Entry to Denmark for foreigners habitually resident abroad is currently limited. In order to enter Denmark, a foreigner habitually resident abroad requires a worthy purpose. To limit the spread of infection with Covid-19, the Danish authorities have also initiated additional requirements for workers travelling into Denmark. It is essential as a company that you comply with these requirements. We are aware that the Danish Working and Environment Authority have undertaken spot checks in workplaces where foreign nationals have been undertaking work in Denmark. This article summarises the main obligations.
Worthy purpose for entry
An individual can enter Denmark if they have a job in Denmark, or are, a self-employed person working in Denmark, including if they work as a professional artist or athlete. In addition, an individual will be able to enter Denmark to attend a business-critical meeting or to perform a service, or to transport goods in and out of Denmark. If an employer needs to send employees or workers to Denmark to attend a business-critical meeting, or for them to carry a service or to transport goods, the employer will need to ensure that the employee has evidence of this for the employee to be allowed entry. Evidence could take the form of a contract of employment, a letter from the employer setting out the requirement to be in Denmark or proof of the service to be undertaken in Denmark, such as a purchase order.
Please note that if you are sending employees from outside the EU there may also be an additional requirement for a work permit, for further advice on this and exemptions to the requirement to hold a work permit please contact us.
Registration as foreign service provider
A company that sends foreign workers to perform temporary work for another company or individual in Denmark, must register as a foreign service provider in the Register of Foreign Service Providers (RUT). The RUT is the Danish state’s official register for notifying foreign services. This requirement also applies to a temporary work agency, or other company that temporarily posts an employee in an end user company in Denmark. If a company does not report to RUT, the Danish Working Environment Authority can impose sanctions.
In addition, and in connection with Covid-19, an employer sending employees to Denmark for work purposes must also prepare a list of contact information for employees posted in Denmark. Relevant contact information is defined as: telephone number, e-mail address and Danish residential address. The company and its designated contact person named in the RUT, can at the request of the Danish Working Environment Authority, be asked to provide contact information on all employees who are in Denmark at any one time, in order to detect and prevent the spread of Covid-19. Therefore, if you are sending employees to Denmark from another country, it is important that you have all of the above information.
COVID-19 testing requirement
To enter Denmark, an individual will need to have a negative covid-19 test which is no older than 24 hours at the point of departure. In addition, upon arrival into Denmark an individual will also be tested at the airport before being allowed entry. If individuals are arriving via land or sea borders, they are required to undergo a rapid or CPR tests within 24 hours of entry.
Following this traveling workers to Denmark are required to complete a PCR test for covid-19 no earlier than 48 hours and no later than 96 hours after the employee has been tested negative for covid-19 prior to entry into Denmark.
Employers sending employees to provide a service in Denmark are required to prepare a written covid-19 test plan. The Danish Working Environment Authority can carry out inspections to ensure that employers comply with this rule and will issue an enforcement notice if the requirement has not been met. We are aware of specific circumstances where such inspections have taken place. This can be particularly concerning if the workers are at a client site.
Mette Klingsten Law Firm can assist you in formulating the COVID testing plan.
Quarantine
There is currently a mandatory 10-day isolation period for anyone arriving in Denmark with an early release if a person gets a negative PCR test on the fourth day. There are exemptions to this mandatory isolation for business reasons where employees can break the isolation for work functions, which can include critical business meetings but outside of this they must remain in isolation.
If you are sending employees to work in Denmark please do not hesitate to contact us for further information and assistance
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