Living in Greenland as a French National: Towns, Budget, Residence Permit, Climate and Safety

Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. According to the Danish Prime Minister’s Office, its constitutional position rests on the self-government act in force since 21 June 2009: the territory has its own parliament (Inatsisartut) and government (Naalakkersuisut), elects two members of the Danish Folketing, and the Kingdom retains in particular nationality, foreign policy, defence and monetary policy. Greenlandic is the official language, and Danish may remain in use in official matters.

• Advantages: Arctic landscapes, access to nature, human-sized communities, a free public health system for registered residents, high average incomes, a direct link with France thanks to the Consulate General in Nuuk.
• Points of vigilance: distance between localities, prior permit procedures, cost of food, climatic conditions, medical repatriation to plan for.

The page expat health insurance in Greenland brings together the insurance requirements, and the guide healthcare system in Greenland details how care is organised.

France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) specifies that, for a stay of less than 3 months, a valid passport is required for Greenland, whereas the national ID card is enough for Denmark. The Danish agency SIRI confirms that European free movement rules do not apply to Greenland: citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland follow the same rules as other foreigners, while being exempt from a visa.

To work in Greenland, including on a voluntary basis, a residence and work permit is needed before the first day of activity. SIRI’s pages indicate a normal processing time of 3 months (up to 6 months if additional information is needed), a maximum validity of 2 years, no application fee and a salary that must match Greenlandic norms. The application is filed with a Danish diplomatic mission abroad or, for a person already lawfully staying in Greenland, online, at the SIRI office in Nuuk or at the local police outside Nuuk. The spouse, partner or child under 18 of a work permit holder can apply for an accompanying family permit (2 years, renewable for periods of 2 years), which allows work. After seven years on a permit based on work or study, an application for permanent residence becomes possible. See the page working in Greenland for details.

On arrival, the move is declared to the municipality, which opens registration in the population register and a CPR number. Sullissivik, the official portal, then allows you to issue online a certificate of residence valid for one year, which serves as proof of entitlement to care in the Nordic countries. The Greenlandic tax administration also asks newcomers to send it a preliminary form.

Statistics Greenland counts about 57,000 inhabitants, spread across five municipalities: Sermersooq (about 24,600 inhabitants), Avannaata (about 11,000), Qeqqata (about 9,100), Kujalleq (about 6,100) and Qeqertalik (about 5,900). The most populous localities are:

• Nuuk (20,298 inhabitants): capital, seat of the government, of Queen Ingrid’s Hospital (Dronning Ingrids) and of the French Consulate General. It is the main administrative and services employment area.
• Sisimiut (5,455) and Maniitsoq (2,528), in the municipality of Qeqqata, north of Nuuk, with a hospital in Sisimiut.
• Ilulissat (5,150), Disko Bay, and Aasiaat (2,945) in the north-west, where regional hospitals are located.
• Qaqortoq (3,081) and Narsaq (1,241) in the south, Tasiilaq (1,811) on the east coast.

Of these 56,740 inhabitants, 49,721 were born in Greenland and 7,019 were born elsewhere: an already established foreign presence, notably in public services. Villages are served by local health consultations linked to telemedicine, but the supply of housing, shops and services varies greatly from one locality to another.

Statistics Greenland publishes a price level index comparing Greenland with Denmark (base 100). In its latest edition, it reaches 106.3 for all goods and services and 136.4 for food and non-alcoholic beverages, which makes food the most sensitive item in a budget. These values are old: recent price trends appear in the economic benchmarks block of the page.

On income, Statistics Greenland publishes averages for people aged 18 and over, with an average income before tax close to DKK 320,000 and a median income of about DKK 245,000. Average taxes are around DKK 110,000 and average disposable income DKK 210,000.

On housing, the official sources consulted publish no reference rent. The Greenlandic tax administration reminds us that housing provided by the employer is taxable: the value used for the tax calculation should therefore be checked before accepting an offer. To compare situations, the page working in Greenland details the tax and the compulsory pension.

In Nuuk, the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) records for 1991-2020 an average annual temperature of -1.0 °C and 874 mm of precipitation, against -1.4 °C and 781.6 mm for 1981-2010. The climate varies significantly between the south, the east coast and the north; winter is long, and light differs greatly between seasons.

In its travel advice, France Diplomatie places the Danish territory under normal vigilance. For Greenland, it recommends staying on marked trails and travelling in a group, venturing onto sea ice or near icebergs only with a professional guide, the ice being constantly in motion despite its apparent stillness, and preparing for rapid weather changes. Sporting or scientific expeditions outside populated areas of the east, south, west and north require prior dispensation from the Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk. Rescue resources in polar and subpolar waters, around Greenland and the Faroe Islands, are limited. The Greenlandic police display the alarm number 701448 on their website.

The official language is Greenlandic (Kalaallisut); Danish remains in use in official matters, which makes a basic knowledge of Danish useful for administrative procedures. The French Consulate General in Nuuk, opened on 6 February 2026, makes France the first European Union country to have a consulate general in Greenland. It can be reached on (+45) 3515 8018 and at contact.nuuk-cslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr, and refers people to the procedures for register registration, civil status, identity documents, family and schooling.

No French school is cited in the sources consulted; for children’s schooling, the Consulate General is the contact to approach before departure. The world register of French nationals living abroad only publishes one Denmark line (nearly 7,000 registered) and does not single out Greenland.

People registered in the population register and living in Greenland receive free public care in principle (Sullissivik); the delay before registration, the duration of a stay of less than 6 months or distance from health centres justify transitional cover. The guide healthcare reimbursement in Greenland compares the situations, and expat health insurance presents the options. Expavy helps you weigh these options against your situation.