As a student, considering much else than your studies and exams can be difficult. Your future finances will thank you, however, if you join an unemployment insurance fund 12 months before you graduate at the latest.  

Most unemployment insurance funds even offer free memberships to students (see our list of unemployment insurance funds here), and joining early can mean that you get a big payout when you’re a recent graduate. So, all in all, there really isn’t any good reason not to join one.

Do you have an income from day one as a recent graduate?

It’s a rare graduate who gets a job immediately after they graduate. If luck happens to be on your side, you will often have a delayed starting date – for example, if you graduate in June, it’s not unusual that you won’t be starting your new job until after the summer break. As a recent graduate, you’re no longer entitled to “SU” (“The Danish students’ Grants and Loans Scheme”) and that means you run the risk of not having an income over the summer.

That’s why you can benefit financially if you’re entitled to unemployment benefits before you start your new job. This goes for both a few months’ of unemployment, or if you need to wait a while longer before landing your first job as a recent graduate.

Not a member of an unemployment insurance fund? No unemployment benefits – remember the deadlines!

In order to receive unemployment benefits, you need to be a member of an unemployment insurance fund. Before joining, there are some deadlines you need to stick to – otherwise, you might miss out on some payouts and, worst case scenario, you might even lose your right to unemployment benefits as a recent graduate!

  • Do you want money from day one as a recent graduate? Then you should join an unemployment insurance fund 12 months before your graduation at the latest.
  • Missed the 12-month deadline? You can still receive unemployment benefits, but only after a month as a recent graduate. This necessitates you joining an unemployment insurance fund 2 weeks after your graduation at the latest.
  • Missed the 2-week deadline? Then you won’t be able to receive unemployment benefits as a recent graduate – you’ll have to wait until you’ve been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for at least a year.

Your graduation date

As it apparent from the stated deadlines above, your date of graduation is a crucial factor. It’s important to be aware that your graduation date depends on the form of your final exam:

  • Verbal exam: The date of the verbal exam
  • Written exam: The date of the grade publication
  • Project or thesis: The date of the grade publication or the date of your counselor and censors’ signing of a pre-approval
  • Diploma: The date of the university issuing the diploma

Join Jobnet no later than 1 month after graduating

In order to receive unemployment benefits, being a member of an unemployment insurance fund isn’t enough on its own. You also need to register yourself as unemployed and thereby signal that you’re available on the job market.

You need to register as unemployed on Jobnet.dk on the day you’re entitled to unemployment benefits at the latest. That means either from day one as a recent graduate, if you’ve been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for at least 12 months, or 1 month after your graduation at the latest if you joined one shortly after your graduation. After joining you have another 2 weeks to post your resumé to Jobnet.

Do you have a student job? Then read here, before you graduate

If you have a student job when you graduate, you won’t receive the full monetary amount of unemployment benefits. That’s why its important to consider what’s right for you in terms of a student job, BEFORE you graduate! 

  • If you keep your student job, you can get supplementary benefits. Keeping your connection to the job market via a student job after your graduation can be a good idea, as you can still receive supplementary unemployment benefits. Who knows, maybe your student job can turn into a full-time position at the same employer?
  • If you end your student job, you can receive the full unemployment benefits, but watch out for the quarantine! Before you graduate, you should quit your student job if you want to avoid a three-week benefit-quarantine – and that’s in addition to the unavoidable 1-month quarantine. This is due to the rules on voluntary unemployment. You don’t need to quit your student job in the month before you become eligible for unemployment benefits, however.

Contact the unemployment insurance funds for counseling

When it comes to unemployment benefits, the rules change with regular intervals and there can be exceptions or special rules that are relevant in your specific situation.

That’s why we always recommend that you inquire with your unemployment insurance fund and that you do so as early as possible. They can also inform you about the current benefit estimates. You can also check out our list of unemployment insurance funds for inspiration on which one is best for you.