Switch from Student Member to Graduate
If you’re a student member and about to finish your studies, remember to change your membership status from student to new graduate no later than 14 days after receiving your final grade. This applies even if you already have a job lined up or are finishing a bachelor’s degree and planning to continue with a master’s degree.
The 14-day rule: The clock starts ticking when you receive your final grade
You must change your membership status from student to new graduate within 14 days of receiving your final grade.
If you miss the deadline, you will only become eligible for unemployment benefits once you’ve been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for at least a year and have earned a minimum income of DKK 273,504 (2025). This income must have been earned over a period of three years, during which you were a member of an unemployment insurance fund. You can include a maximum of DKK 22,792 per month.
Switch your status from student to new graduate
Don’t change your status until you know the date you receive your final grade.
If you expect to complete your studies within the next month but don’t know the exact date you’ll receive your final grade, you should wait before changing your status.
If there’s more than a month until you finish your education, you should instead extend your free student membership.
Extend your free student membership via Mit AKA
Additional steps are required to qualify for benefits
Changing your membership status isn’t enough if you want to receive unemployment benefits as a new graduate. You must also register as unemployed on jobnet.dk and complete an application for unemployment benefits (ledighedserklæring) on Mit AKA.
Read how new graduates can apply for unemployment benefits
We recommend that you follow our Guide for Graduates, which gives you a good overview of the transition from student to new graduate.
Go to our Guide for Graduates
Remember, you can also chat with us if you have any questions.
You’re officially a graduate when you receive your final grade
There are different ways you can complete your studies:
- Oral exam
The date you receive your final grade after an oral exam or thesis defence - Written exam
The date your final grade is made available online by your educational institution - Thesis or final project (without oral defence)
The date your grade is made available or your supervisor and external examiner sign a pre-approval (forhåndsgodkendelse).
In some programmes, the studies are completed with a written assignment, and it may take several weeks before the external examiner and supervisor can give their final assessment of the assignment.
However, in some programmes, it is possible to request a pre-approval where your supervisor and examiner confirm that you’ve passed the exam, even if they haven’t released the final assessment and grade yet.
You’ll start paying for your membership
When you’re no longer a student, you must pay for the membership of Akademikernes A-kasse (kontingent). This applies from the first day after you receive your final grade, so it’s important to let us know if you postpone finishing your studies – that way, we won’t send you a bill before you’ve graduated.
You will receive an invoice for your membership via e-Boks approximately 14 days before the payment deadline. You’ll be able to register the payment with Betalingsservice via e-Boks once you’ve paid your first invoice.
After that, you’ll pay for your membership quarterly and in advance.
Language requirement for new graduates
New graduates must meet a language requirement if unemployed and applying for unemployment benefits for the first time. This applies to all new graduates, regardless of citizenship. The language requirement means you must have:
- Passed Danish Language Test 2 or another Danish test at an equivalent or higher level;
- completed at least sixth grade in a Danish primary school; or
- completed a higher education programme taught in Danish.
See the complete list of education programmes that meet the language requirement
If you don’t meet the language requirement, you may still qualify for unemployment benefits by meeting a ’tilknytningskrav’. You meet this requirement if you’ve worked at least 600 hours before registering as unemployed. The hours must be spread over 12 of the past 24 months, but they don’t need to be within 12 consecutive months.
You can use paid work hours outside your membership period, but the hours must be reported to the Danish Tax Agency (Skat). You can also count work hours from another EEA country, but at least 150 of the hours must be from work in Denmark that took place afterwards. The 600-hours requirement (tilknytningskravet) must be met again if you apply for unemployment benefits as a new graduate in the future.