Last updated: October 2026. Rules checked on su.dk in October 2026. This guide covers the application itself. For how much SU is in 2026, the after-tax amounts, the SU loan and how much you can earn, read our SU rates and rules guide.
If you want to apply for SU, you need to have prepared all the documents you need, and you need to make sure that you fulfil all the criteria. Otherwise, your application will be rejected and you have to repeat the process all over again.
Quick answer
- Get a CPR number, MitID, Digital Post and a Danish bank account (NemKonto).
- Log in to minSU with MitID and apply for SU for your education.
- Within 3 weeks, complete the equal status application for foreign citizens in minSU and upload your documents.
- As an EU/EEA or Swiss student, you usually qualify as a worker: a paid job of at least 10-12 hours every week, for at least 10 continuous weeks, kept up the whole time you get SU.
- Apply by the last day of the month you want SU from. SU is never paid for earlier months, and the last application date in a year is 5 December.
Since 1 October 2026, SU is administered by Udbetaling Danmark, according to su.dk. Your university’s SU office still helps with study-related questions.
Who can apply: the routes to equal status
Foreign citizens get SU by being granted “equal status” with Danish citizens. You can apply under EU rules or Danish rules, and you only need to meet one condition. This table is based on su.dk’s equal status pages.
| Route | Who it fits | Main condition |
|---|---|---|
| EU worker | EU/EEA/Swiss students with a job in Denmark | Paid job, 10-12 hours every week, at least 10 continuous weeks |
| EU self-employed | EU/EEA/Swiss students running a business in Denmark | Real, regular business with turnover, registered in Denmark |
| Family of an EU worker | Child, spouse or parent of an EU/EEA worker in Denmark | Your family member has worker status |
| 5 years’ residence (EU rules) | EU/EEA/Swiss citizens | At least 5 years of continuous residence in Denmark, no work needed |
| Worked 2 years (Danish rules) | Any nationality | You work or have worked in Denmark for at least 2 years |
| 5 years’ residence (Danish rules) | Any nationality | Resided in Denmark for at least 5 years |
| Other Danish rules | Any nationality | Married to a Dane, came to Denmark with your parents, Danish minority in Southern Slesvig, some Integration Act cases |
Exchange students and most non-EU students on a study residence permit can’t get SU. If you are a non-EU citizen with a student residence permit, su.dk warns that receiving public benefits can affect your right to stay, so check your case first.
Before you apply: checklist
- CPR number (yellow health card number). Our first-week checklist covers how to get one.
- MitID, which you can get with your passport or ID card at a Citizen Service Centre.
- Digital Post (via borger.dk or the Digital Post app). All letters from SU arrive there.
- A Danish bank account registered as your NemKonto. SU is paid into it.
- Your admission to an SU-approved education.
- For the worker route: your employment contract, and if you’ve already worked, payslips and timesheets.
Applying costs nothing.
Deadlines that decide when your SU starts
- You can apply up to 3 months before the month you want SU from.
- The application must be in by the last day of the month. Example: to get SU for September, apply by 30 September.
- SU is paid from the month you apply at the earliest. It is never paid retroactively, so applying in October means no SU for September.
- The equal status application must be completed no later than 3 weeks after your SU application. If you’re late, the date you complete it counts as your application date, and you lose the months in between.
- If some documents are missing, you can state in the application that they will follow and send them within 7 days via Digital Post.
- The last day to apply in a year is 5 December. Later applications start in January.
Source: su.dk: Foreign citizen, how to apply.
OK, let’s get started with the application.
Step 1: Apply for SU in minSU
Go to su.dk and click “Log på minSU”, or go straight to min.su.dk, and log in with MitID. su.dk recommends using a computer, not a phone, because not all applications sent from mobile devices are received.
- Firstly I would advise using Google Translate in your browser to have everything in English.
- Choose “Søg om SU” (apply for SU).
- Select your education and fill out the application.
- Submit. The receipt page links to the equal status application.
If you want the official apps on your phone, see our list of useful apps for living in Denmark.
Step 2: Fill out the equal status application
After submitting your SU application, open the “Application for equal status (foreign citizens)” from the receipt page or from the menu in minSU. It’s available in English.
The form asks questions covering every route in the table above, so you don’t need to pick a rule yourself. You can apply under EU rules and Danish rules at the same time. Answer everything truthfully, and attach the documents the form asks for.
You don’t need to attach your residence permit or EU registration certificate unless you apply under the Integration Act sections.
Step 3: Prove your worker status (EU/EEA students)
This is where most applications succeed or fail. For years, students got different answers: “10 hours a week”, “10-12 hours”, “43 hours a month”. Many students, me included, used to focus on hitting 43 hours a month.
su.dk is now explicit, and the monthly approach is not safe. According to su.dk’s worker status page, as a general rule you must:
- be employed by an employer and paid wages,
- work at least 10-12 hours per week, every week,
- work for a continuous period of at least 10 weeks, and keep working the whole time you receive SU,
- earn a gross wage of a certain level. su.dk says it has previously approved contracts at 125 kr per hour plus 12.5% holiday allowance; with a lower wage you’ll generally need more than 10 hours a week.
Two points trip people up:
- 40 hours a month is generally not enough. Most months have slightly more than four weeks, so 40 hours doesn’t equal 10 hours every week.
- Averaging is generally not accepted. A short week can’t be fixed with extra hours in another week. Several jobs can count together if they add up to 10-12 hours every week.
You can apply from the day your job starts, but you must then work 10-12 hours every week during the first 10 weeks after approval. If you start mid-month, the weekly hours count from your start date. Each case is assessed individually, and SU also looks at things like sick pay, holiday rights and whether you’re covered by a collective agreement.
