Which Australian Documents Denmark Requires Certified for Immigration

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. Danish residence rules are published on New to Denmark (nyidanmark.dk), the portal of the Danish Immigration Service and the Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI). Its current page for your permit governs.

The short answer for most Australians is: very few, and possibly none. Denmark's residence permit applications are made with uploaded copies. The New to Denmark pages for the permits Australians most often use ask for no notarised copy and no apostille, and they accept English. What Denmark insists on is something no notary can do for you: turning up in person to give biometrics.

This page covers residence permits: working holiday, work, and joining a spouse or partner. Marrying in Denmark is a separate process with its own authority, covered on its own page.

Where Australians apply

Applications are made online and completed at VFS Global, which has centres in several Australian capital cities. Denmark's mission for Australia is the Consulate General in Sydney, not an embassy in Canberra. VFS forwards files through it.

Biometrics — fingerprints and a photo — must be given in person. Denmark's Australian mission says there is no dispensation from that requirement, and the working holiday page sets a short deadline after you apply. Plan travel to a VFS centre before you lodge.

What Denmark asks for, permit by permit

Working holiday

Australian citizens within an age range can apply. The documents are practical:

• a copy of all pages of your passport, including blank pages and the covers
• a bank statement showing the minimum funds, plus a return ticket or extra funds in place of one

Bank statements in a language other than English, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish or German must be translated. An Australian bank statement is already in English. Nothing on the list needs a notary. The passport copy is a copy you make, not a certified copy.

Joining a spouse or partner

The application form asks for a copy of your marriage certificate, with an authorised translation into Danish or English if it is in another language. An Australian marriage certificate in English needs no translation and goes in as a copy.

What matters more than certification is validity. New to Denmark says a marriage concluded abroad must have been valid in the country where it took place, and it does not recognise proxy marriages or marriages conducted by a religious official without legal authority. If you married in Australia before an authorised celebrant and the marriage was registered, order the standard certificate from the state or territory registry. The decorative certificate handed over on the day is not a registry document.

If you married outside Australia, the certificate comes from that country, and any question of authenticating it belongs there. An Australian notary cannot vouch for a foreign registry's document.

Work permits

Under the Pay Limit Scheme and the Positive List for skilled work, you document your education and the job. New to Denmark asks for "documentation of authorisation" only where the job requires a Danish authorisation — as regulated professions such as health care do.

Educational documents may be submitted in English, as well as Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, French or German. Documents in any other language need a translation.

If your job needs a Danish authorisation, the authorising body sets its own document rules, and those may include certified copies. That is where a notary is most likely to come in. Find out which body authorises your profession, and what form it wants your degree in, before certifying anything.

Translations

SIRI's general guidance says translations must be made by an authorised translator, and that you attach both the original-language document and the translation. One work-permit page refers instead to a professional translator. For Australian applicants the question rarely arises, because Australian documents are in English. If you have documents in another language, ask whether a NAATI-credentialled translation made in Australia will be accepted before commissioning one.

Apostilles

Denmark is a party to the Apostille Convention; confirm its status against the HCCH status table on the day. Denmark's foreign ministry says documents from apostille countries generally need an apostille, but that the Danish authority requesting the document can clarify what it wants. The New to Denmark residence permit pages we reviewed do not ask for one.

So do not add an apostille by default. If a caseworker asks for one on an Australian registry certificate, DFAT can generally apostille it directly, without a notary. Confirm with DFAT.

Where an Australian notary might still fit

• Certified copies for an authorisation body, where your profession needs a Danish authorisation and that body asks for certified documents
• Sworn statements, if the Danish Immigration Service or SIRI asks for a declaration on a point your documents do not cover and accepts one made in Australia
• Powers of attorney, so that someone in Denmark can deal with housing or a bank before you arrive

Frequently asked questions

Does my Australian marriage certificate need an apostille for a Danish spouse permit? The New to Denmark pages we reviewed ask for a copy, and an authorised translation only if it is not in Danish or English. Follow any further request from your caseworker.

Can a notary give my biometrics for me, or certify my identity instead? No. Denmark requires biometrics in person at an application centre, with no exemption.

Do I need my degree certified for a Danish work permit? Not usually for the permit itself. You may for an authorisation to practise a regulated profession. Ask that body.