In late 2016, I moved to Denmark with a kinda "talent work permit" named "Greencard" scheme to find a job as a software developer who has worked with IT infrastructure tools and technologies for a few years. Since then, I have worked for various Danish employers, from small startups to the Danish branch of some of the largest international corporations.

So far, I have stayed silent about this, but now I think it might be beneficial for other ex-pats like me to better decide whether to move to Denmark or not.

I will share a few personal examples in this article, but remember that these are just a few selective examples from many more experiences and one person out of many other expats. Also, remember that we tend only to share our winnings and not our negative experiences, especially when we are supposed to talk about our work and employers. This makes us look more "professional" and "likable", so not everyone is willing to share their negative experiences (I was also in the same boat until now).

Please note that, for ethical matters, I have masked company names with made-up names like EMP-SOME-RANDOM-THING to avoid revealing the identity of the companies and people mentioned in this article.

EMP-CO

I was hired to join the tech team in a Danish startup company that was struggling with the mix of their "legacy", "legacy of legacy", and the "new" codebase. We had so many issues with the product that almost everyone had to stay until 6-7 PM, sometimes even later. A new HR was hired at the same time I was hired at this company, and I started to interview everyone to get to know the new workplace and identify potential issues in the company. Meanwhile, we had an almost always angry Danish colleague who was obviously avoiding foreigners, impolitely putting his legs on the table while talking to others, etc. One day, when we were having lunch, he joined our table. After a few minutes, when everyone was almost done with their food, suddenly, out of nowhere, he looked at me and said: "Denmark has become a sh*tty county recently because of all the stupid immigrants coming from the Middle East and Africa!!! and they are the reason for all the problems in his county". I was shocked and didn't know what to say. I was thinking, I am new to this company and I need this job to renew my work permit, so I should not say anything. No one from the people I guess they heard, said anything either. Later, I learned that it is a cultural thing that people in the Nordics usually avoid responding to conflicts if it doesn't directly affect them.

A few days later, it was my turn to speak with the new HR, so I told her about this incident. The day after, in the early morning, before others came to the office, she came downstairs to our section and asked me to follow her upstairs to HR and to continue our talk. When we went upstairs, I saw that the CTO was waiting for me in her office and stopped my employment immediately! He mentioned that I am still on probation, and he needs that specific person to complete the "new product". He continued and said, if for whatever reason, that person does not like me, I should leave the company immediately, and he does not care whether or not he has discriminated against me and my ethnicity.

EMP-AC

Right after the Corona lockdowns, and when my temporary project was just finished, I was hired at EMP-AC with a very low salary and in a "made up low position" (analyst) to match this low salary, even though my day-to-day job was completely different (developer, solution consultant, or even a "technical team leader" for one project).

I accepted this role because I had to renew my work permit in a few months. Later, I was put on different projects as a developer, solution consultant, or even a "team leader" to not only build products but also manage teams and even hire people who were 5-6 levels higher than me in the organizational chart with salaries 2-3 times higher than mine!

Even though I spoke to different local Danish managers, no one cared, and the local branch was so isolated from the global organization that it was impossible to seek change, so I left the company.

EMP-EI

I happily went to EMP-EI to be interviewed for a technical role. We introduced ourselves, and then they asked me a few regular follow-up questions about my background, interests, etc.

Everything was going well until one of the interviewers suddenly asked me: "Are you Muslim? Are you going to pray at the office every day??".

I was shocked and stayed silent for a few seconds.

Then, I asked him: "Why? What do you mean?".

Then, he continued: "In the past, we had hired two people from Pakistan, like you, who were Muslims and were bringing their prayer rugs to the office and were praying every day during the lunchtime, and we don't want that.".

I was shocked again and said:

"1) I am from Iran, not Pakistan; 2) Not everyone in Iran is Muslim, so how did you assume that? and 3) I am not religious, and I don't pray, but I don't think anyone's religion should matter to you as an employer as long as they are doing their job."

Even though I was later hired for the role, the manager had zero trust in me from day one. He told me on my first day that he had put a camera with face recognition right above my desk! And can see my screen!!! 😆 He said he had to tell me this due to regulations.

EMP-ET

I had a Swedish colleague in a Danish company who was once proudly explaining to me and my Italian colleague (who also did not like foreigners, but apparently based on their discussion was not "white" like her) why "white people" have better genes than anyone else and how Hitler and German/Austrian scientists could prove that! The previous similar bad experience made me shut my mouth up this time!

EMP-BH

At EMP-BH, it was only my Romanian colleague and me who were not Danish. We had one Danish colleague who was reminding us every day that we were not "white like him". He had been bullying my Romanian colleague for so long that the Romanian guy was starting his work day at the office with, "Yes, I know I'm black and a Romanian thief! I know it!". Then, he was sneaking into his desk, putting his headphones on so that he could not hear them talking about him.

A few days later, we went to the basement to have lunch. While my Romanian colleague returned to the queue to get some food, the CEO, talking with a manager, laughed and said: "Yes, we love their (Romanian) girls; they are like Thai girls!"

I was so naive and asked, "Do you mean they are not as tall as Danes, or they look similar, or what do you mean?"

Then they all laughed at me, and the CEO said: "No, they are just cheap f*cks! We can have sex with them for free for a while and ditch them and throw them out!!"

He was the CEO, so especially with my previous experience in this new country, I decided to shut my mouth up this time too and say nothing, but I started to look for a new job right away.

Is this specific only to Denmark?

To be fair, I have faced similar type of discrimination in France, Germany, and Italy and have seen racists and haters from different nationalities. I have also heard similar stories from others who have lived in other European countries, like France and Germany. So, bear in mind that this is not specific to Denmark, but it is something that you should be aware of before deciding either to move to Denmark or not.