New graduate and unemployment benefits

See the guide on what you need to do to get unemployment benefits as a recent graduate if you have been a member of the unemployment fund for over a year.

Example.

• On June 13, you will receive the final grade on your final assignment, or you are up for your last exam in your program.
• The following day, June 14, you register as unemployed on jobnet.dk and apply for unemployment benefits. 
• You change your status to graduate no later than 14 days after your last exam. Since your last exam was on June 13, June 27 is your deadline to change your status from student to graduate via My A-kasse's self-service.
• You get an unemployment benefit entitlement of 1,924 hours as a full-time insured and 1,560 hours if you are part-time insured, within 2 years, at a fixed rate.
• On the last working day of the month, June 30, we pay your first unemployment benefit to your account.

Check out the guide on what you need to do to get unemployment benefits as a recent graduate if you have been a member of the unemployment fund for less than a year.

Example.

• On June 13, you will receive the final grade on your final assignment, or you are up for your last exam in your program.
• 14 days after your last exam, June 27, is your deadline to change your status from student to graduate via My unemployment fund's self-service.
• Because you have not been a member for at least 1 year, there is a waiting period of one month.
• 1 month and 1 day after your last exam, on July 14, you register as unemployed on jobnet.dk and apply for unemployment benefits.
• On the last working day of the month, i.e. July 31, we pay your first unemployment benefit to your account.

Check out the guide on what you need to do to get unemployment benefits as a recent graduate if you are not a member of the unemployment fund.

Example.

• The first thing you need to do is join the unemployment fund.
• On June 13, you will receive the final grade on your final assignment, or you are up for your last exam in your program.
• 14 days after your last exam, June 27, is your deadline to join My unemployment fund and change your status from student to graduate via My unemployment fund self-service.
• Because you have not been a member for at least 1 year, there is a waiting period of one month.
• 1 month and 1 day after your last exam, on July 14, you register as unemployed on jobnet.dk and apply for unemployment benefits.
• On the last working day of the month, i.e. July 31, we pay your first unemployment benefit to your account.

Requirements for recent graduates

As a soon-to-be graduate, you must meet a number of requirements to receive unemployment benefits:

• Passed and completed a vocational education or an education that is SU-eligible under the voucher scheme, and prescribed for at least 18 months. Remember that even if in practice you graduate after 17 months or less, according to the unemployment benefit rules, your education is only completed after the 18 months.
• Submitted a registration form as a recent graduate if you are not a member or submitted Entitlement to unemployment benefits - as a recent graduate (AK044) within 14 days of graduation.

The language requirement

To receive unemployment benefits based on education, you must meet the language requirement.

You must have passed Prøve i Dansk 2, cf. section 9(1) of the Danish Language Training for Adult Foreigners Act or equivalent Danish test or higher level.

You can also fulfill the language requirement by having completed the 6th grade of primary school, including an equivalent Danish independent school or Danish private primary school, or by having taken a Danish course in another EEA country that corresponds to at least Prøve i Dansk 2.

You do not need to document your Danish language skills, but simply state this on your declaration of unemployment. When you state the language requirement on your word of honor, it means that you vouch that it is true that you have completed courses that correspond to at least Prøve i Dansk 2.

If you do not meet the language requirement, you may still be entitled to unemployment benefits based on your education if you meet the affiliation requirement.

The affiliation requirement

If you do not meet the language requirement, you can instead meet a so-called affiliation requirement based on paid hours reported to SKAT. At least 600 paid hours (400 for part-time insured) must have been reported to SKAT over 12 months within a 24-month period from the day you apply for unemployment benefits.

The work does not need to have been performed for 12 consecutive months, and there is no requirement that you must have been a member of an unemployment fund for the paid hours to be used. However, paid hours must be reported in each of the 12 months.

You can also use paid hours from another EEA country, Switzerland or the UK to meet the affiliation requirement, as long as the last paid hour was earned in Denmark and at least 150 of the 600 paid hours (100 of the 400 paid hours if you are part-time insured) were worked in Denmark.

If you meet the conditions, you can receive unemployment benefits. Your rate as a recent graduate depends on whether you are a dependent and whether you are at least 30 years old.

