* To work in Greenland, foreign nationals must apply for a permit through The Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) in Denmark, requiring approval from the Government of Greenland (Naalakkersuisut).
The Ministry of Immigration and Integration has announced important changes regarding residence and work permits in Greenland, which are now in effect. Residence and work permits can now be granted for up to two years, and switching to the healthcare sector from another sector in Greenland will no longer reset the residence period in connection to applications for permanent residency in Greenland.
Foreign nationals can be granted a residence and work permit in Greenland if there are significant employment or business considerations that support the issuance of the permit. Previously, such permits were granted for a maximum of one year.
Employers must obtain a municipal permit if they wish to hire foreign labour for certain positions and no qualified Greenlandic workers are available. These municipal permits can be valid for up to two years.
To align the duration of residence and work permits with the duration of the municipal permits, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) has now changed its practice: residence and work permits for employment in Greenland can now be issued for up to two years. The same applies to accompanying family members.
This change means that employees will no longer have to apply for yearly extensions, reducing both administrative workload and processing time.
Currently, one of the conditions for obtaining a permanent residence permit based on work in Greenland is that the foreign national must have legally resided in Greenland for the last seven years in the same sector. A change in the job sector typically resets the clock to being eligible for permanent residence.
However, to support the recruitment of healthcare personnel, this rule is now being amended. Foreign nationals with a healthcare qualification who are already in Greenland on a work permit outside the healthcare field, and who are offered a job in the healthcare sector, will not have their residency period reset.
This change only applies to those switching into healthcare, due to the acute staff shortages in this sector.
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
Christian Madsen
Director
Nerrisa Rose Weis
Senior Manager
Duygu Sahin
Senior Associate
Christopher Aastrup
Senior Associte
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