COVID-19 and SU - English version - latest update January 2, 2023

Yes. SU is paid out to students in advance and on a monthly basis. Students are required to continue their studies at home if possible. However,  your SU payment may be delayed, as it is handled manually. If you  have any questions or have any doubt about your situation, please contact your educational institution.

We assume that you are studying actively at home to the extent, which is possible. The SU payment will therefore continue unchanged.

If you are delayed in your higher educational studies because of the COVID-19 situation, you can apply for additional SU (SU-klip) beyond the prescribed duration of your study period. It can be due to illness or other extraordinary conditions. Please see the rules regarding additional SU (in danish). You will have to document a causality between COVID-19 and your delay and you application will be individually assessed. 

If you have run out of SU you may be entitled to a completion loan (slutlån) - find more information about completion loan here (in danish).

Check the webpage of your union for questions and answers about your rights as a student worker in regards to COVID-19.

The government and a broad majority in the Danish Parliament have on several occasions made it possible for students in higher or private education who have used all their SU and completion loans to take out more completion loans.

You can read more about how to apply for this completion loan on the page COVID-19 og udvidet mulighed for flere måneder med slutlån (in danish).

During certain periods of time the official recommendations from Danish authorities may result in a reduction of your working hours. We will take that into account in our ongoing assessment of your status as a worker in Denmark under EU law.

From December 10, 2021 until January 31, 2022 a few industries have had restrictions and shutdowns (e.g. nightlife) in connection with COVID-19.

From February 1, 2022 all restrictions has been lifted, and as such we expect that you will be able to work as normal.

You must have status as a worker in the period leading up to the temporary reduction of working hours

Please note that, as a rule, to maintain your status as a worker in Denmark under EU-law, it is a condition that you have status as a worker in the period leading up to your temporary reduction of working hours because of the recommendations from Danish authorities in connection with COVID-19. This is also the case if your contract have been terminated and you were involuntarily unemployed. We always conduct a specific assessment of your case, and we expect that you as a minimum have worked 10–12 hours each week in a consecutive period of 10 weeks leading up to when you stopped working.

In the following you can read more about how to behave, if your workplace is either closed or highly affected by COVID-19.

You work in an industry that is closed due to COVID-19 from December 10, 2021 - January 31, 2022

If you are employed in an industry that has been closed from December 10, 2021 (e.g. the nightlife), you must submit a statement of truth from your employer. The statement must include:

• a statement that confirms that COVID-19 is the reason why you have not been working 10–12 hours per week
• your employer’s signature
• you employer’s CVR number
• the company’s stamp
• a clear indication of which period of time the statement is covering (the statement of truth can only cover the period of time that is in line with the current official recommendations from Danish authorities)

We always conduct an individual assessment of the submitted statement.

You work in an industry that is highly affected by COVID-19 from December 10, 2021

 - January 31, 2022

If you are employed in an industry that was not closed, but highly affected by the COVID-19 situation, you must submit a statement of truth from your employer. The statement must include:

• a statement that confirms that your workplace could not offer you your usual working hours due to COVID-19. The statement must also explain why there was a reduction in your working hours – e.g. fewer customers, reduced hours etc.
• your employer’s signature
• your company’s CVR number
• the company’s stamp
• a clear indication of which period of time the statement is covering (the statement of truth can only cover the period of time that is in line with the current official recommendations from Danish authorities)

We always conduct an individual assessment of the submitted statement.

If you are on holiday or terminated from work

Please note that you must submit documentation if you take holiday, regardless of your employment and whether you are covered by the temporary relief packages. You must submit the documentation through Changes to your circumstances.

If your contract is terminated, you can follow the instructions under "involuntarily unemployed" under Changes to your circumstances.

Contact

If you have enquiries regarding your status as a worker under EU-law, and you did not find the answer online, you can inform us via Digital Post on borger.dk.

On March 31, 2020 the Danish Parliament has decided that students who participate in critical societal functions in relation to the COVID-19 alert will be able to apply for an increased allowed amount of earnings (fribeløb) for 2020, 2021 and 2022 (the deadline to apply for 2020 and 2021 was December 31, 2022). The possible increase corresponds to the salary earned during the alert work. As an example, this could be medical and nursing students for extra shifts (FADL-shifts) and social and healthcare students, who participate in the COVID-19 alert or if you are specifically hired to test for Covid. By alert in regards to COVID-19, we mean other students with a health professional or pedagogical background, who are asked to step in as extra assistance in critical societal functions, and for whom this work is not part of the their regular work.

You do not have to do anything now, if you participate in critical societal functions in relation to the COVID-19 alert. 

You can read more about how to apply for an increased allowed amount of earnings (fribeløb) on the page COVID-19 og SU (in danish) under "Forhøjet fribeløb". You must apply for an increased allowed amount of earnings (fribeløb) for 2022 no later than December 31, 2023.