Family reunification

Strict rules in Denmark.

Last update : February 2016

If you are married, registered partner or cohabiting partner (the requirement for cohabition is normally that you can document more than 18 months of living together) with a person who have residency in Denmark, you can apply for family reunification.


At the moment the access to apply for family reunification as a refugee with a themporary protection status is being restricted. As of January 2016, you must normally have a 3-years extension of your temporary protection permit, before you can get family reunification.This means that if you have a § 7, para 3: Temporary protection status it will take 3 years before you can be reunified with your family.

You can also be reunificated with children, grandchildren and younger siblings under the age of 15 years old. The residence permit is time limited, but it is possible in a later state to apply for it to be permanent. Here follows an introduction to the legislation. It is a good idea to seek legal advice before applying.

Requirements for family reunification in Denmark are strict.

If you are an asylum seeker in Denmark and want to be reunificated with your partner who has a residency permit in Denmark, you need to get married or have your relationship registered. You will need a dispensation to do that. You can also go to Sweden to get married or registered, there you need a valid passport. If you are not in Denmark on a legal basis, you need to be careful. This is because the authorities sends a list of who are getting married/registered to the police. If you choose to do it, you should be married by a priest or a member of the City Council, that you trust.

Other requirements for familyreunification with a spouse is that you are both above the age of 24. That your joint connection to Denmark is stronger than your connection to any other country (unless the person in Denmark has lived there legally for more than 26 years).

The spouse in Denmark has to be able to provide for the spouse moving to Denmark, which normally means not having received benefits for the past 3 years. Apart from that, the spouse in Denmark will have to give an economical guarantee of DKK 52.490,12 (2015). The fee might be be avoided if the spouse in Denmark has a refugee status. In general, then as a refugee you do not need to meet all the requirements of family reunification, but your marriage must be valid under Danish rules, it must not be a forced or a proforma marriage. Furthermore it is a requirement that the person in Denmark in a period of the last 10 years, hasn’t been convicted of violence against a former spouse or partner.

The information you give about your spouse and marriage in the asylum interview will be included in the treatment of the reunification application. It is important not to say if you are married to your cousin, just inform that it is your spouse.

Only in very rare cases will family reunification be possible with other family members than the above mentioned.

Seek legal assistance (see the contact list) for more details on the regulations.

Family reunification following the EU - rules

If you are a citizen of the European Union (EU) you have some special rights following the principles of the free movement within the union. If you are married and being reunificated with someone who is e.g. a danish citizen and therefore also citizen of the EU, the EU rules can be a good solution. If you move to another EU country, than your home EU country, you are (as a citizen of the European Union) permitted to live there with your spouse. Following that, some people in accordance with the EU rules, move to Malmö in Sweden with the one they are married to, and later, move back to Denmark. This is a legal way to use the EU rules, as long as your marriage is real and not assessed as proforma.

The procedure of the application

When you apply for family reunification in Denmark, you need to fill a written form and enclose the necessary documentation. You can get the application package at the Immigration Service, at the local police, the danish embassy or the consulate in the country of origin. If you are in Denmark on a legal basis (eg. on a valid visa stay) when you apply for family reunification, you will usually get permitted to stay in Denmark on a legal basis while your case is being treated (true?).

As of January 2016, there is a fee to apply for family-reunification in Denmark.

You can’t lodge your application in Denmark if you are in the country without legal residency, have been expelled from Denmark or are waiting for your asylum-case to be assessed.

The application can be lodged at:

Udlændingeservice
Ryesgade 53
2100 København Ø

For further information:

English:

nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/ContactUs/contact_immigration_service

Reunification - danish rules:

http://www.nyidanmark.dk/da-dk/Ophold/familiesammenfoering/aegtefaeller/aegtefaeller.htm

Reunification - EU rules:

http://www.nyidanmark.dk/da-dk/Ophold/familiesammenfoering/familiesammenfoering_efter_eu-retten/

Guidance to homosexuals:

http://www.lgbt.dk/udlaendinge