There are 2 social funds; SIK/The Government of Greenland and municipalities’ Social Fund, as well as SIK/Royal Greenland A/S Social Fund. This page contains basic information about the 2 social funds, including what can be applied for and who can apply.
SIK/The Social Fund of The Government of Greenland and the Municipalities
Who can apply?
SIK employees who are employed in the Government of Greenland, the municipalities and the Danish state can apply for the Social Fund.
In addition, the following companies have entered into accession agreements with SIK, so that SIK employees in these companies are covered by this social fund and can therefore apply for help. These are the following companies:
– Air Greenland
– Tusass
– Nukissiorfiit
– Sigguk Uummannaq ApS
– Pennecon Heavy Civil
– Knud Rasmussenip Højskolia
– Greenland’s Business (GE)
– NUSUKA
– Royal Arctic Line (only members can apply to the fund)
– Hotel Arctic (only members can apply to the fund)
– Nuup Bussii (only members can apply to the fund)
– Nuuk Imeq (only members can apply to the fund)
– KNI (includes Pilersuisoq, Polar Oil, Neqi, KNI Engros and Pisisa) (nnly members can apply to the fund)
– Maniitsoq Fish ApS (only members can apply to the fund)
– Avannaa Seafood (only members can apply to the fund)
– Rodebay Fish ApS (only members can apply to the fund)
– Polar Raajat A/S (only members can apply to the fund)
– Arctic Prime Fisheries ApS (only members can apply to the fund)
– Halibut Greenland ApS (only members can apply to the fund)
– Uummannaq Seafood A/S (only members can apply to the fund)
– Maniitsumi Eftersskoli (only members can apply to the fund)
– Sisimiut Timersortarfiat (only members can apply to the fund)
– Narsap Timersortarfia (only members can apply to the fund)
As stated above, for some of the companies that have joined this social fund via accession agreements, it is a requirement to be a member of SIK in order to receive help from the social fund (stated above in brackets).
What can help be requested for?
You can apply for help in connection with
– Serious illness of a close relative:
Here you can e.g. help is provided for plane and ship tickets so that a close relative can accompany a seriously ill person to the hospital where that person is admitted. In addition, support can be provided in the form of hotel stays, lost earnings and travel cards for stays in Copenhagen.
In connection with accompanied trips, it is possible to get support for one or more children under the age of 18 traveling with them, in cases where the child/children would otherwise be alone at the place of residence.
Close relatives of the applicant are: Parents, spouse or cohabitant (at least 1 year of cohabitation at the same residential address), children and siblings. Exceptionally, grandparents or “step parents” can also be considered close relatives, including in cases where the employee has lived with the grandparent or step parent during his childhood and/or youth.
– Travel accompaniment in connection with birth in a city other than one’s hometown/home village:
Here, help can be provided with plane and ship tickets so that the co-parent can attend the birth when the birth is to take place in a city other than the hometown.
– Acquisition or renewal of glasses:
Support can be given the first time the employee applies to the Social Fund for a subsidy for glasses, or for renewing glasses, if the change in the strength of the glasses is at least 0.5%. Finally, there is the possibility of support for the purchase of new glasses for your child under the age of 18, although support can only be provided for the purchase of glasses for the applicant’s child every two years. For the acquisition or renewal of glasses, the maximum amount of support is DKK 4,000.
– Repatriation of the deceased:
This may involve the transport of a coffin or urn from Denmark to Greenland in cases where the deceased had a residential address in Greenland, and where such transport is not paid for by the Greenlandic authorities. It may also involve the transport of a coffin or urn to a city or settlement within Greenland in cases where the deceased had a residential address in the city or settlement in question, and where such transport is not paid for by the Greenlandic authorities.
The social fund can only provide support in a specific case, if the applicant’s employer is not obliged to provide support according to the collective agreement, or where the health service or other authorities are also not obliged to provide support.
