Denmark: Qualifications exempt from assessment

At a glance

This section covers Danish qualifications that are exempt from requiring an International Qualifications Assessment (IQA) by NZQA when applying under the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC). If an applicant holds a qualification listed in the Academic Qualifications Table from a listed awarding institution, awarded from the specified year onwards, and meets the abbreviation and note requirements, they can claim the points shown without further assessment. [D-denmark]

Definition

The INZ Operational Manual’s Denmark table (section D-denmark) provides a complete list of qualifications that immigration officers must accept without referral to NZQA, provided all five conditions are satisfied:

1. The qualification appears in the Academic Qualifications Table.
2. The awarding institution is listed in the Awarding Institutions Table.
3. The qualification abbreviation matches the one given in the right‑hand column of the Awarding Institutions Table.
4. The qualification was awarded from the year stated in that table.
5. The qualification is not excluded by the notes under the Academic Qualifications Table. [D-denmark]

If any condition is not met, the qualification must be referred to NZQA for an IQA.

Application in decisions

When an SMC application relies on a Danish qualification for points, an immigration officer checks the four criteria above. An exact match is required: even minor deviations in the name, abbreviation, institution, or award year mean the exemption does not apply, and the officer must request an IQA. [D-denmark]

The Academic Qualifications Table assigns each qualification an NZQF level and corresponding SMC points:

• Bachelor (BA) or Bachelor (BSc) in a speciality: Level 7, 50 points.
• Diplomingeniør (or professionsbachelor) in a speciality: Level 7, 50 points.
• Candidatus/Candidata (cand.) degrees: Level 9, 70 points.
• PhD: Level 10, 70 points.

Other qualifications listed (e.g. diplomuddannelse, mastergrad, masteruddannelse) require an NZQA assessment—they are not automatically exempt. [D-denmark]

If an applicant believes their qualification may be higher than the level shown, they should apply to NZQA for an IQA. [D-denmark]

Interpretation & edge cases

Award certificate and language requirements
Award certificates must be provided in the original language. Translations are not to be used for determining the degree name. [D-denmark]

Referral to NZQA is mandatory for certain qualifications regardless of the tables:

• All honorary degrees
• Any qualification where study was completed at an institution outside Denmark, including overseas campuses of a listed institution
• Any qualification containing cross‑credited courses or papers
• All initial teacher training degrees
• All qualifications awarded after 2018

These must always be sent to NZQA for an IQA. [D-denmark]

Abbreviations and special naming
The abbreviation column is for INZ list purposes only and may differ from the official graduate title. For example, Candidatus/Candidata degrees use a Latin academic area abbreviation (e.g. cand.polyt., cand.mag., cand.merc.), and award certificates may vary. [D-denmark]

Years awarded from
The Awarding Institutions Table specifies the first year from which a qualification from each institution qualifies for the exemption. For instance, a BA from Aarhus University is recognised from 2006, while the Candidatus degree is from 2008. [D-denmark]

Qualifications completed partially overseas
Any listed qualification that includes cross‑credited study completed outside Denmark loses the exemption, even if the awarding institution is listed. The same applies to overseas campuses of listed Danish institutions. [D-denmark]

Post‑2018 qualifications
All qualifications awarded after 2018 require NZQA assessment, regardless of whether they otherwise match the tables. [D-denmark]

Citations

• D-denmark — Denmark