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Denmark: Moving to DK from US:
DO NOT MOVE!!! I am a US Citizen that moved to Denmark for love..I am now back in the US and divorcing my abusive Danish husband who beat me for the last few years. There is nothing great about Denmark AT ALL!! Horrible country, the people are cold, the economy is expensive, the weather is horrible and you could not pay me any amount of money to go back EVER!!!!!!!!!!! They don't like Americans and make fun of you at every chance they can. They are rude, cruel and arrogant. WORST COUNTRY EVER!!!!!!!! DON'T MOVE YOU WILL REGRET EVERY SECOND OF THE TIME YOU LIVE THERE!!!!!!!!!
Denmark: Relocation package to Denmark:
I would say the compensation package is on a company to company basis in any county. Being an American who lived in Denmark and I am married to a Dane, I can tell you that your taxes on a premium salary will be 65%. You have to be creative with your tax right offs, which most Danes find great sport in working around the SKAT man, rent is extremely high in most places, food is expensive, travel is expensive, clothes are expensive, going out to dinner you almost never do because it is sooooo expensive and the service most times is lousy due to the fact that the servers are paid a high fee so they don't work for tips, so they really don't care. I hope your company is going to assist you and your family with the immigration process because that is a whole other ball of wax so to say and that process is very tricky! If you have children, and they are in school age, it will do you best to find an extremely good international school, or home school them and find other means for their socialization skill building. It is not a foreigner friendly country at all, matter of fact, I truly believe Danes are perfectly fine with people not immigrating to their country. Up side is free health care, down side is free health care....if you are o.k. with being in hospitals that have not been revamped since the 50s (or older) and dealing with medical staff that will never remember your name because you will never see the same Dr. twice, than it is great for you. I am sure some people would say Denmark is a great country to live in, but I will say as an American who did live their, I am EXTREMELY HAPPY to back in the good ole USofA!!!
Denmark: Travelling in and out of Denmark with Residence Permit:
The rules for students on an education visa are very different. I am an American that moved to Denmark and went through the immigration process, and believe me, you want to get the rules RIGHT and not deviate or they WILL kick you out!! (I did get kicked out and I married a Dane...we had to argue long and hard to keep me in) I had overstayed my American Passport visa 90 days by 5 days because my Family Reunification paperwork took longer than expected. We had received conflicting information from several different Kommunes so it was all very confusing.
I would recommend working closely with the University liaison that is in charge of exchange students and DO NOT deviate from the plan on how you can travel in and out of the country. Don't take someone's word as truth and talk to the Australian Embassy, they should have people there to assist you on Australians rights and travel within Denmark. The Danish immigration system is extremely funny, difficult and confusing. Have clear concise questions to ask them as you will receive many different answers depending on how well they understand and speak English.
The CPR number registration is not a quick nor easy process for people applying for a Marriage Reunification application, so I have no idea how easy it is for a student. Have your ducks in a row before you travel as the Danes are very serious with the paperwork and you can find yourself getting kicked out of the country for one wrong move in your paperwork...
I would check out these websites as they were helpful when I was living in the US considering moving to Denmark
https://www.workindenmark.dk/Moving-to-DK
http://denmark.dk/en/meet-the-danes/ninetips/
GOOD LUCK and enjoy Copenhagen and explore Jutland... a very beautiful country and you will be there during Christmas which is a wonderful time of year to enjoy in Copenhagen... You will truly learn the meaning of Hyggelig!
Denmark: American with EU fiancée in Denmark - Easiest place for us to live?:
Dear American,
You should plan on him moving to the US. Take it from a US citizen that went through the immigratioin process in Denmark...PAIN IN THE ASS and you have no chance of finding work in Denmark either. If you want to be a stay at home parent then you are good, but other than that, you will never find a job in Denmark.
We followed the rules of imigration to a T...got married in Copenhagen filed all the proper paper work and I still almost got kicked out of Denmark and that is no joke. We wrote a letter to the local "rag" BT and ended up in the newspaper, twice, and low and behold I got to stay....take my advice get married in US, have your new husband move to the US and live happily every after in the US. The process here is much more friendly, and the only thing you have to prove to the US immigration department is that you can support your spouse fincancialy above the poverty level.
My Danish husband and I were amazed at the differences between the two countries and we were pleased that his immigration to the US was smooth sailing compared to what I went through in Denmark.
Basically the Danes don't want non-Danes living in their country so they make it as difficult as they can.
Good luck!
Denmark: Family moving to Sonderborg, DK:
I am an American who married a Dane, lived in Viborg for over a year then my husband got a job opportunity in the States, so we now live in Ohio.
I will tell you to not set your sites to high on finding employment for yourself. The Danish system is set up to support mostly Danes. You will more than likely be overlooked for a position if you are competing with a Dane. This is there way of ensuring that "their people" do not live off of the social system. So maybe be preparred to be a stay at home mom who home schools her children.
The children will have issues with socializing as at their age Danish children do not speak english and are just learning. I would suggest looking for an Expat society within your area that focuses on getting children together to play and keep their social activities as normal as possible.
