This comprehensive guide in Arabic outlines the laws governing family reunification applications for joining a spouse or permanent partner in Denmark. This guide applies to spouses residing in Denmark as Danish citizens or with a permanent residence permit. It does not apply to those with refugee status in Denmark. The terms "spouse" and "partner" (cohabitation) are used in this guide and apply to both husband and wife or partner. This guide details the requirements for spouses residing outside Denmark to apply for family reunification and come to Denmark, as well as the requirements for spouses residing in Denmark to bring their spouse or partner from abroad.
You can go to the end of this guide for the link to submit a family reunification application and for contact information for the Danish Immigration Service.
The maximum expected processing time for a family reunification application at the moment is nine months.
Fees: 10,330 Danish kroner.
Who is eligible for spousal reunification?
You can obtain a residence permit in Denmark under the rules for family reunification when you have a spouse or live together permanently in Denmark.
You and your spouse/partner in Denmark must meet a number of conditions.
(There are special rules for certain groups of people:)
- If you are the spouse/partner (cohabitant) of a foreign national who has a residence permit based on work or study in Denmark.
- If your spouse/partner is a citizen of the Nordic countries, the EU/EEA, or Switzerland.
- If you wish to apply for spousal reunification with someone registered in Denmark under EU law.
This guide contains:
- How to apply
- Who is eligible for spousal reunification?
- What are the conditions?
- Who can be exempted from meeting the requirements?
- What kind of residence permit do you receive?
Who is eligible for spousal reunification?
If you reside in Denmark as a Danish citizen or have a permanent residence permit in Denmark and are not a “refugee residence”.
What are the conditions?
In order to be reunited as a couple, you and the applicant, i.e., your spouse/partner in Denmark, must meet a number of requirements.
Requirements:
You must already have a marriage (or cohabitation).
If you are married, the marriage must be recognized under Danish law. It must have been conducted according to the rules of the country where it took place, and the circumstances surrounding it must not conflict with fundamental Danish legal principles (Danish public order). This means:
- Both parties must be physically present during the contract.
- The marriage must not have been conducted by proxy.
- Both parties must be at least 18 years old at the time of the contract.
- If you are not married or if the marriage cannot be recognized under Danish law, the Danish Immigration Service will instead assess whether you have a permanent cohabitation that could form the basis for a residence permit.
Permanent cohabitation (cohabitation)
- Permanent cohabitation means you have lived together for approximately 1 year and 6 months at a shared address. This requirement may be waived in special circumstances.
- Your partner in Denmark must be responsible for supporting you if you need it. Your partner assumes this responsibility by filling out a declaration on the application form.
- Marriage or cohabitation must be entered into according to your own wishes (i.e., with your full consent and not as a forced marriage).
- You will not be granted a residence permit if the Danish Immigration Service considers it doubtful that your marriage (or cohabitation) was carried out according to your own wishes (such as parental cohabitation, for example).
- When immigration authorities have to assess it, this is done on the basis of all the information contained in the case.
- If you have close family ties to each other, it is doubtful that the marriage (or cohabitation) was entered into according to your own wishes and with your full consent.
- If there are previous examples of forced marriage in your immediate family, this is a circumstance that may indicate that the marriage was not entered into voluntarily.
The authorities can check: - Marriage circumstances and your personal relationship before marriage.
- Your age.
- Duration of marriage.
- Your contact with each other's families before marriage.
- Your financial, professional, educational, or other personal circumstances.
Information about your potential contact with crisis centers or counseling services may be included in the assessment of whether the marriage was arranged with your family's consent. However, a marriage is not necessarily considered forced simply because it was arranged with your family's consent. You can obtain guidance from the Danish Immigration Service if you are facing a forced marriage that is not entirely in accordance with your own wishes. - Marriage or cohabitation should not have been entered into solely for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit.
- If the marriage or cohabitation was entered into solely for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit, it is considered a sham marriage. The Danish Immigration Service conducts a thorough assessment of all the circumstances to determine whether your marriage should be considered a sham. In this assessment, the Danish Immigration Service considers, among other things:
- Whether you lived together in shared accommodation
- Whether you can communicate in the same language
- If there is a large age difference between you
How well did you know each other before getting married/cohabiting? - Your previous marriages
- If you have children together
- Whether your spouse/partner in Denmark was previously married to a foreigner and separated from that foreigner shortly after obtaining a permanent residence permit.
Age requirements: Both spouses must be at least 24 years old.
