VisaDenmark counts working-holiday jobs by months with reported pay
A current guide explains why a few paid shifts can use a whole month of a working-holiday allowance, and why applicants must check the rules for their nationality.
Official source date: 2026-11-02
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Count paid months rather than adding up shifts
Denmark’s immigration guidance counts working-holiday employment by the months in which an employer reports salary, regardless of the number of days or hours worked. Someone accepting a few shifts should therefore check how they affect the remaining allowance. This is a current explanation of the working-holiday rules, not a new restriction announced on 2 November.
The SIRI working-holiday page gives Australian and New Zealand citizens a six-month work allowance within a twelve-month stay, with no more than three months for the same employer. Its Canadian rules allow six months of work, while the South Korean section allows nine. These are limited salaried-work permissions, not permission to run a business. Use the nationality section that matches the passport; the duration of residence is not the same as the number of months available for work.
Canadian applicants have a separate age and passport check
Canada’s official Work and travel in Denmark guide describes the Canadian route for citizens aged 18 to 35 inclusive. It requires the passport to remain valid for at least three months beyond the intended stay. A Canadian planning twelve months should check passport renewal before organising a year’s travel rather than assume that validity on arrival is sufficient.
The Canadian guide says no pre-arranged job or internship offer is needed and participation is available once. It describes up to twelve months in Denmark, with work limited to six months and study possible for another six. That does not turn the permission into an unrestricted employment route. Applicants holding another nationality must check the corresponding Danish agreement instead of applying Canadian age or study conditions to their own case.
Prepare the nationality-specific documents
The official WH1 form requires copies of all passport pages, including the cover, and evidence of a return ticket or funds to buy one. Its financial evidence differs by nationality: the form lists DKK 18,000 for Australians, DKK 15,000 for Canadians and South Koreans, and DKK 24,000 for New Zealanders, apart from return-travel evidence. The statement should identify the applicant.
The form also describes insurance evidence: Canadian coverage must include the specified accident, life and transport-home protection, while New Zealand applicants need full healthcare insurance for the stay. South Korean applicants must check the stated insurance requirement and any applicable national-health coverage. The form identifies Japanese applicants as exempt from the SIRI application charge. These distinctions make a single generic document pack unreliable; use the section for the actual nationality and check the receiving mission’s additional requirements.
Check lawful stay before filing inside Denmark
SIRI’s legal-submission guidance says an applicant filing in Denmark must normally have lawful stay, for example under a valid visa, visa exemption, residence permit or EU rules. It separately explains procedural stay while another application is being processed. That pending-case situation does not permit a working-holiday residence application to be submitted and processed in the same way as certain employment schemes.
A person whose initial permission is ending should therefore check their filing position before it expires. The legal-submission page also says applications are normally not processed where a departure deadline has been imposed. Paying a fee or completing a form does not resolve that admissibility problem. Use the lawful-stay resource to identify the applicable position before arranging an in-country application.
Book biometrics and keep the correct receipt
The biometric guidance requires an in-person identity check, facial image and fingerprints for the relevant adult residence applicants. Where the application was submitted online or through another non-personal channel, biometrics are normally due within fourteen days. For SIRI appointments, the current page says to book the first available slot and contact SIRI if it falls after that period. Do not assume that a lack of appointments removes the need to act.
Bring the passport and, for an online application, the digital-submission receipt so the biometric record can be matched to the file. The page distinguishes SIRI from the Danish Immigration Service, which has different temporary arrangements; working-holiday applicants should not borrow another authority’s extended deadline. The official 2026 fee table lists DKK 3,060 for the fee-paying working-holiday nationalities. Mission or application-centre service charges may be additional under the WH1 instructions. Confirm those local charges before attending.
