originally published March 29, 2019
Hello Friends!
As most of you already know about eight months ago I moved to Denmark, Aalborg to study creative writing and popular fiction.
I have moved around and traveled a lot in my life.
However, I never had to establish a life in another country the way I had to do it here until now.
Getting an apartment, becoming a resident, having health insurance in the country, taxes, electricity bills, bank accounts, electronic mail accounts, CPR number - the list goes on.
Although with some of these things I had experience from other countries like Spain or Australia, it was an entirely new experience when moving to Denmark
Oh dear! Little did I know how much bureaucracy had to be done and how long it would take to get things started.
Because many international students are coming to Denmark and in general I feel like
Scandinavia is becoming more and more attractive to many people I thought I would share a step by step:
What to do when moving to Denmark?
I hope this can help some of you, because MY GOD the hardest part of all was finding out how and what to actually do and in what order.
To save you some time, nerves, bike rides, and question marks I put this list together. If you have any further questions on anything write me a message and I will try to help as much as I can
All these tips and steps only apply to EU citizens.
Also, I only have direct experience with coming here as a student.
Without further ado - Let's get started:
Moving to Denmark, I was slightly unprepared as I always am. I thought I would figure stuff out once I am there.
"As long as I have an apartment and my studies I am good to go for now. "
That was the truth. However, it is possible to start the process when you are in another country if you want to be really prepared when moving.
CPR NUMBER - Your key to Denmark:
What is CPR?
If you don't know what a CPR number is ( I didn't at least), it is the
Danish Personal Identification number under which all your Personal Information is stored in the Civil Registration System ( Det Centrale Personregister)
It is a ten-digit number; first your date of the berth and then a 4-digit sequence number.
You can check out good old Wiki for more
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_identification_number_(Denmark)
More information about CPR HERE
What do I need A CPR number for?
When you want to live in Denmark and be part of Society you NEED a danish CPR number.
You really need it for anything. It is your door to Denmark - I swear.
Want to go to the Doctor? CPR
Want to have a gym membership? CPR
Want to rent an apartment? CPR
Want to get a job? CPR
Want to open a bank account? CPR
Want to get a bust card? CPR
Want to go on a date? CPR - Well, that was a Joke but you get the point.
When you are from the EU, or Switzerland the first thing, you need to do to get a CPR number is to apply for EU- Residency.
What is EU-Residency? Am I not already an EU-Resident?
"EU residence is used as an umbrella term for the right to residence in Denmark pursuant to EU rules. (....)
If you anticipate that your stay in Denmark will have a duration of more than three months, you must apply for an EU residence document before the end of the three months. (....)If you are a national of an EEA country (Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein) or Switzerland, the same rules apply for entering and residing in Denmark as for EU nationals. (...)"
Read all here
How to get EU Residency?
To apply for EU-Residency, you need to gather a few different documents such as:
1.
Documentation for your basis for residence
( that is a paper you need to print and fill out completely; you can find it here:
https://www.statsforvaltningen.dk/site.aspx?p=9300 )
2.
When being a student, you need a letter of enrollment
3.
Your original passport and/or your national ID card
4.
An accurate passport-size photo
When having collected all these papers, for the application, you need to go to:
International Citizen Service
(WATCH THE OPENING HOURS; they are very short)
Aalborg/ Aarhus:
International Citizen Service North
international house
Rantzausgade 4
9000 Aalborg
Odense:
Odense Kommune Borgerservice
Østre Stationsvej 15, 5000 Odense
Copenhagen:
International Citizen Service
Gyldenløvesgade 11, 1600 København
Bring them all the papers, and you usually should get your EU-Residency in
max. 2 weeks in the mail.
(Yes you need a mailbox to apply for EU-Residency, it is nearly impossible to get an apartment without CPR number though. Doesn't make sense? I know.)
After receiving your EU-Residency Form, you can actually start on digging for the real gold:
Your CPR number.
II. Applying for your CPR- Number (and yellow card) - You need:
1.
EU-Residency Form
2.
Copy of rental contract
3.
A paper that you can get at the Borger center / Citizens of Aalborg
4.
Your original passport and/or your national ID card
For the CPR-number application, you need to go to your Communal Citizen Centre.
Alborg/Aarhus:
Citizens of Aalborg / Aalborg Kommune:
Borger Rantzausgade 6, 9000 Aalborg
( You need to get an appointment beforehand, which you can make at the computer they have when you walk in, where you usually get your number to wait.
Choose a time and date that suits you.
Take the form that you still have to fill in with you home ( it will show you on the screen what it looks like when you make your appointment.)
The next time you get there just hand them everything.
They tell you your CPR number right away, and the rest comes in the mail.)
Yellow card:
What is a Yellow card?
When you have registered at Citizens’ Services and been issued a CPR number, you are covered by the Danish health insurance system. A yellow, credit card sized Health Insurance Card will be sent to your address.
Why do I need a yellow card?
Having your yellow card makes you be included in the Danish health care system.
-> free medical care etc. ...
Once you have your CPR-number, they will send your Yellow Card to your house.
It is handy because you often need to prove your CPR-number and this is the document to use it for. Besides that, it can be used as a way of official identification, just like your passport or drivers license.
When you have all of these things, you can start thinking about opening a bank account. However, stop!
Even though you went through all these things, there is still a missing piece.
Your Nem-ID.
What is Nem-ID?
NemID is a common secure login on the Internet, whether you are doing your online banking, finding out information from the public authorities or engaging with one of the many businesses that use NemID. (Source: https://www.nemid.nu/dk-en/about_nemid/introduktion_til_nemid/index.html)
There is an app for it, but you also can get a small paper card with a ton of numbers on it which you importantly need to make your EBoks work. You need your EBoks to have access to any important mail from your bank or the government.
How to get your NEM-ID?
Once you have your Yellow card ( aka. CPR number), you need to head to the Citizen Centre and tell them you want to get your Nem-ID ( you need an appointment for that again)
When not being a Dane ( meaning a holder of a Danish passport) you can not apply for your nem-ID online. It would be best if you went to the Citizen Center.
There they will give you a paper that explains precisely how to use the nem-ID card and how to open your EBoks account.
After you have these things sorted you can go to the bank and set up a bank account.
For now, this is all I can tell you about the bureaucracy in Denmark.
I hope all of this made sense and can help you make the transition easier.
farvel!
få et godt ophold i danmark
Pauline