As a starting point, the couple/partners must be at least 24 years old; however, you can apply when the younger of you is at least 23 years and 6 months old.
Exceptions to the 24-year age requirement
The Danish Immigration Service may waive the 24-year age requirement in special cases, for example if you are the spouse/partner of the applicant in Denmark:
- You have minor children living in the home with an independent connection to Denmark, or who have a connection with other minor children. (See the last paragraph of this guide for information on minor children with an independent connection to Denmark.)
- He works in the civil service and holds a position of particular importance to Denmark's foreign or security policy. He must meet the integration requirements.
It is usually a requirement for obtaining a residence permit that you and your spouse/partner meet one of the integration requirements. This is a requirement that you must fulfill together by meeting four out of six relevant integration conditions. Three of these conditions pertain to you, the applicant, and the other three relate to your spouse/partner in Denmark. One of the conditions relating to the spouse/partner must always be met. In addition, you must both meet three out of the other five conditions.
You can read more about the specific conditions under “Applicant Requirements” and “Spouse/Partner Requirements in Denmark” below.
Exceptions to merger requirements
The Danish Immigration Service may waive the integration requirement in special cases, for example if your spouse/partner is in Denmark:
You have minor children living in the home with an independent connection to Denmark, or who have a connection with other minor children. (See the last paragraph of this guide for information on minor children with an independent connection to Denmark.)
Completing the requirements: You must both be actively involved in the Danish education and integration of the applicant.
You, the applicant, and your spouse/partner in Denmark must declare that you will actively participate in your Danish education and that of any accompanying foreign child, and in integration into Danish society.
You acknowledge this by filling out each of your declarations in the application form.
Applicant requirements (spouse residing outside Denmark)
You must have visited Denmark at least once. It is generally required that, as an applicant, you have been to Denmark at least once.
- There are no length requirements for your stay, but you must be here legally, either under EU regulations or as a result of a residence permit or visa. For example, the visitor requirements will not be met if you have only been in Denmark as an asylum seeker.
Exceptions to visit requirements
The Danish Immigration Service may waive the visitor's integration requirement in special cases, for example if your spouse/partner is in Denmark:
You have minor children living in the home with an independent connection to Denmark, or who have a connection with other minor children. (See the last paragraph of this guide for information on minor children with an independent connection to Denmark.)
Completing the requirements: You must meet your part of the merger requirements.
Typically, you and your spouse/partner in Denmark must both meet four out of six conditions related to integration. Three of these conditions pertain to you, the applicant, and the other three to your spouse/partner in Denmark. For example, if your spouse/partner meets all three of their conditions, you only need to meet one of yours. Conversely, if your spouse/partner meets only one of their conditions, you must meet all three of yours.
The three conditions in the merger requirements that concern you are outlined below as follows:
- You must have passed the Danish language test 1 or the English language test at level B1
- You can meet one of the conditions in the integration requirements by passing the Danish language test 1 or another Danish test at an equivalent or higher level, or by passing the English language test at level B1 or equivalent or higher.
The Danish Language Test 1 is a test that concludes Danish Language 1 education, which is Danish education for adult foreigners in Denmark.
Regarding the English language requirements, it is required that you, as an applicant, can prove that you have passed the English language test at level B1 conducted by a recognized language center. - You have been employed full-time for at least 3 years within the last 5 years. You can meet one of the integration requirements by working for at least 3 years within the last 5 years before applying for a residence permit.
- You must have regular, full-time employment or be self-employed. Both work in Denmark (if you previously had a residence and work permit) and work abroad can be included in the three-year work requirement. Regular work means that you have been paid according to a work contract, or that the work has been performed under normal working conditions and wages, without government support such as wage subsidies. Internships or other work as part of an educational course are not considered regular work. Full-time work means that you have been employed with an average of at least 30 hours of work per week. Self-employment can be included if it is your primary occupation and the primary source of income, providing financial self-sufficiency. Your self-employment must be of a scope that can be equivalent to at least 30 hours of paid work per week on average. You can also meet the requirement if you have reached retirement age in your home country, as retirement years can be counted as work years if you were employed full-time before retirement.
- Completing a course of study of at least one year is a requirement for integration. You can fulfill one of the integration requirements by completing a course of study of at least one year. This course must be generally recognized. This means, among other things, that the education grants professional and educational rights in the host country and that the quality of the education is guaranteed by national legislation. The course must be comparable to Danish vocational or higher education.
