> I was shocked to see a threatening email from the Immigration Agency (SIRI), telling me they were considering cancelling my student’s resident permit for working 233 hours in a single month. The problem is I worked only 84 hours!
This horror story was submitted by our Last Week in Denmark reader, Metehan.
Metehan is a Master’s Student at the Technical University of Denmark, DTU, studying Computer Science and Engineering. Originally from Turkey, Metehan and his wife Sena are here looking for a future in Denmark. Like many students trying to survive the high living costs of Denmark, Metehan took a student job.
For about a year he was employed at the Copenhagen Business School, CBS. There he was a Platform and Data Analytics Student Assistant, at the Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship.
> I saw working at CBS as a long-term investment. Sure, I earned some money to survive. But what I saw as more valuable was the cluster of ideas at the university. Students and young entrepreneurs were always bouncing ideas off of each other and to me that was very inspiring.
Balancing student and work-life can come with unexpected challenges. In Denmark there are strict rules on the employment of international students. These rules are intended to ensure international students do not deviate from their intended study program.
Under current rules, students may work at most 90 hours per month between September and May. (Previously 20 hours per week). Students may only work full-time in the Summer months. Working for more hours than this limit is forbidden. The Danish Immigration Agency SIRI or Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration monitors how many hours international students like Metehan have worked each month. And if they believe a student has ‘worked illegally’, the student may face serious consequences.
Because these regulations target international students, they can be invisible to Danish employers. While Metehan was working at CBS, his salary agreement was hourly. Yet his payslips were paid out in bulk, and sometimes delayed. That meant some months were registered as 0 hours, while others were registered as 233 hours!
> When SIRI falsely detected that I had worked 233 hours in November, they immediately emailed my e-boks. They requested to see my payslips, working hours and any other documents I could use to prove my work hours within 14 days. If I failed, I would face either a warning or even losing my right to reside in Denmark!
In a rush, Metehan gathered all the documents he could and submitted them to SIRI’s system. Two weeks later he received a follow-up email saying that ‘[he] had failed to prove that 233 hours was printed incorrectly’. Because this was only a violation for ‘1 month’, he would be given a one-time warning. If he triggers the system again he will lose his right to live in Denmark.
> I had tried reaching out to CBS to vouch for me. But since I had stopped working there, no one from CBS wanted to take up my case. I tried accounting, my ex-manager, HR… No response. I am still expecting one more delayed payslip from CBS and I am now just praying it does not trigger another response from SIRI.
Metehan has since switched to working as a Research Assistant at his home university DTU instead. It’s shocking that Metehan can get punished for playing by the rules. He is not cheating anyone, committing tax fraud or laundering money. But to SIRI he appears like a criminal.
A similar thing happened to me when I was a student. I received 100 hours’ worth of salary in one month, because my Danish bank account took so long to open. I received the same ’14 days’ email from SIRI. Fortunately in my case my manager was more than happy to call SIRI personally and explain the situation to them.
> I would like to give 5 Tips for all Internationals Working in Denmark
- Understand the working rights of your visa. What might be okay for your colleague might be illegal for you.
- Maintain a close relationship with your employer and ensure they understand the working rights for internationals.
- Join a trade union! It’s good to have some folks to help you from outside of the workplace.
- Ask to see your payslips. Assume YOU will be audited even if your Danish coworkers are not.
- Continuous employment is vital for eventual Permanent Residency and Citizenship. Things happen, don’t be discouraged!
It can and will make a difference if Danish employers understand the restrictions on international students. It is imperative that students and recent graduates can contribute to the Danish economy without being threatened. There is much to be said about how CBS ought to change their accounting principles and how Danish employers must be more sensitive.
Consider forwarding this story to your employer. Have the interns or students at your workplace faced a warning like this? You could potentially save someone’s right to live in Denmark!
What about the reverse scenario, does that mean full time employees cant study in a university? Or do master programs while working?