Information for new exchange students

This page contains important information on what you, as a new VIA student, have to do before you arrive and on arrival to prepare for your stay with us.

Before you arrive

  • Visa

    Residents from the Nordic countries and the EU do not need a visa. However, residents from other countries should check the Danish Immigrations Service’s website, nyidanmark.dk, or with your local Danish embassy or consulate, whether they need one. 

    Residence permit

    Rules vary depending on home country:

    EU/EEA citizens – Do not need to apply for residence permit, but must instead apply for an EU residence document at SIRI (Agency for International Recruitment and Integration/Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration). They visit some campuses to help new students with the application. At other campuses, you have to apply on your own. Ask your International Coordinator or Student Counsellor for more information.

    Nordic citizens – As a citizen of the Nordics you are allowed to live in Denmark without a residence permit. Go directly to Citizen Services/Borger Service in your local municipality to obtain a CPR number and health insurance card, if you are staying in Denmark for more than 3 months.

    Non-EU/EEA citizens – You have to apply for residence permit and the process can take up to 60 days. VIA will initiate the online application process at SIRI in Denmark and forward the application to you. You then have to complete the application form within 14 days. You are not allowed to travel to Denmark until your application has been approved.

    Make sure to consult public websites on visa and residence permit as rules and procedures change continuously.

  • Health insurance

    EU/EEA citizens should bring the blue EU health insurance card. If you have a Danish residence permit and are registered with the municipal civil registration office, you are covered by the Danish health insurance scheme 6-8 weeks after your arrival. We recommend that you arrange for health insurance until then. Note that while Danish health insurance covers any treatment by a general practitioner or hospital, it does not cover medicine, dentistry and medical evacuation to your home country.

    Other insurances

    In addition to health insurance, it is advisable to make sure you have accident insurance to cover financial consequences of accidents, a third-party liability insurance to cover expenses if you have to pay compensation to a third-party and a home insurance to cover your personal belongings.

  • Go to our housing page with information on housing options near all of VIA's locations.

    You may have to buy or print texts for your programme. The costs vary from programme to programme but expect 250-300 DKK.

    See an example of a budget for an international VIA student here.

  • Computer

    Students at VIA need to bring their own computer. 

    You will need your computer at class and when writing assignments. If you are about to buy a new computer, we recommend that you wait until after you have started your programme. This way, it will be easier for you to make sure that your new computer has the needed capacity to run e.g. study-related software. 

    We recommend that you buy a laptop with a long battery life. 

    Please note that the technical programmes at VIA may have specific demands regarding hardware. Check your programme's website for more specific information.

    Student card from your home institution

    It is a good idea to bring your study card from your home university. You will receive a digital study card here, but perhaps not right away. You can use your study card to get discounts at some stores, for events etc.

  • Because of the covid-19 pandemic, VIA's campuses are partially closed and some teaching and exams are online.

    Go here to learn more about VIA's contingency plan for coronavirus, the newest updates, teaching, study start, practical matters and much more - Information about coronavirus

    If you want to know more about what it has been like to be an international student at VIA watch this Q&A video in which a panel of four current international students share their experiences on the restrictions in Denmark, student- and social life during the pandemic.

    If you are worried about study start or feeling overwhelmed go to our chat where student counsellors are ready to help you - find the chat here!

Access to VIA

  • Once you have been enrolled at VIA, you will receive an acceptance letter along with information on study start and introduction programme.

    Later on, you will also receive an e-mail containing your VIA ID, an autogenerated sequence of numbers and an instruction to complete VIA Start (start.via.dk).

    It is important that you complete VIA Start, as this will give you access to VIA’s IT systems and services, such as Studynet, Itslearning and VIAmail, where you will find important information about your study start. More on how to complete VIA Start in the ‘Get access to VIA’s IT-systems and services’ below.

  • To get access to VIA’s IT-systems, you have to complete VIA Start (start.via.dk). You log on to VIA Start with the VIA ID you received in your welcome e-mail as username and your CPR-number as password the first time you log on.

    During the process, you have to upload a picture for your student card, confirm that you have read the IT regulations, change your password and consider whether you want to allow VIA to send text messages to your phone.

    Once you have completed VIA Start, you will have access to VIA’s IT-systems and services within 24 hours. You will e.g. have access to Studynet, Itslearning (VIA’s digital platform for teaching), OneDrive, download of the Office suite and much more. Read more about which systems and services you have access to at Studynet.

    Not working?

    If you need help getting access to VIA’s IT-systems, you are more than welcome to contact VIA’s IT department. Send an e-mail to viaservice@via.dk or call at +45 87 55 12 12. Opening hours are Monday-Friday 7.30 am to 3.30 pm.

  • All relevant information on your study programme can be found at Itslearning. This goes for e.g. meeting schedule and required materials such as books. 

    How to log on to Itslearning

    Go to Itslearning.com and log on with your VIAmail address and the password you chose in VIA Start. Your VIAmail is your VIA ID + @via.dk. Example: 123456@via.dk

    Studynet

    At Studynet you can find information about your campus such as events, facilities, library, IT and much more. The address for Studynet is: https://studienet.via.dk/sites/en, log on with your VIAmail address and the password you chose in VIA Start.

  • The digital student card

    If you would like a digital student card, just order it online. It’s free.

    Order a digital student card through ISIC here. 

    The physical VIAcard

    As a VIA student, you can supplement your digital student card with a physical VIAcard. Use it to gain access to your campus and for printing/copying.

    You can order a VIAcard here. Ordering a VIAcard is free.

    You can read more about the VIAcard on Studynet. Click on “Campus” and then “Service centre”.

    Student discount

    VIA collaborates with ISIC, which means that, if you order a digital student card as described above, you will always have an internationally recognised discount card/student ID on hand. The card gives you easy access to both online and local student discounts with your smartphone. You can also bring the student card from your home institution, this provides access to the same discounts.

Help and guidance

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