Accompanying family member to a person who has been granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship in connection with work or study

You want to extend your stay in Denmark as an accompanying family member to a person who has been granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship in connection with work or study.

Processing fee
DKK 2,880,-

Normal processing time
3 months

You can apply for an extension using this page, if:

  • your family member has been granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship in extension of a work or study permit in Denmark
  • your family member has been granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship in extension of the Greencard scheme
  • you have a residence permit as an accompanying family member under the repealed expatriate Dane scheme

What do you want to print?

Can I extend my permit?

You can apply for an extension of your residence permit as an accompanying family member if you continue to be the

  • spouse

  • registered partner

  • cohabiting partner

  • child - living at home and, as a rule, have not yet turned 18

  • other family member

of an foreign national who has been granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship in connection with work or study in Denmark.We will refer to the foreign national that you are an accompanying family member to as the ‘sponsor’.

It is very important that you apply for an extension before your current residence permit expires.

You can, at the earliest, apply for an extension of your permit 3 months before it expires.

If you do not apply for an extension before your permit expires, you no longer have the right to stay in Denmark – and an application submitted in Denmark will be rejected.

If you submit your application for an extension in time, you can stay in Denmark while SIRI is assessing you application for an extension – even if your permit expires. You are also allowed to continue to work, while you wait.

What do you want to print?

Financial support

We do not require documentation for the sponsor’s ability to support you if he/she has employment.

If the sponsor was a student in a higher educational programme or an unpaid PhD student whe he/she was granted permanent residence and still meets the requirements for an extension of a residence permit as a student or PhD student, you can read more about the self-support requirement here.

If the sponsor held an establishment card when he/she was granted permanent residence and still meets the requirements for an extension of the establishment card, you can read more about the self-support requirement here.

If the sponsor held a residence permit based on the Start-up Denmark Scheme when he/she was granted permanet residence and still meets the requirements for an extension under this scheme, you can read more about the self-support requirement here.

What do you want to print?

What are the conditions?

You must continue to meet the conditions that apply to your current residence permit as an accompanying family member.

In addition, a number of other conditions must be met:

 

You must hold a valid passport. This also applies to infants born in Denmark.

Read more about the passport requirements here

If you are an accompanying child and you were granted your first residence permit before you turned 18, you can have your permit extended, even if you have turned 18 years old in the meantime. However, you must still live at the same address as the sponsor.

If you have moved out from home you cannot regain the possibility to extend your permit after turning 18 by moving back into your parents’ home. You will have to apply for a new permit of your own based on new grounds for residence, e.g. as a student.

If the child’s parents have joint custody and if it is the sponsor only that resides in Denmark with the child, a new declaration of consent from the other parent is needed in case the previously submitted declaration of consent was limited to a specific period of time.

As a declaration of consent you can use this form

You must have lived together with your sponsor at a joint address for the entire length of your stay in Denmark.

This also applies to children who turned 18 after their first application. Children who moved out from home will have to apply for a new permit of their own based on new grounds for residence, e.g. as a student.

The sponsor, who has been granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship in connection with work or study, must:

  • either continue to meet the conditions for an extension of the residence permit he orshe had at the moment of being granted permanent residence
  • or have employment that qualifies him or her for a residence permit under one of the current work schemes.

You can read more about the different work schemes on the links below. 

Positive Lists

Pay Limits schemes

Researcher

Guest researcher

Trainee

Special Individual Qualifications

Drill rigs and other mobile workplaces

Herdsmen and farm managers

Labour Market Attachment, including job change within the same line of business

Fast track scheme’s pay limit track, supplementary pay limit track, researcher track and educational track

ESS scheme

Work permit during the job seeking period after completing an educational programme

 

The same applies to a sponsor who has been granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship in connection with the Greencard scheme. Likewise, the same conditions must be met by an expatriate Dane.

The sponsor, who has been granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship, must still be able to support you.

It can influence your application if you receive or have received benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act.

You can see a list of benefits that you are not allowed to receive here

You can read more about the self-support requirement in the next step.

 

What do you want to print?

What are my rights if I am granted a permit?

What are you allowed to do with a Danish residence permit as an accompanying family member to a person who has been granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship in connection with work or study and what are you not allowed to?

Holding a permit as an accompanying family member allows you to work in Denmark. Therefore, you do not need to apply for a separate work permit if you get a job.

You are also allowed to run your own business and follow an educational programme in an educational institution.

If you are under 18 years of age, special rules apply to how much you are allowed to work. 

You can read more about these rules on the website of the Danish Working Environment Authority (Arbejdstilsynet)

A Danish residence permit does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries

A residence permit allows you to stay in Denmark for the period of time your permit is valid.

In addition, a permit allows you to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within the last 180 days. The permit, however, does not allow you to work in other Schengen countries.

You must not give up your Danish address or stay abroad for longer than 6 successive months. A violation will result in the lapse of your permit. This means that you will lose your right to stay in Denmark.

If you need to stay abroad for a longer period of time, you can apply for a dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing.

You can read more about how a permit can lapse here

You can read more about and apply for dispensation to prevent a permit from lapsing here

Be aware that this also applies to accompanying family members to a sponsor who has been granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship based on:

  • Fast-track scheme

  • Researchers

  • ESS scheme

  • PhD Students (enrolled in a full PhD programme in Denmark)

  • Students at a joint degree programme

This means that your permit is no longer exempted from lapsing, but will, from now on, instead lapse if you give up your residency or stay out of Denmark for more than 6 months.

