If you are over 18, have a residence permit in Denmark and have been assigned a civil registration number, you have the right to receive three years’ education in Danish. Danish education includes Danish language tuition and Danish social studies.
Your municipal authority is required to offer you Danish language tuition no later than one month following your application for this. Tuition can take place at a language centre or at an alternative approved Danish education centre. You have the right to receive Danish language tuition until you have passed a final Danish proficiency test. This must, however, take place within a three-year period.
Can be combined with work
Danish language tuition is there to help you quickly find work if you do not already have a job. You can combine tuition with work, practical training and other education.
Three Danish education programmes
There are three types of Danish education programmes. The language centre makes sure that you are enrolled with the programme that best suits your objectives and capabilities.
Danish education programme 1
Danish education programme 1 is for people who have not learned to read and write in their mother tongue. This programme places special emphasis on oral Danish. But you will also learn to read and write simple texts. The aim is to enable you to find unskilled work so that you can provide for yourself as an active citizen in Denmark.
Danish education programme 2
This programme is for people who have spent a short time at school or who have basic training skills from their native country. You will learn to understand, speak and read Danish so you can get by at work and on a daily basis. You will also practise writing simple texts in Danish. The aim is to help you find a job as quickly as possible so you can become an active citizen in Denmark. After completing the Danish education programme you will have learned suffi cient Danish to follow a number of training courses on an equal footing with other Danes.
Danish education programme 3
This programme is for the person who has completed medium to long-term education, for example, business training, upper secondary education or someone with a further education qualification. The speed and level are 35 higher than that of Danish education programme 2. The aim is to help you fi nd a job as quickly as possible or for you to pursue further education so you can become an active citizen in Denmark.
Culture and social conditions In all three programmes, students receive Danish language tuition as well as instruction in Danish culture and social conditions. Here, for example, you will fi nd subjects like the welfare society, democracy, the labour market and seeking employment.
Ends with test
Danish education programmes 1 and 2 can end with Danish Profi ciency Tests 1 and 2. Danish education programme 3 ends with the Danish Profi ciency Test 3 or the Studies Test. A passed studies test is a prerequisite for beginning a number of programmes of higher education.
How much does education cost?
Your municipal authority pays for your education in Danish. Your authority may decide to ask for a participant fee. This, however, will not apply if you receive your Danish language tuition as part of your introductory programme. In that case, your authority may not ask for a fee.
Credits: The Danish Immigration Service
