Denmark visa guideA Denmark business visa is the Schengen short-stay visa (type C) issued for meetings, conferences, training or business events, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. You complete the form and pay online on ApplyVisa, hand the file in at VFS Global, and the Embassy of Denmark in New Delhi decides, usually within 15 days of registering it.
Denmark wants proof of a real commercial relationship with a CVR-registered Danish company, an invitation from that company, and your own bank statement even when the employer pays. Employees of companies in the Red Carpet Programme get a decision within four working days.
Do Indians need a visa for a business trip to Denmark, and which one?
Yes. Meetings, conferences, training and business events in Denmark all fall under the Schengen short-stay visa, type C, issued for business. You may spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area on it. The form and the €90 fee are done online on ApplyVisa, the file goes in at VFS Global, and the Embassy of Denmark in New Delhi takes the decision.
Denmark is precise about what a business visit is. The Danish Immigration Service lists the conditions:
- a real commercial relationship between your company and the Danish company or organisation you are visiting;
- a Danish side registered in the Central Business Register (CVR);
- a relationship that already existed before you travel;
- a purpose tied to your own line of business in India;
- confirmation of the visit from the Danish company. If your file has no invitation form or invitation ID, the Immigration Service will normally send the Danish company a questionnaire, and that costs time.
A business visa is not a work visa. Someone who falls under work permit rules, such as a trainee who is paid while in Denmark, will normally not be granted a business visa and should apply for a work permit instead. The Immigration Service does accept certain work-related activities during visits of less than 90 days without a work permit, so describe exactly what you will do in Denmark rather than calling it "business".
Denmark business visa in brief
- VisaMeetings, conferences, training, business events
- Schengen type C, business purpose
- Stay allowedShared across the Schengen area
- Up to 90 days in any 180
- Decided by
- Embassy of Denmark, New Delhi
- Host's paperworkOnline, with an invitation ID for you
- Invitation VU1, VF2 or VU5
- Fast trackDecision within four working days
- Red Carpet Programme
- Funds ruleYour personal statement, even if the company pays
- DKK 350 a day, DKK 500 in a hotel
New to Denmark, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and VFS Global, checked 14 Oct 2026
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
VFS Global takes Denmark's applications in India for the Embassy. Business travellers from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh normally use the Chandigarh centre; Delhi firms use New Delhi. The other centres are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune, open on weekdays. Whichever you choose, the file is decided in New Delhi, and centres outside Delhi charge a compulsory courier fee to bring it back.
How the submission works for a business traveller:
- ApplyVisa comes before VFS. Complete the form and pay online, then allow up to 24 hours for validation before the VFS calendar lets you book.
- Appointments are compulsory, except for the Red Carpet Programme. An employee of an accredited company can walk in to a VFS centre on a working day, during submission hours, without an appointment.
- Biometrics. Fingerprints are needed unless you gave them for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months. A Red Carpet applicant whose fingerprints are that recent does not need to come in person at all.
- Say if your host is prior-approved. If the Danish company holds the Immigration Service's prior approval, tell the staff when you submit that you were invited by a prior-approved company. Otherwise the file may be handled under the ordinary procedure.
To watch how business-visa dates are opening up, use our Denmark appointment availability page.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The standard documents are listed further down this page. The business case itself rests on two letters that the Embassy reads side by side:
- From your Indian company: a covering letter giving your identity, the purpose of the trip (meetings, conferences, training or business-related events), and the period and place of the stay.
- From the Danish host: a signed invitation with the inviting party's contact details, your identity, the purpose, and the period and place of the stay.
The Danish host should use the right invitation form:
A Danish company without prior approval
- Invitation to use
- VU1, online with MitID Erhverv, or the printable form
A company with prior approval
- Invitation to use
- VF2, online
A group company affiliated with your employer, for work covered by the affiliated-company exemption
- Invitation to use
- VU5
A cultural body, for a cultural visit
- Invitation to use
- VU3, printable
An online invitation gives the host an invitation ID to forward to you. The Embassy's FAQ asks for a physical copy of that code, such as a print screen, in your file. It also asks for the original invitation letter, signed and stamped, and says that all letters from companies must be signed.
What your own role adds, on top of ITR acknowledgements for the last two assessment years:
Employee
- What the Embassy's checklist asks for
- Payslips for the last three months, the employment contract, and a holiday approval or leave letter
Company owner or self-employed
- What the Embassy's checklist asks for
- Certificate of registration of the company with its GST registration number
Sponsored by your employer or the host
- What the Embassy's checklist asks for
- Proof of sponsorship
Retired, travelling on business
- What the Embassy's checklist asks for
- Pension statements for three months and proof of regular income from property or a business
The Immigration Service suggests more business proof where it fits: a business licence or registration certificate from India, evidence of earlier trade in the same industry, your educational background, and the financial resources of your own company. When several colleagues visit the same Danish company, each person's role during the visit matters to the case.
The funds rule still applies. Every applicant gives an original personal bank statement for three months, stamped and signed by the bank, showing DKK 350 a day in a private home or DKK 500 a day in a hotel. A 10-day hotel stay is DKK 5,000, plus the fare home.
How much is the Denmark business visa fee for Indians?
A business or conference visa costs €90, the same as any Danish short-stay visa, and €45 for a child aged 6 to 11. It is paid on ApplyVisa at the exchange rate of the day. The VFS fee tab on 14 October 2026 listed a service fee of ₹2,090 and, for centres outside Delhi, a mandatory courier charge of ₹440; Red Carpet applicants pay the same. Neither fee comes back if the visa is refused. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
The standard decision time is 15 days from the day the Embassy registers your file, not the day you were at VFS. When a case needs further enquiry the maximum is 30 days, and exceptionally difficult cases can take up to 45. Three things change that for a business traveller:
- Red Carpet: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs promises a decision within four working days for applicants enrolled in the programme.
