More than a welcome

As autumn brings new arrivals, familiar traditions and a change of pace, Lyndsay Jensen

reflects on what it means to feel welcomed in Denmark - from September’s international

celebrations to the conversations shaping the country we call home.

Photograph: International Citizen Days

Text: Lyndsay Jensen

As The International begins a new chapter with our seasonal issues, autumn feels like exactly the right place to start. A season of arrivals, changing colours and settling in, these next three months take us from September welcomes to October traditions and finally into the first glow of Christmas - with plenty to discover along the way.

Something about autumn in Denmark always feels like a new beginning.

Perhaps it is because September brings so many new faces. Students arrive for a new academic year, international employees begin new positions, families unpack boxes in unfamiliar homes, and accompanying partners start the sometimes daunting task of building a life and network of their own.

Or perhaps it is simply because after the long Danish summer - when emails go unanswered, offices empty and seemingly half the country disappears into a sommerhus - September feels like somebody has finally switched Denmark back on.

For us at The International, this autumn marks a new beginning too.

This is the first of our new seasonal issues, a change that lets us create something you can keep, return to, and enjoy throughout the months ahead. Rather than focusing on just one month at a time, we can now look at the rhythm of a whole season - and autumn in Denmark certainly gives us plenty to talk about.

September is about arriving and reconnecting. October brings efterårsferie, forests turning gold and that unmistakable Danish instinct to retreat indoors when the weather turns. And then comes November - darker, colder and somehow already sparkling with Christmas lights, julemarkeder and the annual debate about whether it is far too early to start eating æbleskiver.

My vote, incidentally, is that it is never too early.

Throughout this issue, our writers take you into different corners of life in Denmark - from culture, careers and entrepreneurship to family, community, food, design and the realities of building a life away from the country where you began.

Because that has always been at the heart of The International: helping make Denmark a little easier to understand and, hopefully, a little easier to call home.

“A genuine welcome is more than a nice gesture. It is about being seen, being included and knowing that the country you have chosen to call home has a place for you.”

Welcome to Denmark - and finding your footing

September has become something quite special for Denmark’s international community.

It is a major arrival period for international students, employees and their families, which makes the idea behind Welcome September particularly important. Across Denmark, municipalities, state authorities, universities, business organisations and associations come together for a national month dedicated to welcoming international citizens.

This year there are more than 60 events across Denmark and online, supported by more than 30 partners. There are welcome events in Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense, activities in municipalities large and small, career and networking sessions, cultural experiences, practical information and opportunities simply to meet another human being who might also be wondering how on earth you are supposed to make Danish friends.

And that last part matters more than we sometimes acknowledge.

Moving country is about much more than obtaining a CPR number, opening a bank account and learning that you need an app for practically everything. You can successfully complete every administrative task Denmark throws at you and still feel completely alone.

A genuine welcome is therefore not simply a nice gesture. It can be the first step towards finding your feet, meeting people and beginning to feel at home.

Copenhagen’s International Citizen Days has become one of the biggest expressions of that idea.

The first International Citizen Day was held in 2019, bringing public authorities, private organisations and local communities together under one roof to help internationals navigate housing, careers and social life. Around 1,500 international citizens attended that first event.

The International was there too.

In fact, while our magazine began its own journey in 2018, we have been part of International Citizen Days since that first event in 2019 - something I am particularly proud of because our missions have always fitted so naturally together.

Six years later, International Citizen Days 2025 attracted around 6,000 attendees, with more than 7,800 registrations. What began as a one-day Copenhagen event has developed into a major two-day meeting place for the international community.

And in 2026, we will be back.

International Citizen Days takes place at Øksnehallen on 25 and 26 September, and The International will have a stand there once again. So please come and find us.

Come and say hello. Tell us where you are from. Tell us what brought you to Denmark. Ask us the question you have been too embarrassed to ask anyone else. Tell us what you love about living here - and, equally importantly, what drives you completely mad. If you have just arrived, come and meet us.

And if you have lived here for twenty years and still occasionally stare at a letter from a Danish authority wondering what on earth it wants from you, come and meet us too. You are exactly our kind of international.

Week one: build the foundation, not the whole house

In your first week, resist the urge to do everything. Focus on a handful of tasks that help you settle into Denmark more easily. Taking a trip to your International House or municipality in your location is a great start, as they are set up to support you in finding your place, whether it’s a job, or to meet others or finding out about local clubs, etc. Depending on your location, you’ll have opportunities to meet other internationals; if not, try social media! Ask in Expat groups and see who you can connect with locally.

When a welcome brings something more

Of course, talking about welcoming internationals also raises a more difficult question this autumn.

What happens when someone stops being a newcomer?

For many internationals, Denmark isn’t a two-year adventure anymore. It is where they work, raise children, pay taxes, build businesses, volunteer, buy homes, create friendships and grow older. It becomes home.

That is why the continuing pause in the processing of many Danish citizenship applications has understandably created frustration and uncertainty within parts of the international community.

Processing of naturalisation cases was put on hold following the Danish parliamentary election earlier this year while clarity is sought over the conditions that should apply in future citizenship cases.

Behind the politics and procedures, however, are real people.

People who have spent years learning Danish, fulfilling requirements and building their lives here, only to find themselves waiting again.

And perhaps that gives us something worth thinking about during a month built around the word welcome.

What does welcome actually mean?

Is it simply something we offer when someone arrives at Copenhagen Airport with two suitcases and a job contract? Or does it develop into something deeper - having a voice, participating in your community and feeling that Denmark isn’t simply the country you live in, but your home?

Denmark is certainly not alone in having these conversations. Across Europe and much of the wider world, immigration, integration, borders and national identity have moved increasingly towards the centre of political debate.

It is reasonable to ask whether Denmark is being influenced by that wider political climate too – and what that might mean for the international citizens who have chosen to make their lives here.

There will be different opinions, and The International has never existed to tell internationals what they should think. Our role is to make sure they are part of the conversation.

Because welcoming international talent cannot only be about attracting people when Denmark needs their skills. Retention matters too. Community matters. Feeling valued matters. And knowing that your contribution to the country you call home is recognised matters enormously.

Perhaps that is why I still love events like International Citizen Days after all these years. Beneath the talks, stands, brochures and networking, the message is remarkably simple:

You are here. You are part of this. Come in. And sometimes those few words are exactly what somebody needs to hear.

So, wherever you are in your Danish journey, I hope this autumn issue keeps you company through the season ahead.

Let September be the month you say hello to someone new.

Let October tempt you outside into the forests before the last leaves disappear - and give you permission to enjoy efterårsferie whether you have children or not.

And when November arrives with dark mornings, colder evenings and Christmas lights appearing suspiciously early, lean into it. Find the gløgg. Eat the æbleskiver. Light the candles. Begin making plans for December.

Autumn in Denmark can be wet, windy, dark and occasionally determined to test your choice of waterproof clothing. But it can also be beautiful.

And whether this is your first autumn in Denmark or your twentieth, we hope the pages ahead help you discover something new, find something useful and feel a little more connected to the place you now call home.

Welcome to our Autumn Issue. And if you are at International Citizen Days in September, please come and say hi. We would love to meet you.

Love,

Lyndsay Jensen

Editor-in-Chief & Founder