Apply to extend a residence permit as a spouse

You want to apply for an extension of your residence permit as a family reunified spouse or cohabiting partner.

The expected maximum processing time is
6 months

The fee is
DKK 4,035,-

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Who can be granted an extension of their residence permit as a spouse?

Your temporary residence permit in Denmark can be extended if you were granted family reunification to live with a spouse or partner in Denmark.

You and your spouse/partner need to meet certain requirements.

Different rules apply if you hold a residence permit as the spouse/partner of a foreign national holding a residence permit in Denmark on the grounds of work or study.  Read more about accompanying spouses/partners

Special rules apply if you wish your residence permit to be preserved in the following situations:

  • If you after a divorce or discontinuation of cohabitation wish your residence permit to be preserved as a result of an important attachment to Denmark or very special conditions e.g. contact with minor children from a previous relationship, health issues or handicap.
  • If you wish your residence permit to be preserved after discontinuation of cohabitation caused by you or your child being exposed to violence or your spouse’s death.

Read more about applying for an extension of residence permit when your situation has changed

 

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What are the requirements?

In order to qualify for an extension of residence permit, you, the applicant, and your spouse/partner both need to meet certain continuous requirements. These are requirements that you needed to meet when you were granted your residence permit, and which you still need to meet when you apply for an extension.

The continuous requirements you needed to meet are listed in the letter the Immigration Service sent you when you received your residence permit. The letter also indicates which requirements were suspended.

Your spouse/partner needs to be a Danish resident and needs to live together with you at your joint residence.

All applicants need to meet this requirement.

You and your spouse/partner normally need to have an independent, reasonably sized residence at your disposal. This is known as the housing requirement.

An independent residence is a residence that has an entrance of its own and appears as one unit. An independent residence does not need to have a kitchen or bathroom of its own.

You have a residence at your disposal if you own, rent or sublet the place where you live. Owning property collectively as an andelshaver or anpartshaver also satisfies this requirement.

If you rent or sublet the place where you live, the lease needs to be permanent, or extend at least 18 months beyond the date you submit your application for a residence-permit extension.

If you rent co-operative housing (andelsbolig), the lease needs to be permanent and may not conflict with the co-operative association’s rules.

A residence is reasonably sized if it meets one of the following requirements:

  • The number of people living in the residence may not be more than double the number of rooms, or
  • There must be at least 20 sq. metres of living space for each person living there

Exceptions from the requirement

If the Immigration Service suspended the housing requirement when granting you your current residence permit, you normally will not need to meet the requirement in order to qualify for an extension.

If the reason for suspending the housing requirement no longer applies, you will need to meet the requirement in order to qualify for an extension.

This would be the case if, for example, the requirement was suspended because your spouse/partner had contact with a minor child from a previous relationship, but either no longer has contact or the child has turned 18 years old.

If you have been granted a residence permit on the grounds of family reunification on 1 July 2018 or later you and your spouse/partner, will normally be required to reside in an area that is not mentioned in the current regulation about housing requirement list. See the current version of the housing requirement list (in Danish only)

A more detailed overview of the addresses that are part of the housing requirement list has been made. However the addresses can be changed due to roads getting new names etc. The overview is therefor only intended as a guide. In case of changes it is the housing requirement list that is in force. See
the detailed overview of addresses that are part of the housing requirement list (in Danish only)

The areas of residence included in the housing requirements list for family reunification with a spouse correspond to the areas included in the list of vulnerable areas of residence, which is issued by the Minister for Social Affairs and Housing and which is published on the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Housing and Senior Citizens every year on 1 December.

Areas of residence are placed on the list when they meet certain criteria regarding the levels of employment, crime, education and income there.
If you move to an area that is mentioned on the housing requirement list, or the area where your residence is located is later included on the housing requirement list, you will no longer meet this requirement.

Exceptions from the requirement

If the Immigration Service suspended the requirement when granting you your current residence permit, you normally will not need to meet the requirement in order to qualify for an extension.

If the reason for suspending the requirement no longer applies, you will need to meet the requirement in order to qualify for an extension.
This would be the case if, for example, the requirement was suspended because your spouse/partner had contact with a minor child from a previous relationship, but either no longer has contact or the child has turned 18 years old.

You and your spouse/partner normally need to be able to support yourselves (the self-support requirement). This requirement means that neither you nor your spouse/partner may have received certain forms of social benefits at any time after you were approved for your current residence permit. The forms of social benefits that will prevent you from being granted an extension are those made under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act (lov om aktiv socialpolitik) or the Integration Act (integrationsloven). Read more about social benefits and the self-support requirement

Exceptions from the requirement

If the Immigration Service suspended the self-support requirement when granting you your current residence permit, you normally will not need to meet the requirement in order to qualify for an extension.

If the reason for suspending the self-support requirement no longer applies, you will need to meet the requirement in order to qualify for an extension.

This would be the case if, for example, the requirement was suspended because your spouse/partner had contact with a minor child from a previous relationship, but either no longer has contact or the child has turned 18 years old.

The collateral guarantee must be posted for a total period of 10 years.

