Image: Jakob Lindmark Frier fra Digital Hub Denmark sætter ord på rapporten Exit Interviews, der stiller skarpt på de udenlandske medarbejdere, der har forladt Danmark.
Source: Alt for mange talenter forlader Danmark – men hvorfor egentlig?
————-
I’ve been spending time with a report lately.
Not skimming it. Actually reading it slowly.
It’s built on exit interviews with international tech professionals who lived and worked in Denmark — and then left. Not people who failed. Not people who didn’t try. Many stayed for years. Some built careers, families, routines.
And still, they left.
What stood out to me wasn’t anything dramatic.
It was how quiet the reasons were.
Not one big breakdown.
More like a steady accumulation of friction.
According to Exit Interviews: Why do international tech professionals leave Denmark? by Digital Hub Denmark, departures are rarely triggered by a single event. They usually follow long periods where professional, social, or bureaucratic strain goes unresolved .
That framing felt familiar.
When Work Stops Moving
Most people in the report came to Denmark because of work. Growth. Stability. A sense that things could move forward over time.
What I noticed in their stories was how often that movement quietly slowed — or stopped.
Not necessarily bad jobs.
But unclear paths. Flat structures that stayed flat. Progress that depended on language, networks, or simply being known.
Some lost jobs and couldn’t find a way back in, despite experience and references. Others stayed employed but felt professionally parked.
Denmark talks a lot about attracting international talent.
Less about what happens after arrival.
That space — between being welcomed and being able to grow — seems to drain energy over time.
When Belonging Never Quite Lands
Another theme was social. And this one is harder to describe without exaggeration — which the report avoids.
People talked about learning Danish. Joining clubs. Volunteering. Showing up.
And still feeling slightly outside.
Not rejected. Just never fully in.
Friendships stayed polite. Social life stayed planned. Workplaces stayed friendly but opaque. Informal conversations slipped into Danish, even in “international” settings.
What lingered for many wasn’t frustration, but fatigue.
Several described doing everything right and slowly starting to question themselves instead. Over time, that internal questioning turned into a quiet decision to leave.
Not because Denmark is unwelcoming.
But because belonging never quite settled.
When Systems Wear You Down
The tone shifts when the interviews turn to bureaucracy.
Less disappointment. More weariness.
Changing visa rules. Salary thresholds. Permits tied tightly to employment. Short gaps resetting years of progress. Support that technically exists, but is hard to locate or arrives too late.
Some didn’t leave because they wanted to.
They left because staying stopped feeling safe.
When daily life becomes a compliance exercise, it’s hard to plan anything long-term — careers, homes, families, even rest.
Eventually, people choose systems that ask less of them.
Where This Meets ALVIWO
Reading the report, I kept thinking how many of these exits didn’t need grand fixes.
They needed earlier clarity.
Not more motivation.
Not better slogans.
Not another checklist dropped on someone already overwhelmed.
They needed:
• Plain explanations of how things actually work
• Honest framing of what’s easy — and what isn’t
• Guidance during transitions, not only at arrival
• Somewhere to turn when things start to wobble
That’s the space ALVIWO works in.
Not as a replacement for public systems.
Not as a recruiter.
Not as a promise of smooth journeys.
But as a way to make complexity less lonely — and more understandable.
A Thought to Leave Open
Exit interviews are useful.
But they arrive late.
What stays unresolved is what might change if support showed up before people started planning their exit.
I don’t have a full answer to that.
I just know that helping people make sense of systems earlier — calmly, honestly — would likely change more than we realise.
Source
Digital Hub Denmark (2025). Exit Interviews: Why do international tech professionals leave Denmark?
Read the news here:
– Danish: Alt for mange talenter forlader Danmark – men hvorfor egentlig?
– English: New report provides insight into why international tech professionals leave Denmark
Read the full report here:
