18/05/2026
🛑 IMPORTANT FOR ALL EMPLOYEES WITH A WORK PERMIT IN DENMARK 🛑
Have you ever wondered why it’s so important to request your holiday pay only in the months when you actually take your vacation? 🤔 Do you know how it can affect your work permit and your chances of obtaining permanent residency in Denmark?
Let’s break it down! 🔍
🔹 What does the Danish Holiday Act say?
Under Danish holiday law, you earn 2.08 vacation days for each month you work, which equals 5 weeks (25 days) of paid holiday per year.
You can request your holiday pay through borger.dk, where you must enter the exact first day of your holiday.
🔹 Why is it important to enter the correct first day of your holiday?
If you hold an active work permit in Denmark, SIRI may review your case at any time.
During such a review, they may check whether your working hours match your employment contract (typically 37 hours per week or 160.33 hours per month).
If you have worked fewer hours than stated in your contract and cannot provide documentation proving that you were on approved holiday, this could lead to your work permit being revoked and you may be required to leave Denmark.
🔹 How can this affect your permanent residency application?
To qualify for permanent residency, one of the requirements is that you must have worked full-time for at least 3 years and 6 months within the last 4 years (minimum 120 hours per month).
The Danish Immigration Service (SIRI) checks your registered income and employment records for each month during that period.
If fewer than 120 working hours are registered for any month, they may ask you for an explanation and/or request additional documentation proving that you were on holiday.
🔹 What should you do?
To avoid problems, request your holiday pay correctly!
Always enter the first day of your holiday in the month when you are actually taking time off. This helps protect your work permit and ensures you meet the employment requirements for permanent residency.
Don’t ignore this issue 🚨
Proper holiday registration can save you from serious problems in the future.
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Important exceptions:
In Denmark, you generally cannot receive holiday pay without actually taking holiday. However, there are some exceptions:
• After ending your employment: You may receive holiday pay earned with a previous employer without taking holiday.
• If you are unable to take holiday due to illness, maternity/paternity leave, military service, or other legally valid reasons.
• If you have earned more than 4 weeks of holiday (typically if you worked more than 9.5 months during the holiday year from September 1 to August 31). These extra days can be used between September 1 and December 31 of the following year, giving you 16 months to use them. Under certain conditions (such as employer approval or full-time employment), unused days exceeding 4 weeks may be paid out.
To avoid issues with your holiday pay and holiday registration, it’s always best to follow the rules and only request holiday pay when you are actually taking time off.
