Family reunification with spouse | Danish VISA (2024)

1. You must both be more than 24 years of age.
2. Spouses/cohabitants living in Denmark must meet strict requirements for the right to reside in Denmark.
3. You must be married or be in a marriage-like relationship.
4. You must have a common residence where you stay together.

The condition for issuing a residence permit to a spouse or cohabiting partner is that both are over 24 years of age. This is an absolute condition.

This rule was introduced for political reasons as there is no political wish to have forced marriages form the basis for family reunification in Denmark. However, it is possible to achieve family reunification despite being younger than 24 years, when refusing family reunification would be contrary to international conventions to which Denmark has acceded.

Exceptions can only be allowed if there are very special reasons for this. It could be if the resident is covered by the positive list in section 9a of the Aliens Act.

There are 3 groups of residents whose citizenship and residence status are important for access to family reunification. These are:

• Citizens with Danish citizenship
• Citizens of another Nordic country
• Foreigners with a residence permit according to Sections 7 and 8 of the Aliens Act.

These persons have the right to have their spouse come to Denmark when the conditions in Section 9 of the Immigration Act are also met.

For other foreigners living here, it is a condition for family reunification that the resident has had an indefinite residence permit in Denmark for longer than the past 3 years. This is an absolute condition.

Since the deadline for obtaining an indefinite residence permit is basically 5 years, this means that these foreigners can only achieve family reunification after 8 years of legal residence in Denmark.

For permanent residents in Denmark, it is a condition for family reunification that the spouse living in Denmark is in fact a permanent resident in Denmark. The assessment of this includes checks in the official population register registration.

A requirement for the marriage, which is a prerequisite for family reunification, is that the marriage fulfills the basic validity conditions according to Danish law. These can be summarized in three case groups:

• The wedding: both spouses must have been present during the wedding and they must both have consented to it.
• The institution: Marriages concluded in a religious institution, which is not approved by the state, will not be recognized as a valid basis for obtaining a residence permit.
• Marriage conditions: The general principles of Danish law must be respected. This means, among other things, that there cannot be a valid marriage if one of the parties is already married. Polygamy is not legal under Danish law.

If you are not married, but an unmarried couple who wants family reunification, there are additional requirements regarding documentation of the cohabitation you have, among other things in relation to the duration of the cohabitation.

Residence permit for a cohabiting partner is based on a specific assessment. The starting point in practice is that you have a duration requirement for cohabitation of approx. 1½ – 2 years. If there have been reasons why cohabitation has not been possible, a shorter duration of cohabitation may give the right to family reunification. In that case, additional documentation must be provided in relation to language skills (important in relation to the couple’s ability to communicate together), and in the form of correspondence between the partners, photos in connection with their visits to each other, etc.

It is a condition for obtaining a residence permit that the spouses or cohabiting partners live in a joint residence. Spouses must live together after their marriage.

In cases of temporary separations, a specific assessment must be made as to whether there have been reasons for this that the courts would find reasonable. This could, for example, be if the partners have their workplaces in different parts of the country.

Controls may be carried out in relation to the alleged cohabitation. The authorities can carry through unannounced visits to check whether partners actually live together. Such cohabitation checks are made by the police and forwarded to the Danish Immigration Service for use in connection with applications for residence permits.

Reunification with children

If you have children who live abroad, there are different requirements in relation to the children’s age and the general situation you are in. Contact us. We are happy to hold a non-binding meeting where you can introduce us to your case.

Work in Danmark

If you have been offered a job in Denmark, but if you currently live in a country outside the EU/EEA, we can help you get a work visa. Contact us for a non-binding meeting here.