 

You must support yourself during your stay. It can influence your application if you receive or have received benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act, e.g. cash benefits, self-sufficiency and return benefit as well as transition benefit etc. 

If you receive or have received such benefits during your stay, your permit can be revoked and you will lose the right to stay in Denmark.

If an authority, e.g. a municipality, disburses benefits to foreign nationals, SIRI will be notified.

You can see a list of benefits that you are not allowed to receive here

If your sponsor receives benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act when SIRI makes a decision in your case, it can have an impact on the decision.

With a residence permit in Denmark, you are entitled to free Danish lessons. However, you must have turned 18 years and have your Danish address registered in the Danish National Register.

If you have a residence permit in Denmark based on work, study, etc. you have to pay a deposit before you can start receiving lessons. Be aware that you can lose your deposit if you do not pass the different modules within a specific timeframe.

Your municipality of residence is obliged to offer you Danish lessons and refer you to a language centre. If you have not been offered Danish lessons within a month after registering your address in Denmark, you can contact your municipality.

You will (typically) be taught together with other foreign nationals who have arrived in Denmark recently.

If you are going to stay and possibly work in Denmark, there are a number of things to acquaint yourself with. Depending on your personal situation, you might need other important information and options.

The portal lifeindenmark.dk provides you with information, links and in many cases also options concerning the most important subjects such as:

  • MitID

  • The CPR register

  • Health card

  • Tax matters

  • Holiday entitlements

  • School and daycare

  • Housing

  • Danish lessons

  • Car registration and driver’s license

What do you want to print?

How long can I stay in Denmark?

You will be granted a permit as an accompanying family member for up to 5 years. 

You will be granted a permit for a shorter period of time if your sponsor is employed on a temporary basis, for example for 1 year. In this case, the permit cannot be granted for longer than the employment’s length, namely 1 year. If the sponsor is a PhD student who has 1 year left of his/her education, your permit will be granted for 1 year.  

 

 

A residence permit can only be valid until 3 months before the expiry date of your passport.

If your passport has a shorter validity than the otherwise possible period of stay, your residence permit will be shortened. This means that the validity of your residence permit will be shorter than it could be. When you have renewed your passport, you can apply for an extension of your residence permit – however, this can only be done, at the earliest, 3 months before your permit expires.

Read more about the passport requirements

What do you want to print?

What more do I need to know before I apply?

An application for an extension of a residence permit as an accompanying family member to a person who has been granted permanet residence or Danish citizenship is processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

Before submitting your application, you must create a case order ID for your application and pay a fee to cover SIRI’s case processing expenses. You can do this on the “How to apply” tab to the right. Here you also find the relevant application form, MF4.

Each accompanying family member must submit an individual application. For example, if a spouse and two children are applying for residence permits as accompanying family members, 3 case order IDs must be created, 3 fees must be paid and 3 application forms must be submitted.

SIRI will contact you or the sponsor in Denmark if we need further information to process your case.

What do you want to print?

Below you will find a step-by-step guide to submitting an application to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

It is important that you have carefully read the conditions for being granted a residence permit before you begin step 1. You can do this on the tab “Need to know” on the left.

It is a good idea to gather the necessary documents before you start to complete the application form. You can use the check list below.

If you submit documents not written in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish, you must also submit certified translations into Danish or English.

You must submit:

If your family member is working, you must also submit:

If your familimember is studying, you mus also submit:

If you are a child and are in Denmark with one parent, you must also submit:

Expect to use

60 minutes

completing the application

2 persons

You complete part 1 of the application form and the sponsor completes part 2.

In this step you have access to the relevant application form MF4.

Make sure that you have completed all the preceeding steps before you begin.

All our application forms contain careful instructions on how to complete the form and what kind of documents you must submit along with the form.

You can read more about how we process your personal data here.

The printable application form in Word format can be completed on screen before you print. The application form in pdf format must be printed first and then completed by hand.

You must submit the necessary documentation with the application form.

Download the printable form MF4 (Word format)

Download the printable form MF4 (Pdf format)

If you are residing legally in Denmark, you are normally able to submit the application in Denmark. This is the case, if you:

  • hold a valid visa
  • are exempt from the visa requirement or
  • already hold a valid residence permit.

Read more about the legal residence requirement and submission of your application in Denmark

You can submit the applicaton in one of SIRI’s branch offices.

If you plan to submit your application in one of SIRI’s branch offices, you must remember to book an appointment

You can also send the application to SIRI through our contact form. You have to choose “I wish to submit an application, documentation or new information regarding a case at SIRI”.

 

When you apply for an extension of your residence permit, you must have your biometric features recorded. This means that you must have a facial photo taken and your fingerprints recorded. The facial photo and your fingerprints will be stored on a microchip embedded in the residence card, which will be issued to you if you are granted a permit.

Read more about biometrics here

You can have your biometric features recorded in one of SIRI’s branch offices.

If you plan to have your biometrics recorded in one of SIRI’s branch offices, you must remember to book an appointment

SIRI can, as a rule, only start processing your application once you have had your biometric features recorded. This must happen  no later than 14 days after you submitted your application.

If you do not agree to have your biometric features recorded, your application will be rejected. This means that your application will not be processed.

 

You have submitted your application succesfully if you have:

  • created a case order ID

  • paid the fee

  • submitted the application

  • had your biometric features recorded

You can see the normal case processing time to the right on this page. When we make a decision in your case, you will receive an answer.

SIRI will contact you if we need further information to process your case.

Read more about what you can expect while you are waiting for an answer

What do you want to print?

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Last updated 06-09-2024 - Published by: SIRI