CPR, MitID and Digital Post: the order that opens everything
In Denmark everything hangs on one number. The CPR number opens healthcare, the bank, tax and school, but the number itself waits for a residential address and for the EU residence document from SIRI. This is how the chain works, what you show per ground of residence, and which duty comes with it that the Netherlands does not know.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, as a Dutch citizen you may live and work in Denmark without a permit: you may start working on arrival. But for almost everything after that you need a CPR number, the Danish personal identification number.
That number waits for two things:
- a residential address;
- the EU residence document from SIRI, the Danish immigration service.
That document is free and does not expire. For workers SIRI gives a processing time of zero days.
One thing to remember well: on the day of your CPR appointment your residence document may be no older than six months. That is what International House Copenhagen, the newcomers' service in Copenhagen, writes. The trap is therefore not the counter, but waiting too long between the two steps.
Who may stay, and what do I show?
If you stay longer than three months, you apply for the EU residence document within three months of arrival. If you are seeking work, within six months. What you show depends on your ground of residence:
| Ground of residence | What SIRI asks |
|---|---|
| Employee | an employment contract or employer's declaration, signed less than 60 days before receipt; as a rule work of at least 10 to 12 hours a week, for at least 10 to 12 weeks |
| Own means, without children | at least 7,095 kroner gross a month (2026) |
| Own means, single parent | at least 11,716 kroner gross a month (2026) |
| Own means, parent with partner | at least 10,004 kroner gross a month (2026) |
If you live on your own means, like most pensioners, you show that you can support yourself and your family for the first twelve months. You must remain able to do so the whole time; SIRI can ask for it again later.
Every family member submits their own application, the children too. After five years of residence on an EU ground you have the right to permanent residence.
Link one: the residence document at SIRI
You apply online and then appear in person at one of SIRI's offices or at an International Citizen Service (a service desk for international newcomers), with your passport or ID card.
- If you do not do so within thirty days, SIRI considers the application withdrawn.
- You can only book an appointment once the online application is in.
- There is no fee. If more information is needed, processing can take up to a month.
Link two: the CPR number, and so first an address
You get the CPR number from the municipality where you live. You cannot get it before you move, not even if you need it for a bank, a school or a nursery.
The conditions:
- a residence document;
- a place to live;
- a stay of longer than three consecutive months.
If you only got the residence document after arrival, according to CPR.dk you are in the register from the date of that document, not from the day you arrived. The municipality may ask you to come in person to check that you really live there.
In Copenhagen you first submit the CPR application online; count on two to three weeks for that. Then you book an appointment with a personal link. Everyone in the same application comes together. Once you are registered, you receive your yellow health card automatically.
Do not leave more than half a year between the two steps. International House Copenhagen writes that your residence document may be no older than six months on the day of your CPR appointment, for every family member, the children too. Whoever gets the document straight after arrival and lets the house hunt drag on, may have to start again at SIRI. Plan the home and the document together.
Link three: MitID, and the duty that comes with it
MitID is the Danish digital key, comparable to the Dutch DigiD. In many areas you are obliged to use the government's digital self-service, and for that you need MitID. You get it in two ways:
- in the MitID app, by scanning the chip of your passport and then your face, with a smartphone that can do that;
- by appointment at Borgerservice, the municipality's citizen service desk.
And then Digital Post, the government's digital mailbox. From the age of fifteen you receive post from the Danish government digitally, and Life in Denmark adds plainly that it is your obligation to read it. It contains the things you do not want to miss, from a hospital appointment to a place for your child.
If you have a CPR number, you receive Digital Post automatically. You can read it in the app, on e-Boks.dk or on mit.dk. Whoever cannot receive it can apply for exemption and then gets paper post.
How do I keep hold of the order?
The order is: home, residence document, CPR number, MitID and Digital Post. After that come the health card, the tax card and the bank.
Where the money goes in those weeks is in your first weeks in Denmark. How you use your Dutch account as NemKonto until the Danish one is there, is in the article on banking and paying.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey: the same chain, but as tickable steps for your situation — in your order and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Denmark.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Nyidanmark (SIRI) — residence as an EU worker, no fee and a processing time of 0 days — nyidanmark.dk
- Nyidanmark (SIRI) — residence on your own means (self-support), with the amounts for 2026 — nyidanmark.dk
- CPR.dk — moving to Denmark, and from which date you are registered — cpr.dk
- International House Copenhagen — step by step for EU citizens, and the six months of the residence document — ihcph.kk.dk
- Life in Denmark — MitID — lifeindenmark.borger.dk
- Life in Denmark — Digital Post — lifeindenmark.borger.dk
- Life in Denmark — residence for EU citizens, the three-month deadline — lifeindenmark.borger.dk
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