Family reunification of spouses – The transferred requirements for permanent residence

The requirement only applies if you have been granted permanent residence permit on the grounds of an application submitted before 27 January 2022. The requirement does not apply if you are Danish or Nordic citizen or a refugee with residence permit in accordance with Aliens Act Section 7 or Section 8.

Normally, the following requirements must be met:

• You may not have been charged or indicted for a crime that carries a sentence of more than 6 months (served) or convicted of a crime that carries a sentence of more than 6 months (served) or other form of detention.
• You may not have been charged or indicted for a crime that carries a sentence of more than 60 days (served) or sentenced to more than 60 days (served) for violating section 12 or 13 of the Criminal Code or sections 210, 215, 215a, 216, 222-224, section 225 cf. section 216, sections 243-246, section 260 (2) or (3), or section 260a of the provisions of the Danish criminal code.
• You may not have any overdue public debts, unless you have been granted a reprieve and the debt does not exceed DKK 129.715,65 (2024 level).
• You may not have received public benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act (lov om aktiv socialpolitik) or the Integration Act (integrationsloven) during the past 4 years. One-off benefits of a smaller amount that are not directly related to welfare or are not equivalent to or a replacement for wages or a pension are permitted.
• You must – unless you are an early-age pensioner or regular pensioner – have been working full time or been self-employed for 3 years and 6 months within the past 4 years prior to submitting an application for family reunification. Furthermore, you must still be working at the time approval of family reunification would be granted.
• You have signed a declaration of residence and self-support.

You must also fulfil at least 1 out of 3 transferred supplementary requirements for permanent residence. The 3 requirements are equal, and therefore it is up to you, which requirement you want to fulfil. The transferred supplementary requirements are: 

• You must have passed the active citizen exam or have displayed active citizenship in Denmark
• You must have been working full time or been self-employed for 4 years within the past 4 years and 6 months prior to submitting an application for family reunification
• You must have had an annual average income above DKK 319,738.75 (2024 level) or more for the last 2 years prior to the time approval of family reunification would be granted.

You can see are more detailed description of each of the requirements at the application page for permanent residence 

If you were granted permanent residence permit on the rules in force before 27 January 2022, you will normally need to meet all the requirements, regardless of when or under which set of rules you were granted permanent residence. This would also be the case if you were granted a waiver from one or more requirements for permanent residence. 

Spouses living in Denmark who were granted permanent residence and did not have to meet all of the same requirements as other applicants will normally need to meet all of the above-mentioned requirements in order to qualify as a sponsor for family reunification. Individuals who were granted permanent residence based on their ties to Denmark may be able to have some of the requirements waived.

If your spouse/partner’s application for residence permit is refused because you were charged or indicted for certain crimes, you can request for a re-opening of the application, if you have information, that you are expected only to be sentenced with a fine penalty, or when the criminal proceedings have finally been concluded.

Waivers

These requirements can be waived in certain instances, such as if you:

• have minor children living at home who have their own connection to Denmark
• have visitation rights with a minor child, or
• are seriously ill.

Waivers can also be granted based the individual circumstances of the spouse living in Denmark. For example, a waiver can be granted if you have a criminal record, provided the offence is not recent and no new offences have been committed.

If you are unemployed at the time the application is submitted but had otherwise been employed immediately prior to this, you would still be required to meet the employment requirement, since you would be required to provide for the applicant financially after he/she is granted residence permit.

Special consideration will be taken if you are on parental leave at the time the application is submitted, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. If you are on parental leave from work, the leave period will be counted towards the work requirement.

If you are a pensioner or early-age pensioner, you will not be required to meet the employment requirement. Other requirements for permanent residence will still apply.

If you cannot meet one or more of the requirements for permanent residence due to a disability you will be granted a waiver from these requirements in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This would primarily apply to the employment requirement.