Vocational education in Denmark, including vocational entrance examinations (EUX), is offered by technical schools, social and health schools, business colleges, agricultural schools, and other institutions, including private providers (e.g., some AMU providers), defense schools, and companies. Courses that result in exam failure are not included.
There is no requirement to complete the education, provided that at least one year of study – for example, the first year of a three-year bachelor's degree – has been successfully completed. If the first year of a full-time, multi-year program was not completed with an examination, you must instead attach a statement from the educational institution confirming this.
Courses within programs that are equivalent to secondary education in this country cannot be included in the educational requirements. Higher secondary education in Denmark includes the STX exam, the hhx exam, the htx exam, and the hf exam.
Exceptions to merger requirements
The Danish Immigration Service may waive the integration requirement in special cases, for example, if your spouse/partner is in Denmark: you have minor children living at home with independent contact with Denmark or who have contact with other minor children. (See the last paragraph of this guide for what is meant by minor children with independent contact with Denmark) or you suffer from a serious illness or disability
Completing the requirements: You must pass two Danish tests.
If you obtain a residence permit in Denmark based on family reunification, you must first pass a Danish test at level A1 or higher and then a Danish test at level A2 or higher.
As a general rule, you must pass the A1 level test no later than 6 months after you have been granted a residence permit in Denmark.
As a general rule, you must pass the A2 level test no later than 9 months after you have been granted a residence permit in Denmark.
If you fail the tests, you may lose your residence permit.
Exemptions from the requirement to pass Danish tests
The Danish Immigration Service may waive the requirement to pass two Danish tests in special cases, for example if your spouse/partner is in Denmark:
You have minor children living in the home with an independent connection to Denmark, or who have a connection with other minor children. (See the last paragraph of this guide for information on minor children with an independent connection to Denmark.)
- This requirement may also be waived if you have special disabilities that prevent you from completing the test – for example, poor eyesight or hearing.
- If you are a Turkish citizen, you may be exempt from the requirement to pass a Danish test.
Requirements for spouse/partner: Danish citizen or resident of Denmark
- You must live permanently in Denmark in a detached house.
As the spouse/partner of the applicant, you must live permanently in Denmark and have a detached house of reasonable size (meeting the housing requirements).
A detached house is a house with a separate entrance and appears as a single unit. It does not necessarily have to have its own kitchen or bathroom.
Owning a detached house means that you must own your home, rent it, lease it out, or be a co-owner or partial owner of the home.
The house should be of a reasonable size. Upon completion of the family reunion:
A maximum of 2 people per room in the house, or
The house area should not be less than 20 square meters per person in the house.
If you live abroad or have just returned to Denmark
- If you have been living abroad or have recently returned to Denmark after living abroad for an extended period, the Danish Immigration Service can grant a grace period of up to six months after your residence permit application, during which you must be able to meet the housing requirements. To further extend the deadline, the family reunification application must typically be submitted no later than one month after your return to Denmark.
Exemptions from the housing requirement
The Danish Immigration Service may waive the residency requirement in special cases, for example if you:
You have minor children living at home with independent contact with Denmark or who have contact with other minor children. Or you suffer from a serious illness or disability. (See the last paragraph of this guide for information on minor children with independent contact with Denmark.)
Your home must not be located in a residential area covered by the housing requirements list.
Typically, you are required (as the applicant's spouse/partner) to have a home that is not located in a residential area covered by the current executive order's housing requirements list.
A more detailed overview of the addresses covered by the housing requirements list has also been prepared; however, addresses can change, for example, as a result of changes in road and street names. Therefore, the overview is for guidance only, and in the event of changes, the housing requirements notice will apply.
The residential areas listed in the housing requirements for spousal reunification correspond to those listed in the list of open residential areas issued by the Minister of the Interior and Housing and published on the Ministry of the Interior and Housing website on December 1st of each year.
Residential areas are included in the housing requirements list when they meet certain criteria relating to the labor market, crime, education, and gross income.
Your home must not be on the housing requirements list at the time your spouse/partner applies for spousal reunification. If your home becomes on the housing requirements list after the application is submitted, this will not affect the fulfillment of the requirements.
If, after submitting the application, you move to a new home that is included in the housing requirements list, you will not meet the requirement that your home not be in a residential area on the housing requirements list.