How SU checks your hours: your employer reports your pay and hours to the tax authorities (eIndkomst), and SU follows that data while you receive SU. If your pay periods don’t match calendar months, SU can ask for timesheets or rosters signed by your employer. Keep them.
Still looking for a job that gives you stable weekly hours? See our guide to finding a student job in Denmark and what a union can do for your rights. You might also want to read about the legal disputes over these rules.
Step 4: Upload your documents
Everything is done online in minSU. Back in the day, you brought papers to the SU office at your school; that’s no longer needed. For the worker route, upload:
- Employment contract(s) for all your jobs, ideally stating weekly hours.
- Payslips for all jobs, if you’ve already worked.
- Timesheets or rosters with exact start and end times, signed by your employer, if your hours vary.
Side note on the 5-year rule: if you have resided in Denmark for more than 5 years, you can simply say so in the application and leave the work sections out. It worked out for me. After five years of continuous residence, equal status is granted from that month and you no longer need to work alongside your studies.
Step 5: Wait for the decision
su.dk doesn’t publish a processing time, and there is no pre-approval: every case is assessed after you apply. Applications at the start of a semester usually take longer. If you applied on time and your documents are complete, you’ll get SU from the month you applied, regardless of how long the case takes.
Once approved, SU is paid on the last weekday of the month before the month it covers.
3 reasons SU applications get declined
Not enough hours every week
If your contract says fewer than 10-12 hours a week, or your payslips show weeks below that, the application will usually be rejected. Monthly totals or averages generally don’t rescue it.
A vikar or zero-hours contract with no fixed hours
You can still apply with a contract that doesn’t state hours (for example temp agency or “vikar” work), but you need to show you actually work 10-12 hours every week. In practice, that means payslips and signed timesheets covering your recent weeks. If you can’t show that yet, keep working steady weekly hours and apply again.
Missed deadlines or missing documents
The equal status application must be completed within 3 weeks of your SU application, or you lose the months in between. Fill in the forms with a friend or classmate so you can check each other for mistakes.
If your situation changes after you’re approved
These rules come from su.dk’s page on changes to your circumstances for EU workers. Report changes via Digital Post.
| Change | What to do |
|---|---|
| New job | No new equal status application, but send the new contract. If it isn’t approved, SU stops. |
| You stop working | Report your last working day as soon as possible. SU generally stops. |
| Fired or laid off | You can keep worker status if you worked 10-12 hours a week for 10 weeks before. Register as a jobseeker on jobnet.dk within 14 days and send the termination letter and registration receipt. |
| Illness | Send medical documentation that you can’t work 10-12 hours a week. Same 10-week rule applies. |
| Holiday | Up to 6 weeks per holiday year, after 10 weeks of 10-12 hours a week. Send a signed statement from your employer with the exact dates. |
| Maternity leave | You keep worker status if you get pay or maternity benefit during the leave. |
| Study abroad or unpaid internship | You only keep SU if you keep working in Denmark to the same extent as before. |
| Paid internship | No SU during the paid period. |
| New education (e.g. starting a master’s) | Apply for SU and equal status again. |
If you’re laid off, an a-kasse matters too. Read what an a-kasse is and why students join.
FAQ about applying for SU
Can international students get SU in Denmark?
Yes, if they get equal status. EU/EEA and Swiss students usually qualify through worker status (10-12 hours a week). Non-EU students generally need to meet a Danish rule, such as 2 years of work or 5 years of residence in Denmark, or marriage to a Danish citizen.
Is it possible to get SU without working?
Yes, if you have resided in Denmark continuously for at least 5 years, or you qualify through a family member who is an EU worker in Denmark, or you meet one of the Danish rules.
What is minSU?
minSU (min.su.dk) is the self-service site where you apply for SU, complete the equal status application, upload documents, opt out of SU for a period and see your payments. You log in with MitID.
How long does the SU application take?
su.dk doesn’t give a processing time. Expect longer waits in August and September. Your SU is backdated to the month you applied, as long as you met the deadlines.
What if I am not sure I worked enough hours?
Talk to SU before the gap becomes a problem. Holiday can cover up to 6 weeks per holiday year if you had 10 weeks of steady hours before it, documented with a statement from your employer. Opting out of SU for a month must be done by the 15th of the month before. Our SU rules guide explains SU holiday and stopping SU.
Can I get SU if I work as a freelancer or self-employed?
Yes, it is possible to receive SU as self-employed, but it’s more of a hustle. Freelance jobs like bike courier work (e.g. with Wolt) or cleaning are common among students.
You have to convince SU that you are a genuinely self-employed person under EU law. According to su.dk, the business must be run at your own risk to make a profit, be established and operated in Denmark, have a certain turnover, and be active regularly over a longer period. You’ll need a CVR number.
Documents su.dk may ask for:
- Contracts or agreements with clients
- Invoices to customers and proof of payment
- CVR registration
- A 12-month budget and annual accounts (preferably audited)
- A business plan or market analysis
- Documentation of expenses
- VAT payments
Thanks to Grigore Butac for originally finding this information.
Do I need a new application when I start my master’s?
Yes. Each stage of a multi-stage education needs a new SU application, and EU workers must apply for equal status again. Students who start a new higher education from 1 July 2025 are also covered by the SU reform that takes effect in January 2027.
Who do I contact about SU?
Your university’s SU office for questions about your studies, and Udbetaling Danmark (via su.dk’s contact page or Digital Post) for equal status. See su.dk: enquiries regarding equal status.
Once your SU is paid, check that the right tax card is used on it. Our student tax guide explains hovedkort and bikort.