Published 08-06-2018 - Last updated: 06-06-2018
New rules for family reunification for spouses
On 4 June 2018, the Danish Parliament passed new rules for family reunification for spouses. The changes take effect on 1 July 2018.
The new rules make significant changes in six main areas.
1. The attachment requirement will be eliminated and replaced with an integration requirement. Under this requirement, the applicant and the sponsor in Denmark will collectively need to meet 4 out of 6 integration-related conditions listed below. One of the conditions is not optional; it is the condition that the spouse in Denmark will need to meet the Danish-language requirement.
This means that the applicant and sponsor – besides the language requirement – will need to meet 3 or more of the following 5 conditions.
- The sponsor needs to have worked in Denmark for a minimum of 5 years.
- The sponsor needs to have attended school for a minimum of 6 years, with at one of the 6 years being secondary education.
- The applicant needs to have meet a specified proficiency level in Danish or English
- The applicant needs to have been employed for 4 of the past 5 years
- The applicant needs to have attended school for a minimum of 1 year
2. Applicants will normally need to have legally visited Denmark at least once (visitation requirement).
3. Stricter transferred requirements will need to be met when applying for family reunification for spouses. The change will bring the requirements for family reunification in line with the current requirements for permanent residence permit. Read more about the requirements for permanent residence. These rules do not apply to citizens of Denmark or another Nordic country, or to refugees.
4. Changes to the housing requirement mean it will no longer be possible for a family-reunified couple to live in specified areas, which are part of a new list of appointed residential areas. Further information about these changes will be made available on newtodenmark.dk on 1 July. The remaining aspects of the housing requirement are unchanged. Read more about the current housing requirements
5. The amount of collateral the sponsor normally needs to post will be raised to DKK 100,000 (collateral requirement).
6. In addition to being required pass a Danish test at the A1 level within 6 months, applicants will now also need to pass a Danish test at the A2 level within 9 months in order to qualify for a residence permit extension.
The new rules also raise the fee for submitting an application for family reunification to DKK 6,700.
Updated application forms and further information about the new rules will be available at newtodenmark.dk on 1 July 2018.
More information is available in the proposed bill (in Danish only)