Exceptions to the condition
The Danish Immigration Service may overlook the requirement that your home not be in a residential area on the housing requirements list in special cases, for example if you:
You have minor children living at home with independent contact with Denmark or who have contact with other minor children. (See the last paragraph of this guide for what is meant by minor children with independent contact with Denmark), or you suffer from a serious illness or disability.
You must be self-sufficient
Typically, you, as the spouse/partner of the applicant in Denmark, must be self-supporting. This means you must not have received benefits under the active Social Policy Act or the Integration Act during the three years preceding the decision on spousal reunification.
Even short periods such as cash assistance over the past three years may mean that you do not meet this requirement.
Exceptions to self-supporting requirements
The immigration service may waive the self-support requirement in special cases, for example if you:
- You have minor children living at home with independent contact with Denmark or who have contact with special minor children. (See the last paragraph of this guide for what is meant by minor children with independent contact with Denmark) or you suffer from a serious illness or serious disability. .
- You received assistance because you were on maternity leave from a job and after the end of maternity leave you must return to the labor market.
You must ensure financial security
As the spouse/partner of the applicant, you must normally provide a financial guarantee of 107,394.25 Danish kroner if the application for spousal reunification is submitted from 1 July 2018 onwards.
As the spouse/partner of the applicant, you must normally provide a financial guarantee of 57,612.43 Danish kroner if the application for spousal reunification is submitted before 1 July 2018.
The financial guarantee is used to cover any future expenses in assisting the applicant. It may also be used to cover municipal expenses for obtaining assistance under the Social Policy Act or the Integration Act, if necessary.
Financial guarantees can be provided in the form of either a guarantee on demand or an escrow account.
The guarantee size requirements can be reduced if the applicant passes two Danish language tests. In special cases, the guarantee may also be waived entirely.
Exceptions to financial guarantee requirements
The Danish Immigration Service may waive the financial guarantee requirement in special cases, for example if you:
You have minor children living in the home with independent contact with Denmark or who have contact with other minor children (see the last paragraph of this guide for information on minor children with independent contact with Denmark). He suffers from a serious illness or disability. .
You must not have been convicted of committing acts of violence against your spouse.
As the spouse/partner of the applicant, you must not have been convicted in Denmark within the last ten years of a serious personal offense against the former spouse/partner.
This applies if the final sentence is a conditional or unconditional prison sentence or any other measure in criminal law that includes or allows for the possibility of deprivation of liberty.
These include, among other things:
- Rape, see § 216 of the Penal Code,
- Manslaughter, see § 237,
- For minor and serious violence, including psychological violence, see §§ 243-246.
- Unlawful coercion, including coercion into marriage, see Article 260.
- Deprivation of liberty, see § 261, and
- Human trafficking, see § 262 a.
Exceptions to the requirement of not having been convicted of acts of violence against one's spouse
In special cases, the requirement may be waived, for example if:
- The crime was due to a mental disorder that has since been treated.
- The crime was due to alcohol or drug use, which has now stopped.
- If many years have passed since the marriage and the couple have been living together for a long time and undoubtedly wish to continue doing so.
You must meet your part of the merger requirements.
Typically, you must meet four out of six merger-related requirements. Three of these requirements apply to you, while the other three pertain to the applicant. For example, if the applicant meets all three of their requirements, you only need to meet one of yours. Conversely, if the applicant meets only one of their requirements, you must meet all three of yours.
The three merger-related conditions that concern you are outlined below. Note that the first condition is mandatory and must therefore be met under all circumstances.
- You must have passed the Danish language test 3 (it must be completed in any case).
It is a requirement that you have passed Prøve i Dansk 3 or a Danish test of equivalent or higher level.
The language requirement can be met by:
- Passing the study test with a score of at least 6 (according to a scale of 13) or 2 (according to a scale of 7) in all disciplines
- Passing the ninth or tenth grade school exams with an average grade of at least 6 (on a scale of 13) or 2 (on a scale of 7) in Danish subjects
- Passing the general exam stx, hhx exam, htx exam, hf exam and
The professional entrance exam in relation to vocational training (eux). - If you have not passed the Danish Language 3 test or one of the alternative tests, or if you have passed such a test but, for example, have lost your primary school leaving certificate and cannot obtain it again, you can take the Danish Language 3 test twice a year. Read more about where and when to register for the test at Integationsviden.dk
- You have been working full-time in Denmark for at least 5 years
You can fulfill one of the integration requirements by working in Denmark for at least 5 years. The five years of work do not have to be within a specific timeframe. - You must have a regular full-time job or be self-employed for 5 years.