If you apply for admission as a recent graduate, you must pay membership fees to Min A-kasse from the day after your education is completed. You will be able to find your bill in e-Boks if you are not registered for Betalingsservice.

New student membership

If you are about to start a new education or postgraduate program, you can apply for a new student membership in Min A-kasse. The only requirement is that you continue to meet the conditions for being exempt from paying membership fees.

You apply by filling out the form Application for student membership (AK038). You can find it on Self-service under the Students tab.

Renewal of your current student membership

If you haven't finished your current program, you can apply to extend your student membership. You apply by filling out the form Extension of student membership (AK040). You can find it in Self-service under the Students tab.

For both forms, the extension can only take effect from the time we receive the application and at the earliest from the start of studies. It is important that you apply as soon as possible, otherwise you will receive a membership fee invoice. 

You can be exempt from membership fees for a maximum of 5 years.

The conditions for dues exemption

• You must be under 30 years old. However, there are some exceptions.
• You must not have exhausted your five years of dues waiver.
• You must be enrolled in an education that entitles you to admission as a recent graduate in an unemployment insurance fund - i.e. either a vocational education or an education that is SU-eligible under the voucher scheme and has a duration of at least 18 months.
• Your total income from employment, SU, SVU or similar must not exceed 294,806 per year, which corresponds to 120.67% of the maximum unemployment benefit rate. For vocational training, your income must not exceed the trainee salary.
• You must not receive support under the Active Social Policy Act or similar.

If you already have a job as a recent graduate

Even if you already have a job that you start after graduation, it's important that you remember to change your status from student to graduate within 14 days of your last exam.

Note! Are you considering not changing status because you want unemployment benefits on ordinary terms instead of graduate terms? Read more under "Situations where you should consider not changing status"

You change status by submitting the form Entitlement to unemployment benefits - as a recent graduate (AK044). You can find the form under Membership in Self Service.

If you are not yet a member of the unemployment fund, you must register as a recent graduate - also within 14 days of your last exam. If you forget to do so, you will lose your right to unemployment benefits on favorable graduate terms.

We can advise you on the rules

Have you had a job during your studies or do you expect to get a job right after you graduate? And have you been a member of the unemployment fund for at least a year? Then you should consider whether you want unemployment benefits on ordinary terms instead of graduate terms. By choosing unemployment benefits on ordinary terms, you may be able to get a higher unemployment benefit rate and receive unemployment benefits for 2 years instead of 1 year. It's very important that you notify us within 14 days of completing your education, otherwise you will automatically only be able to receive unemployment benefits as a recent graduate. The rules can be a bit complicated, so we always recommend that you contact us so we can advise you on the rules so you can make the choice that best suits your situation.

To receive unemployment benefits on general terms, you must have been a member of an unemployment fund for at least one year and meet an income requirement if you are not already entitled to unemployment benefits.

Example of unemployment benefits on general conditions:

• On June 13, you will receive the final grade on your final assignment, or you are up for your last exam in your program.
• While you have been in education and a member of the unemployment fund, your income has been good enough to meet the income requirement and qualify for a higher unemployment benefit rate. Therefore, you do not change your status from student to graduate.
• The following day, June 14, you register as unemployed on jobnet.dk and apply for unemployment benefits. 
• You get an unemployment benefit entitlement of 3,848 hours as a full-time insured and 3,120 as a part-time insured, within 3 years, at a rate calculated on the best 12 months within the last 24 months.
• On the last working day of the month, June 30, we pay your first unemployment benefit to your account.

If you have been a member for less than a year, you cannot meet the general conditions for receiving unemployment benefits until you have had a job after graduation, so you can meet the income requirement. The earliest you can fulfill the income requirement is one year after you joined the unemployment fund.

When you don't change status within 14 days

If you do not change your status within 14 days of your last exam, you must meet the general conditions to be entitled to unemployment benefits. To qualify for regular unemployment benefits, you must have been a member for at least one year and meet an income requirement. The income requirement can only be met with income from the membership period and must be earned within a maximum of 3 years.

With a regular unemployment benefit entitlement, you can receive unemployment benefits for up to 3,848 hours (3,120 hours if you are part-time insured) within 3 years at an individually calculated rate.

Read more about the general conditions for unemployment benefit entitlement and how the individual rate is calculated.