Now to the residence permit and CPR number that I mentioned above. If you want to stay more than 90 days in Denmark - the length of the regular entry visa given at the airport - you have to apply for a residence permit. Small side story about that: once I got my bags at the airport, at the final exit, the agent stamping passports asked me where I was going (completely valid question, but the others didn't get questioned about this for some reason) and I just said DTU, and he stamped it.
When you get your acceptance letter from DTU, they will include an "ST1" form, which is used to apply for a student residence permit, which you will will need if you're staying a semester or longer. The form has two parts: one that the student fills out, and one that the university fills out. DTU filled out their part and sent me the form.
With the ST1, you have to include the acceptance letter, and proof that you have a bank account with at least $5000, so you can show you can provide for yourself. The caveat, is that the account must be in your name only; no joint accounts. We included a letter from our bank manager for confirmation, but this will not always be necessary.
In the US, the only entities involved with the permit application are the Danish Consulate in New York, and a company called BLS. BLS is required because they take your fingerprints, your ST1, COLOR copies of EVERY page of your passport, etc and hand it off to the consulate. The consulate is the one that actually processes the application. You also have to go online to some Danish government agency website and create a "Case Order ID" and pay a fee of about $300 to a Danish Labor agency before the BLS process. Once the processing is complete, you get an email, and you can pick up the permit once you're in Denmark.
Here are three links that will give a lot more information than I could in one post:
The 2nd aspect is the CPR number. This is the equivalent of the Social Security number in the US, and you have to have a residence permit before getting the CPR. The CPR number gives you access to nationwide free health care/insurance, and they even assign you a primary care physician in case you need one during your stay. It also allows you to open a bank account, get a Rejsekort (public transportation card), and a lot more. Part of the DTU International Intro Week is set aside to get your CPR number, assuming of course, you have a residence permit already, or your an EU resident who can get a residence permit on the spot.
Alright, time for a little rant. I filled out all my paperwork. I went to a BLS office in Chicago during Thanksgiving Break to do the fingerprints and submit all my paperwork. I'm not going to name names here, but the BLS agent that "specializes" in Denmark is incompetent, and disgustingly rude. Furthermore, it's been 2.5 months, and I have yet to receive the email from the New York consulate saying my residence permit has been approved and here's the relevant information.
Now, normally, I wouldn't be too concerned or upset about this. But I am, and there are two reasons. First, I need my CPR number. For the reasons said above, it's obvious that you can't do a lot without the CPR number. Also, my new friends from Australia got their residence permit within a few weeks of applying. It appears the New York consulate is taking their time with our (not just me, all the students from the US are in the same boat as I am) applications. Technically, I can stay in the country until the end of April, so again, it's not a huge concern, but a big inconvenience.
If you're going to the Chicago BLS office, be aware of what I said above. Hopefully, there's a different agent when you apply. Also, I'm fairly certain that applying earlier than Thanksgiving won't help too much, because I met someone here that applied a few weeks before I did, and she hasn't gotten anything yet.
Phew, that was a lot. Sorry there aren't any pictures in this one, just a lot of information. Hopefully this clears up some things for you guys, because there were some points in the process where I was very confused.
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