Published 29-10-2021

Reopening of applications for family reunification refused due to the 3 years requirement

The European Court of Human Rights maintained on 9 July 2021 that a postponement of the access of refugees who have been granted a temporary protection status to family reunification for a period of three years is in defiance of the right to respect for private and family life.

Based on the verdict, the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration has assessed that it is still possible to establish regulations in terms of postponing the access of refugees who have been granted a temporary protection status to family reunification, but that the postponement must not last for more than two years when there is no current large-scale influx of asylum seekers in Denmark.

This implies that from now on the Immigration Service will allow refugees who have been granted a temporary protection status to have an access to family reunification after two years when the other requirements have been fulfilled. This also applies to applications which are already pending with the immigration authorities.

As a result of this, the Immigration Service has identified a number of situations where there are reasons to reopen the cases due to the fact that the applications have been refused because the 3 years requirement had not been fulfilled. The Immigration Service has contacted the families in question and instructed them about the possibility of having their case reopened.

If you believe that you fall within the group of persons who has a right to have the case reopened and has not heard from the Immigration Service, you may submit an application for the reopening of the case. In connection with the reconsideration of a case, the Immigration Service will assess whether the other requirements for being granted a residence permit may be considered to be fulfilled.

An application for the reopening of a case may be submitted in writing by the use of our contact form (choose the subject ‘Family reunification (spouses)’)

Link to the verdict

Link to the note of interpretation (in Danish)

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