International schools can be dicy at best and from what I understand the really good ones are VERY expensive, so if your husbands company has offered this as a relocation package for your family this is great, if not, I would suggest Home School.
Rent will be high and finding a house with a yard for a decent price that will not make you go broke may be difficult. Apartments tend to be small, but some tend to offer a community garden that you can enjoy. You will find the weather is much like Mass., but it never gets as warm as it does in Mass. I grew up going to Cape Code in the summers, so I am very familer with the climate there at that time of year.
A lot of Danish companys do a pretty good job at having an Expat service set up for their employees. LEGO is one of the best, as they want their employees and family to be happy. I HIGHLY suggest getting to know your Expat liason and using them to assist you as much as possible. A well balanced sense of work and family is very important to the Danes and the USA could take a lesson or two on some of these practices.
Be courageous and go out there and explore. Danes do not socialize as we do in the States and it will take a while to find a group of friends but be persistent, have dinner parties, don't be afraid to be yourself.
All in all your family should walk away with a life experience that will enrich your lives forever.
Denmark: Preparing to move from the US to denmark, Any advise?:
You should seriously reconsider. I am a US Citizen that fell in love with a Dane, moved to Denmark, married in Denmark and now my Danish husband and I live back in the US and are much happier than when we were in Denmark. Your living costs will triple, your child will have to absolutly learn Danish in order to socialize and survive in society. Good luck getting your residency card, mine took over 7 months AFTER I was married and even then I almost got kicked out of the country due to an error on Immigrations part. Danes only want Danes to live in their country, they like you to visit and spend lots of US dollars, but after that you can go home. You will get no benefits from the social system and that is if you get your residency permit before your 3 month passport visa is up. Don't even bother with your car, the taxes you would have to pay are way more than what the vehicle is worth I can tell you that. You think you know what to expect, but you really don't. You would be able to marry in Copenhagen, but it will be difficult. Bring every piece of paper work from the day you were born, your first report card, your first love letter you ever received, your first F you received on a report...you get my jist. Serioulsy re-think this. Good luck finding a job, as well. You don't speak Danish and they don't want to hire non-Danes! Don't mean to discourage you, but you wanted input, so there you have it.
Denmark: A new life in Denmark:
I would recommend doing A LOT of research first.
I am an American and I am married to a Dane and getting my residency card was a total NIGHTMARE!!! The Danish Immigration process is difficult at best. They protect their social system very well. They don't discriminate, but they will do you no favors that is for sure. It took me over 5 months after we were married to receive my temporary residency card and that was after we had to fight with the Ministry because they were going to kick me out of Denmark based on misdirection from the Immigration Department.
Denmark is EXTREMLY expensive, your choices of food, personal health care items and in some instances clothing is very limited. Germany is the best place to shop for things at a decent price.
Health care is free, but you have NO choice as to who, what, when, where and why. The Drs. truly believe in the "Old Ways" are the best ways, so if you need a pain pill, forget it, ain't happening. They don't even know what Neosporin is.
I am not sure why you have a dream to live in Denmark, but I know there are many other countries to choose from that have way better weather. The majority of the people are nice, but making friends and getting into a group of people is very difficult as they are not trusting of strangers.
Jobs are 0 to none if you do not speak fluent Danish and the language is the second hardest language to learn outside of Japanese ( I know this because I am learning it).
My husband and I have moved to the USA and are very happy with our relocation. We had no issues with his immigration process compared to mine, have settled into our new community just fine and are both gainfully employed.
There may come a time in our lives that we end back in Denmark, and if this is the case the only way I would go back is if I was moving to Copenhagen, I think there is more opportunity for a US Citizen there.
I would say if you could apply for a job while still in the US in the education system in Copenhagen, you may have a shot, but your partner with the retail industry background would have a much more difficult time finding employment, ANYWHERE.
Yes the country recognizes Gay marriage and has since the 80's, but being that you are not DANISH it really does nothing for you. Danes love Danes and think very little of other nationalities and this is reflected very much so in their immigration process. They do not want anyone moving into the country to live off of the Social System and I would guess not since the average Dane pays over 65% in taxes to the Tax Man.
Good luck if this is what you choose, but I will tell you think twice and keep on fighting for your rights in the USA. Maybe one day the stupid USA politicians will realize that Gay marriage is none of their business and that it actually promotes the economy, but this is another topic in itself.
Good Luck!
Denmark: Danish Marriage Laws:
I hope someone can ease a frantic American girls mind.
I have fallen in love with a Danish man. We are both in the process of getting a divorce. Mine should be final before the end of the year, his may take longer. Our hope is to be together and be married in 2012 sometime.
I have come accross some blogs that were posted in 2006 in regards to the difficulty of getting married in Denmark due to divorce. The court system seems to be very strict with the divorce decree wording from the US court system.
Now granted 2006 was some time ago so I am wondering if laws have changed some?
Also, after we get married do I then apply for a reunificaton certificate so I can live with the love of my life and not get sent out of the country? It is all starting to get a little confusing and I am a Paralegal so this scares me!!!
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