Complaint – Foreign citizens

If you are dissatisfied with a decision, you can file a complaint.

You can complain about:

  • rejection of your application for equal status with Danish citizens.
  • a claim for repayment of SU because we assess that you no longer meet the conditions for equal status (e.g. as a worker in Denmark under EU law).

Attach all relevant documentation

When filing a complaint, you must include any new documentation you want us to consider during the review process. By "new documentation," we mean documentation or information you have not already submitted

In your complaint, you may include new documentation showing that you meet one or more conditions for equal status with Danish citizens.

For example, this could be new documentation showing that you fulfill the requirements. The type of documentation needed depends on the conditions you believe you meet.

You can complain if we have assessed that you no longer meet the conditions for equal status with Danish citizens and are therefore not entitled to SU. This includes a claim to repay SU received during the period in which you did not meet the conditions.

Documentation showing you meet the conditions

When you complain, you must include new documentation showing that you met the conditions for equal status with Danish citizens during the period covered by the repayment claim.

Examples of relevant documentation

  • Worker in Denmark under EU law: If our decision states that you or your family member did not meet the conditions for being a worker in Denmark under EU law, relevant documentation could include payslips, work schedules, or other evidence of your employment situation (e.g. holidays, illness or involuntarily unemployment).
  • Self-employed in Denmark under EU law: If our decision states that you or your family member did not meet the conditions for being self-employed in Denmark under EU law, relevant documentation could include annual financial statements, tax assessments from the Danish Tax Agency, invoices to customers, or bank statements from your business account.

You may reapply for SU and equal status if you meet the conditions at a later date, even if your complaint about our decision is still being processed.

When reapplying, you must:

  • Submit a new application for SU
  • Complete the application for equal status for foreign citizens in minSU

We will then assess whether you meet one of the conditions for equal status with Danish citizens starting from the month of the new application.

How to complain

Send your complaint via Digital Post on borger.dk to Uddannelses- og Forskningsstyrelsen > "Øvrige henvendelser til styrelsen."

In the subject line, write: “Klage til Ankenævnet for Statens Uddannelsesstøtteordninger”.

Deadline

We (Uddannelses- og Forskningsstyrelsen) must receive your complaint no later than four weeks from the date you received the decision.

How we process complaints

Initially, we process your complaint. You will receive a receipt confirming that we have received your complaint.

When processing a complaint, we can either:

  • change our decision and approve your application for equal status or withdraw the claim for SU repayment entirely or partially, or
  • maintain our decision on rejection or claim for repayment

If we change our decision, we will contact you directly.

If we maintain our decision, we will forward your complaint along with a statement and all case documents to the the Danish Educational Support Appeal Board (Ankenævnet for Statens Uddannelsesstøtteordninger).

Once your complaint is received by the appeal board, you will receive a receipt along with all case documents via Digital Post on borger.dk. The appeal board cannot answer questions about your case until you have received the receipt.

In the overview below, you can see how far we are in processing complaints regarding SU for foreign citizens. This includes complaints about rejections of equal status applications and claims to repay SU following a claim for repayment of SU because we find that you no longer meet the conditions.

We process complaints in the order they are received.

The overview was last updated on May 2, 2025. We update the overview twice a month:

Subject We are processing complaints received in*
Rejection of applications for equal status March 2025
SU repayment following a claim for repayment of SU December 2024

*) Some cases may have been received before the indicated month in the overview.