Info Package 2 – Initial things

It’s time for the second, and also second-to-last info package now. In this one I’ll try to give you some info on what to do when you arrive; if I forget anything that interests you, drop a couple of lines in the comments and I’ll get back to you.

A couple of things come to mind are residence permit, CPR card, bank account;cell phones and student id; so let’s take them in order shall we.

1. Residence permit

When you arrive, you will have to pick up an envelope from the International Office (B4) at ASB. With this envelope you can go to SKAT (danish tax authority and a lot of other stuff) – skat.dk – to request a residence permit. This is the first step you will need to take. If you arrive earlier than the start of the intro week at ASB, I suggest taking this envelope as fast as possible and going to SKAT to register – in order to avoid the busy period when all other start putting in requests, usually during the intro week.

The address of SKAT in Aarhus is: Lyseng Alle 1, 8270 Højbjerg. You can get there with buses 10 or 12.

Remember to take your ID with you.

So once you register, it will take about 3 weeks to get the residence permit. Please note that it might take longer (max around 2 months) but you can call or go there to ask them what’s up if it is really delayed.

2. CPR card

Once you have your residence permit, you will go to the town hall to request your CPR card (aka yellow card). This will take another couple of weeks to receive. The CPR card will be your health insurance card also (you will have to choose a doctor close to where you live when you request it), the card needs to be changed every time you change your address.

3. Banking

Once you have your CPR number and card, you can open a bank account. I am personally using Danske Bank and I find it great. There are no fees when you withdraw money at ATMs, no electronic wire fees, online banking is free, I pay all my invoices online as well as rent, etc. Everything is basically free (but you don’t get interest on the money that is on your account). I highly recommend using Danske Bank. Opening an account is very simple, takes about 15 minutes with them, they also issue you a mastercard and send you the token for online banking (for free).

Please note that some places only take Dankort and you will not be able to use MC there. For example: ALDI, shawarma places, etc. so also carry some cash with you.

4. Cell

There are a lot of operators in DK, the big ones are Telia, 3, TDC, Telenor.

And then there are operators ‘for students’ M1, Telmore, Lebara, Bibop, etc.

I have a Telia contract and an M1 card.

With Telia, for 70DKK per month (plus the initial 90DKK number fee) I get 120 minutes per month any time to any network in DK, it’s a pretty sweet offer. SMSes are pretty cheap too.

With M1 I get 50 minutes and 50 SMS per month for free, for lifetime. So you basically sign up and they send you a sim for free, and you can also use it for free. Some basic stuff is paid, like caller id, etc. So if you want these services you have to pay for them, but if you’re cool without seeing who’s calling you, then you have yourself a good deal. But even if you choose to pay for these, I think caller ID is around 10 DKK per month, so it’s really cheap.

5. Student ID

Once you have your CPR number, you can get you Student ID at ASB. You need to fill in a form and give them a passport size picture. It takes about a month to get it, but it’s pretty sweet. It can be used as a keycard to get into school in the weekends; if you buy the Studenterlauget – the main student union of ASB – membership (100 DKK per year), it gives you a lot of rebates in different stores around the city. Also, you will use this card to get in free to Klubben and to clubs like Social Club (otherwise 50 DKK entry), etc.

So this is it for now, hope it helps you all!

swans do fly.