The article discusses how values and aspirations of the neoliberal competition state (konkurrencestat) and self-dependent society (selvstændighedssamfund) has affected recently arrived refugees in Denmark. Besides a stricter border regime, the so-called 'refugee crisis' of 2015 also resulted in a new version of 'integration' that emphasise the values of responsibility (ansvar), self-sufficiency (selvforsørgelse) and independence (uafhængighed), as refugees had to start working more or less from day one after their arrival. The result was numerous creative integration programmes in Danish municipalities.