Study costs & money in Denmark
Tuition, living-cost context, banking, taxes and practical money guidance for students planning to study in Denmark.
Read the complete Denmark study abroad guide.
Bank Accounts
A Danish bank account requires your CPR number, so it follows registration rather than arrival. Bring your passport, residence permit and CPR certificate.
Your account becomes your NemKonto, the single account into which every public payment, from a tax refund to a housing benefit, is automatically paid. You do not choose this separately; the bank registers it.
MitID is the login for banking, tax, health records and university systems alike. Guard it. There is no paper alternative.
Denmark is effectively cashless. Cards and MobilePay, the phone payment app everyone uses to split bills, cover everything. Expect several weeks between arriving and holding a working account, and budget for that gap.
Source: https://lifeindenmark.borger.dk/
Taxes
Employment income is taxed through the Danish system and you need a tax card (skattekort) or tax information set up with the Danish Tax Agency when you start working. Your final tax depends on annual income, deductions and personal circumstances; do not assume that part-time student work will automatically be tax-free.
Third-country study residence normally comes with a self-support condition. Receiving public assistance that you are not entitled to can affect your residence status, so check a benefit with SIRI or the responsible authority before applying.
SU, the Danish state education grant, has its own eligibility rules. Danish students qualify under the national rules, and some foreign students can be treated equally with Danish citizens under EU or other rules. Most third-country students should not assume they qualify simply because they hold a study residence permit.
Source: https://lifeindenmark.borger.dk/
Common questions
What should international students know about banking in Denmark?
A bank account needs your CPR number, and becomes your NemKonto. MitID logs you in to everything.
What should international students know about taxes in Denmark?
Set up your tax card before working and check benefit/SU eligibility rather than assuming student status is enough.