Continuity
In certain instances, you can retain your status as an EU worker despite no longer being in employment. This applies if you wish to educate yourself in the occupational field within which you have worked in Denmark. In this regard, there must be continuity (a connection in terms of content and time) between your earlier job and the education programme for which you are seeking SU. The relevant work must be finished before starting the education programme for which you have applied for SU.
Retraining
You can also retain your status as a worker if you have become involuntarily unemployed due to health reasons or structural conditions on the labour market, as a result of which you are prevented from performing the job for which you are trained and therefore need to undergo retraining. In this regard, it is a requirement that the education programme for which you are seeking SU aims to prepare you for employment in a field unrelated in terms of content and time to your previous work in Denmark. If you are unskilled, you will be ineligible for SU under this rule.
How we handle cases
When assessing whether you fulfil one of the criteria, we look at the documentation that you have attached together with the application for equal status for foreign citizens. You can access the application for equal status by clicking on the receipt page you get when you have applied for SU in minSU.
If you are granted SU, we do not require you to work alongside your studies in Denmark.
Examples
Read examples of cases where foreign students have applied for SU on the basis of their previous status as a worker under EU law.