Today, nearly 223,000 international employees work full time in Denmark. This is the highest number ever recorded. Together with their Danish colleagues they contribute with knowledge and competences that are crucial to growth and development in Danish companies. Furthermore, highly skilled international employees provide a substantial contribution to the Danish welfare system every year – that is, if they stay.

Unfortunately, far from everyone does. One third of the highly skilled international employees leave Denmark within the first three years and after six years, about half of them have left Denmark. For some, the plan is to work in Denmark only for a couple of years, but for others, settling in can be a challenging experience which causes them to make the decision to leave Denmark.

Better welcome for international employees

Danish companies invest a lot in welcoming their international employees, but there is a need for a broad collaboration to make everyday life a little easier for newly arrived international knowledge workers. When coming to Denmark, they are bound to have a lot of questions: Is it possible for us to find suitable and affordable housing? Are there any international schools nearby? How does the Danish tax system work?

Fortunately, there are a wide range of local and regional initiatives that can accommodate these types of questions and this weekend, International House Copenhagen welcomes 1,500 international citizens to Denmark together with DI and other partners when International Citizen Day takes place at DGI-Byen in the heart of Copenhagen.

The purpose is to create a one-point-entry to life in Denmark through information and inspiration. Throughout the day, internationals can become acquainted with job and career opportunities in Danish companies, the Danish tax system, the different housing options as well as leisure and cultural activities.

All these elements support Danish companies’ efforts to welcome their international employees and they contribute to the incentive of them staying a little longer in Denmark.

At DI we support the welcoming initiatives as they make a notable difference to the companies and their international employees. We are already experiencing a lot of great welcoming initiatives across the country, such as the Expat Fair in Herning and Aarhus City Welcome, and we hope to see even more cities on the map of welcoming initiatives for international citizens in the future.

See also: “Good working hours - but difficult to make friends with Danes”