Necessary things to do

Cpr Number

First things first! Do you have a CPR-number? For most things in Denmark, you will need a CPR-number (Civil Registration Number). This is easy to obtain through the website or office of your local kommune (council). In order to get one, you have to meet certain criteria: your stay in the country must last longer than 3 months; if you are an EU citizen, you have a registration certificate (does not apply to Nordic citizens); if you are a non-EU citizen, you have obtained a residence permit; and you have a place to live.

Residence And Work Permits

If you wish to stay in Denmark for longer than three months, you will need a residence permit. If you are not a citizen of a Nordic or EU country, you also need a work permit.

There is a fast-track scheme in place to enable certified companies to hire highly qualified foreign nationals at short notice without having to wait for an application to be processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration. The scheme also offers foreign nationals the option of working alternately in and out of Denmark.

English information on all this, and more, can be found on the ‘New To Denmark’ website: nyidanmark.dk

Setting Up A Bank Account

You will need a bank account in order to receive your salary and any payments made to you by the authorities, such as tax refunds. Danish law allows any person with a CPR-number to open a basic bank account. This will not include overdraft facilities, credit facilities or a debit card. These have to be agreed on with the bank individually.

EU rules stipulate that you will have to supply the bank with data such as your full name, address, and maybe other information, which has to be verifiable by the presentation of an identity document, preferably including a photo.

Easy Account

Another thing that everyone in Denmark needs is an Easy Account (Nemkonto) because all payments from public institutions (tax refunds, child subsidies, pensions, student loans, unemployment benefits, housing support and social welfare payments) are transferred directly to this account by default.

The easiest thing to do is to designate your basic bank account as your Easy Account. However, you can also open a specific separate account for this purpose. More information available here: nemkonto.dk/da/Servicemenu/Engelsk

Danish Society

Learning about Danish norms is crucial to understanding the social culture in Copenhagen. Denmark scores well in international polls on things as diverse as lack of corruption and happiness. It is also considered a safe and secure country to live in. Children often walk or cycle to school alone and crime rates against persons are low.

There is a high standard of living in

Denmark and Danish society is very egalitarian, both economically and when it comes to gender equality. Taxes can seem very high to newcomers but they go towards providing a comprehensive cradle-to-grave welfare state and most people pay them willingly.

Among other things, the system is geared to providing child-care right from the start, and there are generous maternity and paternity leave allowances, which encourage women to return to the workplace after having children. Local councils are obliged to offer child-care places within the state regime and there are also private child-care options, which are heavily state-subsidised.

Education and medical treatment are free of charge although there are private clinics and private schools available, should you wish to use them.

TRANSPORTATION

Cycling is extremely popular with people of all ages and social classes, and Copenhagen alone has over 390 kms of designated bicycle lanes. About 55 percent of the locals bike to work and school. In a city like Copenhagen, a bike is often the quickest way of getting around – and there are no parking charges. There are more bikes than cars here: last year, the number of bikes reached higher than 265.000, while there were only about 252.000 cars in the city.

However, if you live too far from work to bike, or you just sweat like hell when you do it, you will need to make use of the Danish public transporta- tion system. In this case, buses, metros, and trains will likely be essential factors of adapting to life in Copenhagen. See page 10 for a comprehensive guide to public transportation.

Geography And Climate

Familiarising yourself with the Danish terrain and weather will help you better adjust to your new home. Denmark consists of the Jutland peninsula (which is attached to Germany) and a number of islands in the Baltic Sea. The largest of these are Zealand, on which the capital city Copenhagen is situated, and Funen.

The island of Bornholm is located east of the rest of the country. Many of the larger islands are connected by bridges: the Øresund Bridge connects Zealand with Sweden, the Great Belt Bridge connects Funen with Zealand and the Little Belt Bridge connects Jutland with Funen.

Area-wise, Denmark is a relatively small country (43,560 square kilometres) with a population slightly over 5.7 million people. Almost 2 million of them live in the four largest cities – Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense and Aalborg – with Copenhagen having the largest population at 1.3 million.

The country has a temperate climate characterised by mild winters, with mean temperatures in January of 1.5°C (34.7°F), and cool summers, with a mean temperature in August of 17.2°C (63.0°F). This does not mean, though, that it cannot get very cold here – on 8 January 1982 a record -31.2°C was reported in Hørsted in Thy. 

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