Family reunification with a Danish citizen under EU regulations

You may be covered by the EU regulations as a family member to a Danish citizen, if you are the spouse of a Danish citizen, have been a cohabiting partner of the Danish citizen for at least 18 to 24 months or if you are under the age of 21 and the child of either the Danish citizen or the Danish citizen’s spouse. 

Registered partners and cohabiting partners over the age of 18 are treated as spouses. Cohabiting partners are people who live at a common address and are involved in a long-term relationship - normally with a duration of at least 18 to 24 months before you apply for residence in Denmark.

Other family members - e.g. children over the age of 21 and parents - can, in certain situations, be covered by EU regulations if a number of specific conditions are met.

You must be able to document that you are a family member to the Danish citizen.

If you are a spouse, you must submit your marriage certificate.

If you are a child of the Danish citizen and/or his or her spouse, you must submit a birth certificate or certificate of naming that also indicates the name of your parents.

If you are related to the sponsor in some other way, this must be documented with the relevant certificates.

Certificates in other languages than English or one of the Nordic languages can, as a rule, not be taken into consideration as part of the case unless you also submit a translation into English or one of the Nordic languages. Marriage or birth certificates in other languages, issued in a format in such a way that the contents can be understood without knowledge of the original language can, however, often be taken into consideration. Documents must always be translated by a professionel translator and submitted along with a copy of the original certificate.

In some instances, it may be necessary for SIRI to authenticate the foreign certificate.

Cohabiting partners

A cohabiting couple can under EU regulations be treated as spouses when the cohabitation can be considered to be sufficiently stable. This normally means between 18 to 24 months of documented stable cohabitation at a common address before applying for residence in Denmark.

As a rule, the 18 to 24 months of cohabitation must be continous. When assessing whether the cohabitation i sufficiently stable, a specific assessment will take place which will take into consideration any breaks in continuity and the duration of these. A break in cohabitation can result in the period of cohabitation to be calculated from the date when cohabitation begins again.

Examples of documents that can be used to support claims of stable cohabitation at a common address can be seen under the tab "How to apply".

In case of cohabitation, the Danish citizen must sign a declaration that he or she will financially support the applicant. This happens as part of completing the relevant application form OD2.

Your relationship must be genuine and not established solely for the purpose of obtaining grounds for residence. You must sign a sworn declaration under the penalty of perjury attesting to this. This happesn as part of completing the relevant application form OD2.

SIRI may call you in for an interview to assess whether your relationship is genuine.

The establishment of actual and real residence in another EU country by your Danish family member is a requirement in order for you to have a derived right to reside in Denmark under EU regulations.

Actual and real residence in another EU country means that your Danish family member has lived his or her life and have made arrangements in such a way that it shows that he or she has spent his or her life in that country up until his or her return to Denmark. There must be an actual and real relocation to that EU country and not, for example, just a short-term stay in a hotel room or family visit.

The documentation you submit must therefore show that your Danish family member has experienced the consequences that naturally follow from relocating to another country and physically residing there.

When SIRI has to assess whether your Danish family member has had actual and real residence in another EU country, we take into consideration, among other things, whether your Danish family member during his or her stay in the other EU country has had housing, has consumed daily necessities, has paid ordinary fixed expenses and has otherwise been present in the other EU country during the period in question.

There is no minimum requirement to the length of stay of your family member in the other EU country, but it is a condition that your Danish family member has established actual and real residence in the country, which normally presupposes a stay of a certain length.

In case of an extended stay in another EU country, the documentation of your Danish family member's actual and real residence can be limited to the last 6 months before the return to Denmark.

As a rule, your Danish family member has exercised the right to free movement if he or she has resided in another EU country as one of the following:

• worker or retired worker
• self-employed or retired self-employed person
• posted service provider or retired posted service provider
• student at an institution approved or financed by the public sector - who have supported him- or herself during the stay
• person with sufficient funds (self-supporting). This means that your Danish family member has had sufficient income or funds to support him- or herself financially and support any family members.

If your Danish family member has been employed in Denmark during his or her residence in the other EU country, then he or she cannot, as a rule, be considered to have had grounds for residence in that EU country as a worker. To have grounds for residence as a worker in another EU country, it is a requirement that your Danish family member has been employed in that country. The income from your Danish family member's employment in Denmark, can instead mean that he or she has had grounds for residence as a person with sufficient funds (self-supporting) in the other EU country.

It is important that you state the correct grounds for residence of your Danish family member in the other EU country and submit the correct documentation for this when you apply.

You must have resided in the other EU country and lived together as a family with your Danish family member. You are not necessarily required to have resided with your Danish family member during the entirety of his or her stay in the other EU country. It is, however, important that you have lived together in that other EU country particularly during the final part of the stay before moving back to Denmark. It is not a condition that you have obtained an EU residence document in the other EU country, but such a document or lack there of will be part of the total assessment of your residence in the other EU country. In general, it must appear that your have been present in the other EU country and that you have lived together as a family with your Danish family member.

There must not be a significant time gap between your Danish family member’s exercising of the right to free movement in another EU country and the application for family reunification under EU regulations.

