On December 15, 2025, the Danish Patient Safety Authority introduced a quota on the number of applications for authorization as a doctor, valid until December 31, 2026. The quota is set at 0, which means that residence permits cannot be granted for the purpose of obtaining Danish authorization as a doctor. Accompanying family members of persons covered by the quota scheme will also no longer be able to obtain a residence permit on that basis.
However, accompanying family members of persons who have been granted a residence permit in Denmark before December 15, 2025, for the purpose of obtaining Danish authorization as a doctor, will still be able to apply for and be granted a residence permit as accompanying family members.
The aim is to create a balance between the number of foreign healthcare professionals from third countries who travel to Denmark to obtain Danish authorization and the estimated future need for healthcare professionals within the relevant professional group in regions and municipalities.
Throughout the entire period, all applications for residence permits for the purpose of obtaining authorization as a doctor and accompanying family members to those applicants, will be rejected. This applies regardless of when the application was submitted and therefore also includes all pending applications. However, an exception applies to accompanying family members if the main applicant has obtained a residence permit for the purpose of obtaining Danish authorization as a doctor before December 15, 2025.
The full fee paid in connection with the submission of the application will be refunded if the application is rejected due to the quota system.
There will be no change to the possibility of applying for an extension of an already granted authorization to reside as a doctor and as an accompanying family member, nor will pending extension applications be affected by the changes.
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