Government proposes new green card changes

Better language skills will be required in future

Today the Ministry of Employment unveiled a new  international recruitment reform proposal. It is ultimately intended to strengthen Denmark’s ability to compete on the global stage.

Part of this will mean a new streamlined and more stringent green card scheme, following criticism that the current scheme is not functioning according to plan.

“Several of the current initiatives fail to correspond with the labour market we have today,” the report said.

“Many of the people who are in Denmark via a green card today work in industries that are considered unskilled and the government will focus the initiative so that the incoming labour increasingly compliments the companies need for qualified labour,” it continued.

READ MORE: Employment minister says green card revision is imminent 

Curbing social dumping
The proposed changes to the green card scheme include reducing the permit's longevity from three to two years for first time applicants, toughening language competency requirements and the application of more stringent criteria for being granted an extension.

“With the tightening of the regulations, we’re trying to clamp down on social dumping and its associated problems,” Frederiksen told DR Nyheder.

The goal is for companies to be able to easily and quickly attract highly-skilled workers from abroad and better assist them in settling into Denmark.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.