Secondment and posting by the Danish state – Family reunification or asylum (Danish Immigration Service)
On this page, you can read more about what to be aware of regarding your residence permit if you or your spouse are going to be posted by the Danish state or seconded by a Danish or international institution, organisation or company.
Normally, your residence permit will lapse automatically if you give up your residence in Denmark and leave the country, or if you stay outside Denmark for more than 6 or 12 consecutive months. Read more about the general rules on lapsing of residence permits
If you are going to be posted by the Danish state
Your residence permit will not lapse if you are going to be posted by the Danish state or accompany a person residing in Denmark who is being posted by the Danish state. You therefore do not need to apply for a dispensation to retain your residence permit – it will be retained automatically. However, there are other important aspects you should be aware of. Read more below.
If you are going to be seconded by a Danish or international company, organisation or institution
If you are going to be seconded – or accompany a person residing in Denmark who is going to be seconded – by a Danish or international institution, organisation or company for an extended period, your residence permit may lapse. If you wish to retain your residence permit, you must remember to apply for a dispensation from lapsing. Read more below.
If you have a permanent residence permit based on a previous residence permit issued by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) and you need a dispensation from lapsing, you must apply to SIRI. Read more about dispensation from lapsing (SIRI)
Are you being posted abroad on behalf of the Danish state?
If you are being posted abroad on behalf of the Danish state – or if you are accompanying a resident in Denmark who is being posted to take up a position on behalf of the Danish state – your residence permit will not lapse, even if you reside outside Denmark for an extended period. You are therefore not required to apply for an exemption from the lapsing of your residence permit if your stay abroad is due to a posting on behalf of the Danish state.
Civil servants who are posted abroad to take up a position on behalf of the Danish state, as well as their family members, may reside outside Denmark for the entire duration of the posting without their residence permit lapsing. This applies in particular to the following groups:
- Employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – or family members reunified with such employees – and special attachés posted to Danish missions abroad
- DANIDA advisers posted abroad and employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other parts of the Danish state
- Civil servants who have been seconded to a position in an EU institution and who remain employed under contract with the ministry in which they are employed
- Civil servants who have been granted leave from their position in connection with a secondment to an international organisation.
By contrast, civil servants who have been granted leave in connection with direct employment at an international organisation in a position that is not a secondment must apply for an exemption from the lapsing of their residence permit.
Requirements for your residence permit
During your stay abroad, you must continue to meet the requirements for your Danish residence permit. If you fail to meet these requirements, your permit may be revoked, or an application for an extension may be refused.
If you have been granted family reunification with a spouse or cohabiting partner, this includes, among other things, the requirement that you continuously live together at a shared address. In addition, as a general rule, you must pass the Danish language tests at A1 and A2 level within the specified deadlines.
Read more about the A1 and A2 Danish language tests
Read more about the continuous conditions for your residence permit
Does your residence permit expire during your stay abroad?
If your residence permit is set to expire during your stay abroad, you must remember to apply for an extension while you are still abroad. You must enclose documentation of your state posting with your application. Read more about extending a residence permit
If you have been granted asylum (residence permit as a refugee) in Denmark, the Danish Immigration Service will automatically initiate a case to extend your residence permit. Read more about extending a residence permit as a refugee
Deadline for re-entry into Denmark
In order to avoid your residence permit lapsing, you must re-enter Denmark no later than one month after the end of your state posting.
When re-entering Denmark, you should bring documentation of your posting, as it may be required at the border. If you are unable to provide documentation, you may be denied entry.
If your residence card has expired during your stay abroad, you must apply for a re-entry permit before returning to Denmark. You can apply for a re-entry permit through a Danish mission abroad.
Read more about re-entry permits
Requirements for permanent residence
There are a number of requirements that must be met in order to be granted a permanent residence permit. Below, two requirements particularly relevant to internationally posted families are outlined: the residence requirement and the employment requirement.
You should also be aware that in order to obtain a permanent residence permit, you must reside in Denmark and be physically present in the country at the time the Danish Immigration Service decides in your case. In connection with your application, the Danish Immigration Service will inform you of the expected case processing time to help you plan your posting.
The residence requirement
To qualify for a permanent residence permit, one of the requirements is that you have resided legally in Denmark for at least 8 consecutive years (in certain cases, at least 4 years).
If your residence permit has not lapsed due to your state posting—or because you have accompanied a posted family member—this is not considered an interruption of your legal residency in Denmark. The same applies if you apply for an extension of your residence permit before it expires while you are abroad. You must apply before the residence permit expires.
As long as your residence permit has not lapsed, expired, or been revoked, any previous legal residency in Denmark before the posting may be included when calculating the residence period.
Please note that if you have resided abroad for an extended period, a maximum of 2 years of that time may be included in the calculation. Read more about permanent residence permit
The employment requirement
Another basic requirement is that you must have been employed in ordinary full-time work or have operated an independent business for at least 3 years and 6 months within the 4 years prior to being granted a permanent residence permit.
Employment abroad may be included in the assessment of whether you meet the employment requirement if you have been posted abroad as part of your employment. This also applies if you have been employed abroad while accompanying a spouse or cohabiting partner who has been posted.
Please note that a maximum of 2 years of foreign employment may be included when calculating fulfilment of the employment requirement.
Read more about the employment requirement
As of 1 July 2025, the rules for persons posted abroad on behalf of the Danish state (state postings) have changed. This means that if you are posted abroad by the Danish state or are accompanying a person who is posted abroad by the Danish state, your residence permit will no longer lapse due to residence abroad.