Your Danish family member must therefore maintain his or her grounds for residence in the other EU country (for example, being an employee) up until the return to Denmark.

If your Danish family member for a certain period of time prior to returning to Denmark has not maintained his or her grounds for residence in the other EU country, he or she will normally not be covered by EU regulations when returning to Denmark, and you will therefore not be able to derive a right to reside from your Danish family member.

If your Danish family member who has been residing in another EU country has already returned to Denmark, then one of the following conditions must also be met:

• You must have travelled to Denmark at the same time as your Danish family member or in connection with his or her return to Denmark

or

• The application for family reunification under EU regulations must be submitted at the same time as, or in connection with, your Danish family member's return to Denmark.

If you do not submit an application for family reunification under EU regulations until after your Danish family member's return to Denmark, SIRI will make a concrete assessment of whether your application can be considered to have been filed in connection with it.

The return to Denmark implies in this connection that it has been undertaken for the purpose of establishing actual and real residence and the exercise of the right to family life. A brief visit here in the country does not, in and of itself, imply that you and your Danish family member are considered to have returned to Denmark.

As an EU citizen, you may freely enter Denmark and you may begin to work upon arrival. You do not need a permit to work in Denmark.

There is no limit on the number of hours you may work while living in Denmark. This also applies if you are studying in Denmark.

You do not need an EU residence document in order to begin work. This is the case even if you have – or have applied for – a residence document as a worker, as a self-supporting individual or for some other reason.

If you are a third-country citizen and fulfil the conditions for grounds for residence as a family member to an EU citizen, you have the same rights to reside and work in Denmark as the EU citizen.

You also have the right to reside in Denmark while your application for an EU residence document as a family member to an EU citizen is being processed.

However, whether you, as a third-country citizen, have the right to work while the application is being processed depends on whether you meet the conditions for the grounds for residence as a family member to an EU citizen.

During your stay in Denmark as a family member to a Danish citizen under EU rules, your Danish family member must as a rule be able to support him- or herself and his or her family financially - including you.

Depending on your Danish family members grounds for residence in the other EU country before returning to Denmark, it can have consequences for your right to reside in Denmark if one of you - or both of you - receive benefits, for example cash benefits, under the Active Social Policy Act (lov om aktiv socialpolitik).

If this is the case, your right of residence can be terminated and you can lose your right to be in Denmark.

Benefit payments from the municipality or any other public authority to a foreign national are reported to SIRI. SIRI will then assess whether this affects your grounds for residence. 

If your Danish family member had grounds for residence under EU regulations as a worker in the other EU country - and if your Danish family member continues to maintain his or her status as a worker as defined by EU regulations after returning to Denmark - receiving the above-mentioned benefits will normally not in and of itself lead to termination of your right of residence.

Read more about what you are allowed to receive and what you are not allowed to receive in public benefits when you have been granted an EU residence document by SIRI.

As an EU citizen, you may freely enter Denmark. 

If you plan on remaining in Denmark for less than three months, you do not need to apply for an EU residence document. If you are seeking employment, you may remain in Denmark for up to six months before obtaining a residence document.

If you plan on being in Denmark for longer than three months, or six months if you will be seeking employment, you need to apply for an EU residence document. If you have a residence document, you may remain in Denmark indefinitely, provided you meet the conditions for your grounds for residence. There is no date of expiry for residence documents. 

If your grounds for residence are terminated – e.g. if your familial relation to the Danish citizen is terminated – you must apply for a new residence document on other grounds – e.g. as a worker or person with sufficient funds. If you are uncertain whether you meet the conditions for new grounds for residence, you must contact SIRI.

If you are a third-country citizen and accompanying family member to a Danish citizen under EU rules, you have the right to stay in Denmark while we process your application. If you have received a residence card, it will be valid for as long you meet the conditions for your grounds for residence. There will be an expiry date on your residence card, but your EU right of residence will be terminated if you no longer have grounds for residence in Denmark. Regardless of your situation, you must apply for an extension of your residence card when it expires.

If you will be leaving Denmark in connection with the changed situation you do not need to do anything about your grounds for residence. All you need to do is to inform the Civil Registration System that you will be leaving Denmark. You can do this on-line at lifeindenmark.dk (requires NemID).

If you would like to remain in Denmark, SIRI can help you determine whether you have other grounds for residence.

If you are an EU citizen yourself and you believe you meet the conditions for other grounds for residence than as a family member to a Danish citizen, for example, as a self-supporting individual or worker, you can submit an application on these grounds.

If you are an EU citizen yourself and you believe you meet the conditions for other grounds for residence than your family member, for example as a worker or a self-supporting individual, you can submit an application on these grounds.

If you are a third-country national and your right of residence under EU rules has expired, you may be covered by the Educational Attachment scheme.

Special rules apply when you submit an application on the basis of the Educational Attachment scheme. You can only submit such an application after we have made a decision that your right of residence is considered to have expired. However, you must submit the application no later than 7 days after we have made the decision that your right of residence has expired.

Read more about the Ecucational Attachment scheme

SIRI will write to you to inform you if it is considering making a decision that could affect your grounds for residence. In such instances, you will have the opportunity to provide information or documentation to support extending your residence.