600 hours of work to avoid the language requirement

Hi,

the 24 months timeframe will be 24 months before the 1. in the month where you start to get paid unemployment benefits (“dagpenge”).

You will have to register as graduate at latest 2 weeks after graduation to secure your graduate rights.

If you also at the same time apply to get dagpenge paid out, your 24 months timeframe will be from 1. june 2023 until 1. june 2025.

So your working hours from Germany in June and July 2023 will be included when the A-kasse calculate whether you meet the 600 hours requirement.

However remember that your working hours (in Denmark and Germany) can only be included if it was carried out on ordinary pay and working conditions. This means, for example, that your salary must not be too low. If your hourly wage was below DKK 142,15 in 2025, you must expect that the A-kasse will take a closer look at it.

You dont tell us if you already now are a member of A-kasse, and in that case for how long you have been member.

If you have been member of A-kasse for at least 12 months when you graduate you have also option to apply for dagpenge as a wage-earner or after the “Aggregation rule”.

If you want to apply as wage-earner you must off course meet the “normal” requirements for getting dagpenge in Denmark, this also means that you must meet the income-requirement.

The “Aggregation rule” is possible to use if you can get some kind (can be short-time) job after graduation. You can read more about your options in this article:
https://www.a-kasser.dk/changes-in-unemployment-benefits-for-graduates-from-may-2023/

In case you can use “wage-earner” rule or the “Aggregation rule” the language/affiliate requirement does not apply, and you will also get a 2 year period with dagpenge instead of only 1 year (after the graduate rule). Depending on how much your salary was/is it can also give you a higher amount in Unemployment benefits (“dagpenge”).

As you can see its important to find out what your options are – and we strongly recommend that you also ask your A-kasse about this.

Best regards,
Anders Weber, A-kasser.dk