The Danish government entered into a strategic partnership with India, with the purpose of attracting labour to Denmark while at the same time providing young Indians with improved skills. The focus is on short-term employment only, and the deal also contains a promise from the Indian government to accept the return of Indian nationals without legal stay.
 
The deal is part of a broader political agreement effective since January which aims to find ways to recruit foreigners to work in the welfare sector in Denmark, which is facing serious problems of recruitment. There is an acute demand for trained staff in the health and care sectors - hospitals need nurses and midwives; nursing homes need health assistants - and teachers are in high demand. There is also a need for highly-specialised workers, such as doctors, vets, IT developers and engineers. These careers have already been on the so-called ‘positive list’ career programme or the pay limit scheme for several years.

One of the main factors is the negative image of health and care sectors in Denmark, with many seeing jobs in these sectors as being stressful and demanding for little pay. Many of the country's highly-educated young people choose to move from the public sector to the private sector, where pay is higher and stress levels lower. 

Planning a future life in Denmark remains very difficult for migrants, due to very strict criteria for obtaining permanent stay. In order to be able to work within the health or care sectors, speaking the Danish language and being familiar with Danish culture and work life is crucial, and takes time. Refugees and other third-country nationals (TCNs) already form the majority of new care assistants for the elderly in Denmark, and the education system has a special route designed specifically for those with an ethnic minority background. It is not possible to access the education system until completion of Danish language school, however, which usually takes several years.