Denmark cuts work permit salary bar to DKK 322,000 for 16 countries

Denmark cuts work permit salary bar to DKK 322,000 for 16 countries

13 October 2026: Denmark's agency for international recruitment, SIRI, has confirmed that a new work permit scheme starts on 1 January 2027, letting employers hire workers from 16 countries at a minimum salary of DKK 322,000 a year when the job is covered by a collective agreement. Employers must be certified by SIRI before they can apply, and the agency expects certification applications to open in early December 2026.

Not yet independently verified. The list of 16 countries and the current DKK 552,000 threshold come from The Local; SIRI's notice refers to the list without naming the countries, and we did not read the law text itself. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

What the scheme requires

SIRI's notice sets three conditions for a residence and work permit under the collective agreement scheme, known in Danish as overenskomstordningen:

• a job offer paying at least DKK 322,000 a year, at the 2026 level;
• a position covered by a collective agreement;
• citizenship of one of the 16 countries on the scheme's list.

Applications filed before the start date will be processed only from 1 January 2027, and SIRI is building new application pages for certification and permits.

How much lower the bar is

According to The Local, the threshold under the existing Pay Limit Scheme is DKK 552,000 a year, about DKK 46,000 a month, so the new route cuts the salary needed by more than 40% for eligible hires, to just under DKK 27,000 a month. The Local lists the 16 countries as the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, India, Brazil, Malaysia, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova. The law defines them by criteria rather than by name: the ten largest investment partners outside the EU, EU candidate countries and countries with a bilateral mobility agreement, so the list can change.

Companies without a collective agreement must sign one with a trade union to use the scheme, a condition meant to stop foreign workers being hired on worse terms than Danish staff. People already on a Danish work permit are not affected, and the other schemes, including the Pay Limit, Positive List and Fast Track routes, stay as they are.

What employers can prepare before December

For technology employers, many roles already clear the higher threshold, so the change matters most for junior developers, support staff and technicians from India, Ukraine or Brazil whose pay sits between the two limits. Those employers need two things in place before December: a collective agreement covering the role and SIRI certification. SIRI says more detail on certification will follow on its website.

Our directory lists 2,564 recruitment agencies, and our recruiting software category seven products.

Related on TrustList:

• US suspends eight IT and software firms from PERM green card filings
• DOL drops plan to pull FLSA guidance out of federal regulations

Sources

• SIRI (New to Denmark): Ny erhvervsordning hos SIRI fra 1. januar 2027, den overenskomstbaserede beløbsordning (in Danish, updated 13 October 2026), 13 October 2026
• The Local Denmark: Everything you need to know about Denmark's new work permit rules, 15 October 2026