are not able to bring an attesting witness, your NemID will be set up for you at Citizen Service. Then, after 3-11 days, you will receive a letter with your code card.
You can also obtain NemID at your bank. Let them know, that you also wish to use NemID for public online solutions, otherwise it will only work for checking your NetBank and you will not be able to log on to see important digital mail from public authorities.
NemID is available as an app. You can download and activate the app after your NemID has been activated. You activate the app using your NemID code card.
During 2022 NemID will be replaced by MitID. MitID is the next generation of online two factor authentication as used for the same purposes as NemID.
Transition from NemID to MitID
If you have any income in Denmark, you need to apply for at tax card from the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen).
Exactly how much you must pay depends on your earnings and the tax deductions and allowances you are entitled to.
If you do not apply for a tax card, your employer will deduct 55% from your salary.
Apply for a tax card on the website of the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen)
CPR Number
In Denmark, each person has a personal registration number, which is called a CPR number. CPR stands for Central Person Register.
The CPR number is essential in relation to any contact with the Danish authorities and especially in connection to tax and social security issues.
The CPR number gives you the right to use the Danish health care system.
A temporary health insurance card
The document is your temporary health insurance card until you receive the actual card. It contains the name, address, and phone number of your doctor. Until you receive your actual health insurance card, you must bring the temporary document if you are going to the doctor, hospital, or dentist.
The actual yellow health insurance card
About 14 days after your entry has been registered, you will receive a yellow health insurance card (sundhedskort) by post (please have your name on your mailbox). The card carries your Danish CPR number (social security number). You are advised to always carry your yellow health insurance card with you as you will need to use it when contacting your doctor, hospitals, and dentists.
Click here to read more about healthcare in Denmark
A NemID
NemID is your personal secure login for digital contact with public authorities, for your Digital Post, for net banking, and a wide range of online self-service solutions. You log on with NemID via your personal user-ID, a personal password, and a code card with one-time passwords on. Your NemID is set up by Citizen Service (Borgerservice) when you do your registrations.
Then, after 3-11 days, you will receive two letters, one with your code card and one with an activation password which you must use in order to activate your NemID.
Click here to read more about NemID