Terminated EU residence
Read about what you should do, if you are no longer working, studying, running your own business, able to support yourself or a family member to a (non-Danish) EU citizen living in Denmark.
If you have been granted a residence document based on your status as a paid worker and you lose your job, regardless of whether you were fired or resigned yourself, your right of residence has as a rule been terminated.
If you will be leaving Denmark after losing your job, 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 online at lifeindenmark.dk (requires MitID).
If you would like to remain in Denmark after losing your job, and you haven’t found a new job, it is important that you sign up for the job centre within 14 days of your termination of employment.
In some cases worker status – and thus your grounds for residence as a worker – can be retained temporarily after you lose your job. This depends on factors such as the reason why you lost your job and whether you registered with the job centre within the allotted time after you stopped working. How long you can maintain your worker status depends on how long you worked in Denmark before your termination of employment.
If you believe that you meet the requirements for other grounds for residence, for example, as a self-supporting person, you must submit an application on these grounds.
If you have been granted a residence document based on your status as a student, and you disenrol or complete your educational programme, your right of residence has, as a rule, been terminated.
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 online at lifeindenmark.dk (requires MitID).
If you would like to remain in Denmark after disenrolling or completing your programme, you must contact SIRI for clarification of your grounds for residence.
If you believe that you meet the requirements for other grounds for residence, for example or as self-supporting person, you must submit an application on these grounds.
If you have grounds for residence as a self-employed person, but your business closes or there is no longer any activity in it, your right of residence has as a rule been terminated.
If you have left or will leave Denmark in connection with your business being terminated, you do not need to do anything about your grounds for residence. All you need to do is to inform the Civil Registration System (CPR) about your departure. You can do this online at lifeindenmark.dk (requires MitID).
If you want to stay in Denmark after your business it terminated, you must contact SIRI for clarification of your grounds for residence.
In some cases, worker status – and thus grounds for residence as a self-employed person – can be maintained for a period after you have stopped running your own business. This depends, amongst other things, on the reason why you stopped running your own business, whether you registered with the job centre within the allotted time after you stopped running your own business, and how long before that you have been a self-employed person in Denmark.
If you believe that you meet the requirements for other grounds for residence, as a worker for example, or as self-supporting person, you must submit an application on these grounds.
If you have grounds for residence as a self-supporting person (person with sufficient funds), and you no longer can support yourself, because either you, or someone who assumed responsibility for supporting you, no longer have sufficient funds, your grounds for residence will normally be terminated.
If you will be leaving Denmark because you no longer have the funds to support yourself, 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 online at lifeindenmark.dk (requires MitID).
If you would like to remain in Denmark, SIRI can help you determine whether you have other grounds for residence. If you believe you meet the conditions for other grounds for residence, for example, as a worker, you can submit an application on these grounds.
If you have grounds for residence as a family member to a (non-Danish) EU citizen living in Denmark who has independent grounds for residence in Denmark under EU rules (the sponsor), and you no longer meet one or more of the conditions, your grounds for residence will normally be terminated.
This would be the case, for example, if you are divorced from the sponsor, if the sponsor has left Denmark or if the sponsor no longer meets the conditions for his or her grounds for residence.
If you will be leaving Denmark in connection with one (or more) of the changes mentioned above, 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 online at lifeindenmark.dk (requires MitID).
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 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.
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.
If you no longer meet the requirements for grounds for residence under EU rules your ties to Denmark will be considered and this may influence whether you retain your right to residence.
Among other factors this includes how long you have lived in Denmark and your work history here.
