Denmark issues far fewer student residence permits to Nepal and Bangladesh nationals

Denmark granted roughly 50 student residence permits to citizens of Nepal and Bangladesh in the first five months of this year, down from about 800 in the same period in 2025, according to figures from the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.

The permits cover both state-recognised and non-state-recognised higher education programmes.

Immigration and Integration Minister Morten Bødskov said the sharp decline shows that recent rule tightening is working. He stated that the student residence scheme must not become a “back door to the Danish labour market.”

Over recent years, rules for third-country nationals—those from outside the Nordic region, the EU, the EEA, and Switzerland—have been tightened amid concerns that many from Bangladesh and Nepal were using student permits to access the labour market without intending to study. Family members accompanying students also received residence and work permits under the scheme.

In May 2025, a change barred third-country nationals enrolled in non-state-recognised higher education from bringing family members. Further proposals, including removing the option for students on state-recognised programmes to bring family and shortening the post-graduation job-search period from three years to one, are set to be reintroduced by the new government.