If your spouse/partner was required to post collateral guarantee in order for you to be granted a residence permit for the first time, there must be posted a guarantee for a total period of 10 years from the start date of the initial guarantee.

If the collateral guarantee has been posted after 1 January 2011, has a total validity of less than 10 years, and expires within 12 months from the date you apply for extension of your residence permit, you must extend or post a new collateral guarantee. The collateral must be valid in 10 years from the start date of the first collateral guarantee.

Read more about extension of collateral guarantee

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When do you need to apply for an extension of residence permit?

It is very important to submit your application for an extension of residence permit before your current residence permit expires. You may not submit your application more than three months before your residence permit is due to expire.

If you submit your application in time, you may remain in Denmark legally while your application is being reviewed.

If you do not apply in time

If you do not submit your application in time, it will likely be rejected on the grounds that you would be in Denmark illegally. The application will be rejected regardless of how briefly you are in Denmark illegally.

If your application for an extension is rejected because you missed the deadline, you will need to leave Denmark and apply for a new residence permit in your home country. Your application will be considered a new application for a residence permit, and will be reviewed based on the current rules for first-time applicants. These rules may not be the same as the ones you had to meet when you were granted your residence permit.

If you are staying in Denmark illegally, you risk being punished for illegal residence. You also risk being deported and banned from entering Denmark or any other EU or Schengen country for two years.

If Denmark’s international obligations demand it, an application is allowed to be submitted even though it is submitted to late. This means that you have a legal residence while we process your application for extension. However you can risk being punished for illegal residence in the period from your residence permit expired and until you submitted your application for extension.


 

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Do you qualify for a fee waiver?

In special situations, the Immigration Service can waive the fee to apply for an extension of residence permit. 

As a result of Denmark’s international obligation to protect the right to family life, the Immigration Service may asses that you in some cases may be exempt from paying the fee, if:

  • Your spouse holds a residence permit in Denmark as a refugee
  • You or your spouse have a child from a previous relationship, who you or your spouse sees on a regular basis
  • You and your spouse have a child from a previous relationship, who is residing with you. The child’s other parent sees the child on a regular basis. 
  • You have and/or your spouse has a common child or a child from a previous relationship living at home, who has lived in Denmark for more than 6-7 years without interruption, and who has been enrolled in Danish childcare and/or attended Danish schools.
  • You or your spouse suffer from a very serious illness that require treatment, or a serious disability. 

Because of the Association Agreement between the EU and Türkiye, you can also be exempt from paying the fee, if you or your spouse is a Turkish citizen who is economically active as an employee, self-employed person or service provider.

Read more about who can be exempt from paying fee

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How long can your residence permit be extended?

After the first 2 years, your residence permit can normally be extended by 4 years. When you have had a residence permit in Denmark for at least 6 years, your residence permit can then be extended by 6 years at a time.

If your spouse/partner also holds a temporary residence permit in Denmark, your residence permit will expire when his/her residence permit expires.

If your spouse/partner was required to post a collateral guarantee, and the guarantee has a total validity of less than 10 years counted from the start date of the initial guarantee, your residence permit cannot be extended past the expiry date of the guarantee.

Furthermore, your residence permit can be extended only up to three months prior to your passport’s expiry date. In other words, if your passport expires in 12 months, your residence permit can be extended for only nine months.

National passports are renewed by the embassy or consulate of the country that issued them. Convention and alien’s passports are renewed by the Immigration Service.

The Immigration Service does not extend temporary residence permits for less than 6 months.

 

What do you want to print?

The information below explains how to apply to extend a residence permit granted on the grounds of family reunification.

We recommend that you make sure you know the requirements for family reunification before paying the application fee. Read more about the requirements in the ‘Need to know’ tab.

You and your spouse/partner each need to fill in part of the application form. You will also need to enclose documentation. It is a good idea to gather the documentation before you start. 

You may need:

Set aside

20 to 30 minutes

to fill in the application form

2 persons

You and your spouse/partner each need to fill in part of the application form.

The application form includes detailed instructions for how to fill it in and which types of documentation you need to attach.

You need MitID when filling in the application form. Read more about MitID

If you want to resume filling in an application form online select ‘Start online application’. Once you are logged in, select ‘Continue a previously saved application’

If you would like to make changes to an online application after you have submitted it, you need to contact the Immigration Service. You do not need to submit a new application. Contact the Immigration Service

Start FA3 online application

Family-reunified spouses are required to use the online version of application form FA3 when applying for a residence-permit extension, unless you have been granted an exemption. Read more about mandatory online self-service 

When you submit an application to the Immigration Service, we will process your personal information. You can read more about your rights and how we process your information on this page: Personal data – How we process your data

 

When you submit your application, you will normally need to provide us with your fingerprints and a picture of your face (biometric features) within 4 weeks. Your biometric features are required in order for you to get a new residence card.

You can have your biometric features recorded at the Immigration Service’s Citizen Service. You must book an appointment before you show up at the Citizen Service. Read more about where the Immigration Service’s Citizen Service has branch offices and how you book an appointment

Read more about residence cards with fingerprints and facial pictures

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Last updated 25-09-2024 - Published by: The Danish Immigration Service