Your residence permit will not lapse if, as of 1 July 2025, you are residing abroad as part of a state posting, and you have not at that time given up your registered address in Denmark or stayed abroad for more than 6 or 12 months (depending on your type of residence permit). This applies even if you did not apply for an exemption from lapse prior to departure.
If you were granted an exemption from lapse of your residence permit before 1 July 2025 due to a state posting, you are no longer required to apply for an extension of the exemption period if the posting is extended.
Please note that in order to retain your residence permit, you must return to Denmark no later than one month after the state posting ends.
Are you going to be seconded abroad by a company, organisation, or institution?
If you are going to be seconded by a Danish or international company, organisation, or institution, or if you are accompanying a person residing in Denmark who is being seconded abroad, you can apply for a dispensation to prevent your residence permit from lapsing.
You can apply for a dispensation to prevent your residence permit from lapsing if your stay abroad is temporary and there is or has been a well-founded and documented reason for the stay.
According to the Danish Immigration Service’s practice, secondment by a Danish or international company, organisation, or institution is generally considered a well-founded reason for which a dispensation may be granted.
It is a condition for the dispensation that the employment can be documented for the entire period for which the dispensation is sought.
The Danish Immigration Service recommends that you apply for a dispensation to prevent your residence permit from lapsing prior to leaving Denmark.
If you are seconded by a Danish or international company, organisation, or institution, or accompanying a person who is being seconded, you can normally be granted a dispensation for the documented and applied period.
The length of the dispensation will be determined on a case-by-case basis and depends on the duration of your employment contract and the length of your stay in Denmark.
In accordance with the Danish Immigration Service’s practice, your ties to Denmark – including the duration of your residencyin Denmark – will be considered when assessing whether a dispensation to prevent your residence permit from lapsing can be granted and, if so, for how long.
If you have only resided in Denmark for a short period, your overall connection to Denmark may not be considered proportionate to a long-term stay abroad.
This may mean that even if your stay abroad has a well-founded and documented purpose, you may not be granted a dispensation for the full period requested, or you may not be granted an extension of an existing dispensation.
If you do not return to Denmark when the grounds on which the dispensation was granted no longer applies, or before the dispensation period expires, your residence permit will lapse. In that case, you must apply for a new residence permit to return to Denmark.
If you have been granted a dispensation to prevent your residence permit from lapsing because you – or the person to whom you are family reunified – are being seconded abroad, e.g. by a Danish company, you should be aware of the following:
Requirements for your residence permit
During your stay abroad, you must continue to meet the requirements for your Danish residence permit. If you fail to meet these requirements, your permit may be revoked, or an application for an extension may be refused.
If you have been granted family reunification with a spouse or cohabiting partner, this includes, among other things, the requirement that you continuously live together at a shared address. In addition, as a general rule, you must pass the Danish language tests at A1 and A2 level within the specified deadlines.
Read more about the A1 and A2 Danish language tests
Read more about the ongoing conditions for your residence permit
Does your residence permit expire during your stay abroad?
If your residence permit is set to expire during your stay abroad, you must remember to apply for an extension while you are still abroad. Read more about extending your residence permit
If you have been granted asylum (residence permit as a refugee) in Denmark, the Danish Immigration Service will automatically initiate a case to extend your residence permit. Read more about extending a residence permit as a refugee
Deadline for re-entry to Denmark
If you have been granted a dispensation to prevent your residence permit from lapsing, you must return to Denmark before the re-entry deadline stated in your decision letter in order to retain your residence permit.
If your residence card has expired during your stay abroad, you must apply for a re-entry permit before returning to Denmark. You can apply for a re-entry permit through a Danish mission abroad.
Read more about re-entry permits
Requirements for a permanent residence permit
There are a number of requirements that must be met in order to be granted a permanent residence permit. Below, two requirements particularly relevant to internationally seconded families are outlined: The residence requirement and the employment requirement.
You should also be aware that in order to obtain a permanent residence permit, you must reside in Denmark and be physically present in the country at the time the Danish Immigration Service decides in your case. In connection with your application, the Danish Immigration Service will inform you of the expected case processing time to help you plan your secondment.
The residence requirement
To qualify for a permanent residence permit, one of the requirements is that you have resided legally in Denmark for at least 8 consecutive years (in certain cases, at least 4 years)
If you have been granted a dispensation to prevent your residence permit from lapsing, your stay abroad is not considered an interruption of legal residency. The same applies if you apply for an extension of your residence permit before it expires while you are abroad. You must apply before the residence permit expires.
As long as your residence permit has not lapsed, expired, or been revoked, your previous legal residence in Denmark before the secondment may be included in the calculation of your residence period.
Please note that if you have resided abroad for an extended period, a maximum of 2 years of that time may be included in the calculation of your legal residency in Denmark. Read more about permanent residence permit
The employment requirement
Another basic requirement is that you must have been employed in ordinary full-time work or have operated an independent business for at least 3 years and 6 months within the 4 years prior to being granted a permanent residence permit.
Employment abroad may be included in the assessment of whether you meet the employment requirement if you have been seconded abroad as part of your employment. This also applies if you have been employed abroad while accompanying a spouse or cohabiting partner who has been seconded.
Please note that a maximum of 2 years of foreign employment may be included when calculating fulfilment of the employment requirement.
Read more about the employment requirement
The Danish Immigration Service recommends that you apply for a dispensation to prevent your residence permit from lapsing prior to leaving Denmark.
You can also apply for a dispensation after you have left Denmark.