The application form must be used
There is an application form in Greenlandic, Danish and English on SIK’s website. This must be used when applying for the Social Fund.
► Download the application form here
Documentation is important
It appears from the application form which documentation SIK must have in order to process an application. Without this documentation, an application cannot be processed. In addition to the documentation that appears on the form, SIK may in specific cases require other forms of documentation in order to process an application.
When is the application processed?
Applications received are treated as urgent cases – however, not applications for spectacle subsidies, where a longer processing time can be expected.
How are the applications processed? There is a lot of confidential information in connection with applications received for the Social Fund. SIK has therefore drawn up guidelines for how the cases are to be processed, so that it is ensured that unauthorized persons cannot gain knowledge of this information.
SIK/Royal Greenland’s Social Fund
In the following, there is a brief description of who can apply to the Social Fund and what support can be given for.
Who can apply?
Only members of SIK, employed by Royal Greenland A/S, can get help from the Social Fund.
In addition, members of SIK who are employed by Upernavik Seafood A/S and Arctic Fish A/S have the opportunity to apply to this social fund.
What can help be requested for?
You can apply for help in connection with
– Serious illness of a close relative:
Here you can e.g. help is provided for plane and ship tickets so that a close relative can accompany a seriously ill person to the hospital where that person is admitted. In addition, support can be provided in the form of hotel stays, lost earnings and travel cards for stays in Copenhagen.
In connection with accompanied trips, it is possible to get support for one or more children under the age of 18 traveling with them, in cases where the child/children would otherwise be alone at the place of residence.
Close relatives of the applicant are: Parents, spouse or cohabitant (at least 1 year of cohabitation at the same residential address), children and siblings. Exceptionally, grandparents or “grandparents” can also be considered close relatives, including in cases where the employee has lived with the grandparent or godparent during his childhood and/or youth.
– Travel accompaniment in connection with birth in a city other than one’s hometown/home village:
Here, help can be provided with plane and ship tickets so that the co-parent can attend the birth when the birth is to take place in a city other than his hometown. Only the mother can apply for the father to accompany the birth.
– Acquisition or renewal of glasses:
Support can be given the first time the employee provides the Social Fund with a subsidy for glasses, or for the renewal of glasses, if the change in the strength of the glasses is at least 0.5%. Finally, there is the possibility of support for the purchase of new glasses for one’s child under 18 years of age, however, such that support can only be granted for the acquisition of glasses for the applicant’s child every two years when the child is between 0-12 years of age, and every three years , when the child is between 13-17 years old. For the acquisition or renewal of glasses, the maximum amount of support can be 85% of the price of the glasses, however, so that the maximum amount of support can be DKK 2,975.
– Repatriation of the deceased:
This may involve the transport of a coffin or urn from Denmark to Greenland in cases where the deceased had a residential address in Greenland, and where such transport is not paid for by the Greenlandic authorities. It may also involve the transport of a coffin or urn to a city or settlement within Greenland in cases where the deceased had a residential address in the city or settlement in question, and where such transport is not paid for by the Greenlandic authorities.
The social fund can only provide support in a specific case, if the applicant’s employer is not obliged to provide support according to the collective agreement, or where the health service or other authorities are also not obliged to provide support.
The application form must be used
There is an application form in Greenlandic, Danish and English on SIK’s website. This must be used when applying for the Social Fund.
► Download the application form here
Documentation is important
It appears from the application form which documentation SIK must have in order to process an application. Without this documentation, an application cannot be processed. In addition to the documentation that appears on the application form, SIK may in specific cases require other forms of documentation in order to be able to process an application.’
When is the application processed?
Applications received are treated as urgent cases – however, not applications for spectacle subsidies, where a longer processing time can be expected.
How are the applications processed?
There is a lot of confidential information in connection with incoming applications to the Social Fund, which is why SIK has drawn up guidelines for how the cases should be processed, so that it is ensured that unauthorized persons cannot gain knowledge of this information.