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23.07.2024
5 min.

Your quick guide to set up a company in the Greater Copenhagen Region

Here’s how to get your company up and running as an international in the Greater Copenhagen Region.

 

Well, obviously, the easiest way is to contact us and get individual, free-of-charge assistance from our experts.

But if you prefer to do things yourself, reading our quick guide is the best place to start. 

Get the right permits

 

As a non-EU citizen, you must first get a residence and work permit. After that, you will get access to a row of online services we in the Greater Copenhagen Region use to identify ourselves when we apply for something official, e.g., setting up a company.


In Denmark, this will be your “CPR number” or “MiFID” and the “personnummer” and “Freja eID” in Sweden.

Greater Copenhagen Region_Get the right permit

Denmark has different ways to apply for a residence and work permit. The probably most obvious choice is to apply through your business. This permit is called “Start-Up Denmark”, but Denmark only grants 75 such permits yearly.

You must fulfill a row of criteria to be eligible for this scheme.For example, you must be the full or at least partial owner of the company, you must be active in your company, and you must prove that you have sufficient funds to cover your expenses (private and business) for the first year.

In Sweden, you apply for a regular residence permit with “Migrationsverket” (Agency for Migration). Here, too, you must provide the agency with a (we’ll be honest) somewhat long list of documents. However, applying is free of charge and can be done fully digital.

If you are from an EU/ EEA country or Switzerland, you can skip this step and go straight to “What kind of company should I set up?”.

What kind of company should I set up? 

 

Somewhat simultaneously with applying for necessary permits, you should decide what kind of company you would like to set up.

In Denmark, you can choose from 8 different company types, and in Sweden it's 7.

Click the plus sign on the right to learn more about the different company types. Skip this part and continue reading "Register your company" if you already know what kind of company you want to establish and only want to know where and how to register your company.

 

Personally owned business or sole trader

Personligt ejede virksomheder
Personally owned business

A PMV, as this form of company is often called, is usually a small business that only one person owns and in which that person makes all the decisions. The advantage of a PMV is, that it is free to register. You must set up a tax account, but you don’t have to report separately on tax if you stay below the threshold of 50.000 DKK (6.700€/ 7.300 USD) annually.

With the option of a PMV, you can also opt for an “Enkeltmandsvirksomhed" (Sole proprietorship). This might be the better option if you plan to run import/export businesses or plan to employ people.

Sole Trader

This Swedish form of company is fairly similar to a Danish PMV.That means, that you will be the only owner of the company.

However, as a sole trader there is no differentiation between you and the company. In other words, you are the company. Therefore, you’re fully liable for the company, meaning that you must use personal funds to pay the company's invoices if your company doesn’t generate enough money to cover costs.

You can run a Sole Trader company with your spouse. If only one of you has the specialized skills required for your business offer, the other person will be considered a “helpmeet.”

Partnerships

Interessentskaber, kommanditselskaber, og Anpartsselskab
Partnerships, limited partnerships and private limited company

If you want to set up your company as a partnership or limited company in Denmark, you first need to decide whether you want to be the sole owner (Anpartsselskab) or if someone will co-own the company (Interessentskaber and Kommanditselskaber).

There are differences in the owners' liability for all three options. While the owner of an Anpartsselskabt will always only be liable for their invested money, partners in an Interessentskaber are jointly and unlimitedly liable. As a Kommanditselskab, one of the partners can be limitedly liable only.

Limited company, trading partnership, and limited partnership

A Swedish limited company is comparable to the Danish “Anpartsselskab” – however, your company can have several owners.  

Another differentiation is that you must have enough shared capital (25.000 SEK// 2.200 €// 2.400 USD) and pay the registration fee of 1.900 SEK (165 €// 180 USD).

Liability in a limited company is limited to the capital invested.

In a trading partnership, you will usually have at least two owners. These owners can be private persons, companies, or associations. All partners will be, similar to a Danish Interessentskaber, fully liable. If you want to avoid this, you can set up a Limited Partnership instead.

Foundation and association

Fonde
Foundation

The biggest difference between a Fond and, for example, a PMV is that the Fond does not have owners. A foundation is its own legal entity and people running the Foundation don’t have the right to access the Foundation's fortune.

The Foundation can be run commercially though. For that, you must fulfil a row of criteria; for example, the business operations must be sufficient, the board of the Foundation must be independent, and you must register it at the Danish Business Authority.

Associations

In Sweden, there are different types of associations that you can choose from. The economic association will likely be the most interesting form for you.

An economic association has its owner's financial benefit in interest. Employment, special prices, or offers are considered financial benefits. You must be at least 3 to start an economic association.

Employee investment company

Medarbejderinvesteringsselskab
Employee Investment Company

An MS as this form of company is often referred to, is particularly interesting if you are a bigger company with employees, who want to open up/expand their business in Denmark. It means your employees can reinvest parts of their salary into the company for the benefit of it.

In terms of liability, employees are only partly responsible, while the founder or owner of the company is fully liable.

Even though an MS has an owner, decisions must be made by a board of a sufficient size and which is partly elected by the employees.

There are also limitations regarding how much money can be reinvested (7.5% of the annual cash salary).

European business forms

Europæiske virksomhedsformer
European business forms

These types of companies are rather special but might be particularly interesting for you if you want to use the full advantages of the Greater Copenhagen Region. Why so? Because it allows cross-border collaboration in a limited company-like form.

You have to decide whether you want to run a European company (SE), European Economic Groupings (EEIG), or a European Cooperative Societies (SCE).

They all require special registration. We suggest that you contact our experts and get some help with this kind of registration. 

Register your company

 

At this point, you should have the right permits, know what your company will offer, and what kind of company you want to start.

Now, it’s time to actually register your company.

This step is fairly easy and can happen fully digitally. Whether you want to set up your company in Denmark or Sweden, the application process takes you "by the hand", and you simply follow the online instructions.

Still, we’re recommending to reach out to our experts, as most of this process will happen in either Danish or Swedish. So it’s good to have a native speaker with great knowledge and insights into the process on your side.

In Denmark, you register your company at virk.dk. In Sweden, you will do it via verksamt.se.

Greater Copenhagen Region_Register your company_photo credit brooke-cagle

Greater Copenhagen Region is a place of endless opportunities for businesses and people alike. A place to live grow and evolve.

  • Top-quality of life
  • Great for doing business
  • Highly educated population
  • Excellent infrastructure
  • Direct proximity to two markets
  • Lovely pastries
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Are you ready to start your company in the Greater Copenhagen Region and want individual, free-of-charge guidance?

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About Greater Copenhagen Region


Greater Copenhagen Region stretches over the borders of Denmark and Sweden. With 4.4 million inhabitants and 17 universities, it’s the largest metropolitan area in the Nordics and a global hub for growth, sustainable solutions and innovation. The region offers world-class research facilities and a creative business environment. Outstanding infrastructure makes Greater Copenhagen Region highly connected via rail, road, air and sea. The two main cities of the region, Sweden’s Malmö and Denmark’s Copenhagen are just a half hour train-ride apart. Its strategic location makes Greater Copenhagen Region the link between 25 million consumers in Scandinavia and 125 million in Northern Europe.