Statistics 2009

Assessment of foreign qualifications

The Danish Agency for International Education issued 2,892 assessment reports in 2009, which was a 38 % increase on 2008 and more than twice the 2007 figure. The 2009 increase was mainly due to a growing number of applications in connection with the Danish greencard scheme.

While qualifications at all levels are assessed, 81 % of the assessments indicated a level within higher education.

The average case processing time for an assessment in 2009 was 27 days, the same as the year before in spite of the increased volume of cases assessed.

In addition to assessments, the SIU provides a wide range of information and advice.
In 2009, the SIU responded to 435 enquiries from institutions of higher education
about admission to professions on the basis of foreign entrance examinations, and 87%
of these replies were given on the same day. In collaboration with Copenhagen
University, the SIU has devised a model for quick advice on the recruitment of PhD
students with foreign qualifications.

Credit transfer appeals

In 2009, the Qualifications Board (Kvalifikationsnævnet) received 18 complaints about educational establishments' decisions on credits and prior credits for Danish and foreign training and decisions on the recognition of prior learning in adult education. The number of complaints was the same as in the previous year.

Professional recognition (regulated professions)

In the regulated professions, the number of recognition decisions rose by 11% to 2,218 in 2009, compared with 1,994 such decisions in 2008 (excluding merchant seamen). In particular, a higher number of authorisation applications were dealt with in the field of healthcare, which in 2009 accounted for 79% of all decisions, while there were fewer cases involving fork lift truck drivers' or similar certificates.

Overall, 63% of the decisions in 2009 were favourable, a slight drop on the previous year, with the number of conditional approvals rising to 31%. There was an increasing gap between decisions under EU rules, most of which were favourable, and the other rules (i.e. for persons who are nationals of and/or have undergone education/training in third countries), where most authorisations were conditional.

The competent authorities kept the processing time under three months in most cases, i.e. around 81%, but this was down on the 95% figure from the year before.

The application procedure has been simplified with effect from January 2010 so that those seeking authorisation are referred to the competent authority, instead of being processed via the Danish Agency for International Education. At the same time, the SIU has further developed its information service, which helps applicants to find the right place to file the proper application.

2009 was also the year in which real use began to be made of the procedure for service providers from EU/EEA countries who are entitled, under the recognition of
qualifications Directive, to practice their profession on a temporary and occasional basis
in Denmark. According to the authorities, there were 335 registrations by service  providers.

The procedure was mainly used in the Danish Working Environment Authority's (Arbejdstilsynet) area of competence, and most service providers came from Germany and other neighbouring countries.