- A prior-approved host: the Immigration Service says visitors to such companies get faster processing, because the case usually does not have to involve the Immigration Service.
- No invitation in the file: expect a longer wait. The Immigration Service then has to get the details from your host.
Apply no earlier than 6 months before the trip. The Ministry wants the file at the Embassy at least 15 days before you enter Schengen, and from March to September the Embassy advises handing it in at VFS at least 4 weeks ahead, since short-notice files are not put first. Send a flight reservation, not a bought ticket: the Embassy recommends that you do not buy a plane ticket before your visa has been approved.
Why do Denmark business visas get refused for Indian applicants?
Business files fail for business reasons. The Danish rules and the EU Visa Code point to these, and each one can be closed before you apply.
No proof of a real business relationship
Denmark expects an existing commercial relationship with a CVR-registered Danish company, tied to your own line of work. A one-line invitation from a firm you have never traded with proves little. Add contracts, purchase orders, invoices or correspondence that show the relationship existed before the trip.
Work presented as a business visit
If the activities look like paid work, the officer will apply work permit rules, and a paid trainee will normally be refused a business visa. Name the meetings, the training or the event, say who pays your salary, and keep the length of stay in line with that agenda.
Two letters that tell different stories
The Indian covering letter and the Danish invitation must agree on the dates, the city and the purpose. When they do not, the Visa Code ground of unreliable information is easy to tick. Draft your company's letter after you have seen the invitation.
Leaving out your own bank statement
A company-paid trip still needs your personal statement: the checklist requires it from all applicants regardless of sponsorship, and not showing the daily DKK figure may lead to refusal. Put the employer's sponsorship letter next to it, not in place of it.
Papers promised for later
A missing document gives you 3 days, counting the day you sign at VFS, before the Embassy decides on what it has. Collect the host's invitation ID and the signed letters before the appointment.
Our Schengen refusal reasons page explains each standard refusal ground in plain words.
Tips for a stronger file
- Get the invitation in early. Ask the Danish host to complete the online invitation as soon as dates are fixed, forward the invitation ID, and print it for your file.
- Match the letters. Same dates, same city, same purpose in the covering letter, the invitation, the hotel booking and the flight reservation.
- Show the trade. Your company registration with GST number, recent invoices or purchase orders with the Danish firm, and a meeting agenda or conference registration.
- Explain group trips. If colleagues travel together, give each person's role in the visit.
- Sign and stamp. Company letters on letterhead, signed by an authorised person and stamped.
- Plan for repeat trips. If you will return to Denmark often, tick multiple entries in field 24 of the form and state the validity you want. Under the EU's cascade rules for Indians, two Schengen visas used lawfully within three years can lead to a two-year multiple-entry visa.
- Cover the dates exactly. Insurance valid in all Schengen countries, at least €30,000, from the day you arrive to the day you leave. The Embassy publishes a list of approved Indian insurers.
- Collecting the passport. Only you, an immediate family member, or a Red Carpet representative authorised on company letterhead can collect it. Otherwise choose courier at submission.
What is Denmark's Red Carpet Programme?
It is a fast track for companies that send people to Denmark regularly. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs runs it to help foreign companies and organisations that do business with a Danish company or organisation. The company must be accredited before its staff can use it, and the Danish mission alone decides whether a company qualifies.
The benefits for enrolled applicants:
- a decision within four working days;
- fewer documents, although more can always be asked for;
- no need to apply in person if fingerprints were taken within the last 59 months;
- no appointment at the visa application centre.
Examples of companies that may be accredited include established Indian subsidiaries of Danish companies, Indian companies with a subsidiary in Denmark, companies that send employees to Denmark regularly, and companies with an exclusive partnership with a Danish firm.
To enrol from India, the company emails the Embassy at delambvisa@um.dk with its name and the name of its Danish business partner. If it meets the first requirements, the Embassy invites its representatives to a face-to-face meeting, where they bring the company registration certificate and the latest annual report. The agreement form follows by email, and the Danish partner sends the Embassy a confirmation letter. The Embassy decides within two weeks and issues a contract ID with the date from which employees can apply. A refusal does not affect anyone's right to apply through the normal route.
Once enrolled, the Red Carpet checklist is short: the ApplyVisa form, the fee receipt, a photograph, the passport, copies of earlier Schengen visas, the Annex C Red Carpet cover letter signed, dated and stamped by an authorised signatory on the company's signature list, the host's signed invitation, and travel insurance.
For leisure trips, see the Denmark tourist visa guide; for visiting relatives, the Denmark family visit visa guide.
Official sources
- Apply for a short-term visa to business visits, New to Denmark
- Invitation of a visa applicant, New to Denmark
- Apply for prior approval of company, New to Denmark
- Company Accreditation (Red Carpet Program), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
- How to apply for a visa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
- Red Carpet Programme: how to enrol, Embassy of Denmark in India
- Visa: practical information, Embassy of Denmark in India
- Before you apply for your visa, Embassy of Denmark in India
- While your application is being processed, Embassy of Denmark in India
- VFS Global Denmark India: business and Red Carpet visa information
- VFS Global Denmark India: visa application centres
- VFS Global Denmark India: book an appointment
- European Union adopts more favourable Schengen visa rules for Indians, EU Delegation to India
