More than 1300 international students arrive in Aarhus these days – more than have arrived the last few years. This has presented some challenges for the registration systems at Aarhus Kommune
Photo by Andrine Gald Myklebust
By Andrine Gald Myklebust and Anton Dahl Andersen
At DOKK1 right by the sea in Aarhus is ‘Borgerservice’ – ‘Citizen Service’. The new international students in Aarhus flock here to get their CPR-numbers.
CPR stands for ‘Det Centrale Personregister’, which roughly translates to the central registry of people. It is a civil registration number used whenever different public and governmental institutions need to know who you are. That means that if you need to make a doctor’s appointment, open a bank account, or get a Danish phone number, you will need this number. International students need to go to Aarhus or Aalborg in order to get their CPR-numbers.
Irina Zaharia just arrived in Aarhus today to get her CPR-number. She is from Romania but will be staying the next 4 months in Viborg to study Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
‘The process was pretty straight-forward. The lady behind the counter called me up, I gave her my papers, and I just had to wait about 20 minutes for my papers to be finished’, says Irina Zaharia.
The team leader of ‘Folkeregistret’ – ‘The National Population Registry’ – in Aarhus Kommune Lis Larsen says, the process for the international students has gone – almost – according to plan. There were some technical difficulties the first day, but the other days the process has gone smoothly.
‘There are a lot more international students here than we had in the last few years. That puts some pressure on our systems, but most of the internationals are pleased with the speed of the process’, says Lis Larsen.
Irina’s teacher Anja Aagaard Christensen says the process hasn’t always been this smooth.
‘Earlier the system only allowed us to book time slots for nine students at a time, which meant that we had to book time slots several times. It caused some frustration’, says Anja.
Now the system is better, and the students only have to wait a short while to get their papers in order. Anja says, the process always takes time, but that the staff is doing their best.
‘I think all the staff here at DOKK1 should get a big bouquet of flowers for their work’, says Anja with a big smile.
