DENMARK
STARTUP.

No formal language test is required. All documents must be in English. Your 5-minute video pitch is effectively the language assessment. Danish proficiency is not required to enter the program, but classes are free once you register your CPR address. 95%+ of Danes speak fluent English.

You receive a written panel statement with individual scores for each criterion. You may (1) appeal once to the Danish Business Authority — a fresh panel reviews, and the result is final; or (2) substantially improve your plan and reapply as a new application.

Minor pivots are fine. Significant changes — including starting an entirely new business — require a new residence permit application. You must always notify SIRI of material changes. You can start working on the new business as soon as you submit the new application.

The funds are not locked, escrowed, or paid to anyone — they stay in your account. But treat "show it, then move it out" as a risk rather than a technique. What the rule asks for is that you can support yourself and your family for the stay; SIRI can ask for further documentation, and self-support is assessed again at extension. We do not sell that shortcut as a guarantee.

No — this is the most commonly mis-sold part of the programme. Before you can apply to extend, the Danish Business Authority's expert panel must assess your business again, and that assessment goes in with the application. The same four criteria, this time against a real company with real numbers. You must also still run the business yourself and still support your family. Extensions run up to 3 years, cost DKK 3,060, take about 4 months (up to 5), and cannot be filed earlier than 3 months before expiry — but file on time and you may stay and work while SIRI decides.

Eight years of lawful residence, not five — "5 years to PR" is a marketing figure, not a Danish rule. On top of the time you need: no disqualifying convictions, no overdue public debt, no Active Social Policy or Integration Act benefits for 4 years, Prøve i Dansk 2 or higher, at least 3 years and 6 months of regular full-time work (30+ hrs/week) or self-employment in the last 4 years, employment of at least 15 hrs/week when the decision is made — and at least 2 of the 4 supplementary conditions. Meet all 4 and the residence requirement drops to 4 years.

Rarely, and the reason is money rather than language. The four supplementary conditions are Prøve i Dansk 3; 4 years of employment within the last 4.5; active citizenship (the exam, or a year of documented civic participation); and taxable income of at least DKK 346,155.57 (2026 level) in each of the last two years. Self-employment counts as employment if it is your main occupation and supports you — so the hours are achievable. The income figure is not: it means your company pays you a real salary, two years running. A startup that has not reached profitability does not do that. Plan for eight years, and start Danish in year one.

The general residence requirement is 9 years of continuous residence, but time alone is not the gate. You must hold permanent residence and have held it for at least 2 years when you are included in the naturalisation bill, pass Prøve i Dansk 3 and the citizenship test (indfødsretsprøven), have been self-supporting for 4 of the last 5 years, and sign the declaration of loyalty. So PR is the real bottleneck: get PR in year eight and the citizenship file is not complete before year ten. Denmark has allowed dual citizenship since 2015 — you do not have to renounce another nationality, which matters if renouncing is not practically possible.

Approval is about fit with Denmark's specific needs, not past success. Startups that raised capital in other markets have been rejected while early-stage startups in priority sectors were accepted. Clearly answer 'Why Denmark specifically?' in every part of your submission.