By normal work, we mean that you must have been paid according to a contract or that the work was performed under normal working conditions and wages, without government support such as wage subsidies. Internships or other work as part of a training course are not considered normal work.
By full-time employment we mean that you have been employed with an average weekly working time of at least 30 hours.
You can include work you did for yourself if it constitutes your primary occupation and is your main source of income, meaning it's your primary means of achieving self-sufficiency. Your freelance work should be equivalent to at least 30 hours of paid work per week on average.
- I was in education for at least 6 years
You can fulfill one of the integration requirements by studying in Denmark for at least six years. Of those six years, at least one year must be full-time continuous education after primary school (i.e., after grades 9 and 10). Courses completed abroad are not included.
You must have completed six years of education before your spouse/partner applies for a residence permit. This includes at least one year of full-time, continuous vocational or academic qualification education. For example, this could be a secondary, vocational, or higher education course at a recognized institution.
Higher secondary education includes the general examination stx, the hhx examination, the htx and hf examinations.
Vocational education, including the vocational entrance examination in relation to vocational education (EUX), is provided by technical schools, social and health schools, business colleges, agricultural schools, and other schools and institutions, including private sector providers, for example, some AMU providers, etc., and defense schools as well as companies.
The courses you have been accepted into at a formally recognized higher education institution will be included in the total duration of your course of study, calculated based on the number of ECTS points you have earned. 60 ECTS points correspond to one year of full-time study.
Exceptions to merger requirements
The immigration service may waive the integration requirement in special cases, for example if you:
- You have minor children living at home with independent contact with Denmark or who have contact with other minor children. (See the last paragraph of this guide for what is meant by minor children with independent contact with Denmark) or you suffer from a serious illness or disability.
Additional requirements for the spouse/partner in Denmark when they are not a Danish citizen or a citizen of a Nordic country.
You must have permanent residency and still meet the requirements for it.
You must have had a permanent residence permit for more than the past 3 years.
If you are an economically active Turkish citizen and were granted a permanent residence permit under the Aliens Act based on an application submitted on or after March 15, 2017, you should only have a one-year permanent residence permit if you were granted a permanent residence permit based on a minimum of eight years of legal residence.
If you have been granted permanent residence based on an application submitted before March 15, 2017, you must also meet a number of transferred conditions to obtain permanent residence.
Exceptions to the requirement to meet conditions for transferring permanent residency
The Danish Immigration Service may waive the requirement to meet the conditions for transferring permanent residence, for example if you:
- You have minor children living at home with an independent connection to Denmark or who have a connection with special minor children (see the last paragraph of this guide for what is meant by minor children with an independent connection to Denmark), or you suffer from a serious illness or disability. .
In addition, the transferred terms may be waived individually if special conditions or situations apply.
The term refers to minor children who have independent contact with Denmark.
Minor children living in the home can be your joint children or your special children (special children are children you have with someone other than your current spouse/partner, such as children from a previous marriage).
When the Danish Immigration Service receives a request for spousal reunification where you have children living at home, the Danish Immigration Service will assess whether the children have an independent connection to Denmark.
The assessment includes the children’s family, linguistic and cultural links with Denmark and other countries, including how long the children have lived in Denmark, whether the children speak Danish and whether the children have attended a Danish institution/school, etc.
After regular practice, children will have achieved an independent connection to Denmark after 6-7 years in that country, where the children have attended a Danish institution/school.
If you have minor children of your own, i.e., children who have someone other than the applicant, for example, children from a previous marriage, the Danish Immigration Service may waive one or more of the conditions for spousal reunification.
In the application, you should state whether you share childcare and to what extent you have contact with the children.
In the application, you must give your consent to allow the Danish Immigration Service to contact the other parent of the children, for example, your ex-spouse, while the case is being processed.
The Danish Immigration Service will then assess whether there is sufficient contact with the children to waive one or more requirements.
If the Danish Immigration Service determines that the children have no independent connection to Denmark and that there is insufficient contact with another parent in Denmark, the conditions for spousal reunification are not waived. Therefore, all conditions must be met.
In the application, you also have the option to confirm that you do not want the Danish Immigration Service to confirm that you have children in Denmark. This usually means that the Danish Immigration Service will not deviate from the conditions for spousal reunification, and therefore you must meet all the requirements.
Click here for the link to submit a family reunification application.
Click here for contact information for the Danish Immigration Service
