Part of Denmark's construction trades are on the Positive List because the apprenticeship system cannot fill them: bricklayers, heating and ventilation technicians, house painters, electricians, landscape gardeners. Two trades employers ask us for most — carpenters and plumbers — are not on the list in force from 1 July 2026 and run on the Pay Limit schemes or wait for the next update. For a contractor the binding conditions are pay at the statistics and the apprentice-training obligation — Denmark asks employers who import skilled labour to train it too. This page covers the trades, the conditions, the coming site ID card and how we test a crew.
Bricklayers (711210), heating and ventilation technicians (712700), house painters (713100), electricians (741100), landscape gardeners (611320) and cabinet makers (752200) are on the Positive List for Skilled Work from 1 July 2026, with no labour-market test. Carpenters (711510) and plumbers (712600) are not on the list in force (SIRI, updated 2 September 2026): a Danish contractor recruits them from the Philippines only on the Pay Limit Scheme (DKK 552,000) or the Supplementary Pay Limit Scheme (DKK 446,000 after a two-week Jobnet/EURES posting) — rarely realistic for a site trade — or waits for the next list update on 1 January 2027, which we read row by row before any brief is costed. Two conditions bite harder in construction than elsewhere: pay must match SIRI's wage statistics for the code and experience band, and the employer must have met its apprentice-training obligations under Læreplads-AUB — the target reached in the latest calculated year or two of the last three, with no additional contribution owed. Small contractors that have never trained an apprentice fail the second condition; we ask for the status before any sourcing starts.
The Positive List for Skilled Work is Denmark's route for vocational occupations in shortage: updated on 1 January and 1 July, 63 job titles since 1 July 2026, no labour-market test. Four conditions decide the case. The job must be on the list under its DISCO-08 code. Pay and terms must correspond to Danish standards — SIRI assesses the salary against Statistics Denmark wage statistics for the occupation and experience level, counting only cash salary, labour-market pension and holiday allowance, and a collective agreement does not by itself prove the point. The salary must be paid into a Danish bank account in the worker's name within 180 days of the permit. And the employer must have met its apprentice-training obligations under Læreplads-AUB. The fee is DKK 6,810, biometrics are recorded within 14 days of submission (in Manila through VFS, with the Embassy's separate fee of DKK 1,725), the standard processing time is three months, the permit follows the contract up to four years and is tied to the job and the employer, and nobody starts work before it is granted.
Denmark passed a law on 3 September 2026 requiring an ID card for everyone on construction projects with a contract sum above DKK 100 million — name, photo, nationality, function, statutory qualifications, the employer's CVR or RUT number — with the client responsible for enforcement; the entry-into-force date had not been set at the time of review and is expected in 2027. Until then, site access follows the employer's and the client's own systems. Electricians work under Danish authorisation rules on site; we recruit electricians as installers under the employer's authorised supervision and plan any Danish authorisation step with you.
At our Makati facilities a bricklayer lays blockwork to line and level, a heating and ventilation technician assembles duct and heating pipework to a layout, an electrician wires to a schematic and tests, a painter prepares and finishes a panel — and, where a Pay Limit role has been briefed, a carpenter builds formwork or a roof element from a drawing and a plumber assembles sanitary pipework — while your site manager watches live and interviews the same day. Housing for the first period, a bilingual foreman and winter clothing are arranged before arrival; crews of five to twenty are the normal unit in Denmark.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office in London, which has jurisdiction for the Nordic countries, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. Recruitment follows the employer-pays principle: no applicant pays for an interview, a trade test or a place on a shortlist. Your company is the employer from day one; we never employ or lease the workers.
Everything here is subject to the Danish Aliens Act and SIRI's practice in force, the Positive Lists as updated on 1 January and 1 July, Danish collective agreements and wage statistics, and Philippine DMW rules.
Bricklayers (711210), heating and ventilation technicians (712700), house painters (713100), electricians (741100), landscape gardeners (611320) and cabinet makers (752200) from 1 July 2026. Carpenters (711510) and plumbers (712600) are not on the list in force, and neither are general labourers, scaffolders or concrete workers; carpenters and plumbers go via the Pay Limit schemes or the 1 January 2027 update.
Not on the Positive List: 711510 and 712600 are not on the edition in force (SIRI, updated 2 September 2026). The routes are the Pay Limit Scheme (DKK 552,000) or the Supplementary Pay Limit (DKK 446,000 with a two-week posting), which seldom fit site pay — or the next list update on 1 January 2027, which we check row by row the day it is published.
The employer must have met its Læreplads-AUB apprentice target; many small contractors have not, and the application is refused on that ground alone. We check it first.
A law passed in September 2026 requires one on projects above DKK 100 million; the start date had not been set at review and is expected in 2027.
Electrical installation work falls under Denmark's authorisation system; Filipino electricians work under the employer's authorised supervision and any individual step is planned with you.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.