Fee – Who must pay a fee?

A fee must be paid when applying for a residence permit or a temporary extension of a residence permit in the following case types:

• Family reunification
• Work
• Study and researchers
• Au pair and internship
• Religious worker
• Accompanying family member

A fee must also be paid when appealing a ruling or requesting that a case be reopened in one of the above-mentioned case types.

Furthermore, you must pay a fee when you apply for a permanent residence permit. This also applies if you are a refugee or have a residence permit on humanitarian grounds.

The fee must be paid no later than the time the application, appeal or request for reopening is submitted. The processing of the case will not begin until the fee has been registered as duly paid. If the fee is not paid in time, the application, appeal or request will be rejected.

The fee must be paid by the applicant or another person, e.g. a person or firm in Denmark.

Certain applicants may be exempt from paying fees for applications that are usually subject to a fee.

Exemptions can be granted to individuals submitting an application for a residence permit or to extend a temporary residence permit that would normally warrant a fee if it is in keeping with Denmark’s international obligations and EU regulations. When appealing a decision or requesting a case to be reopened, an exemption from paying the application fee will be granted if requiring the fee to be paid would violate EU regulations.

An exemption from paying the fee to apply for a permanent residence permit can normally only be granted if it is in keeping with EU regulations.

Exemptions are granted on a case-by-case basis. Consequently, all of the types of applicants mentioned above must always create a Case Order ID.

Denmark’s international obligations in cases of family reunification

In accordance with Denmark’s international obligation to protect the right to family life, an exemption from paying the fee applies for applications for family reunification, or extension of family reunification. Exemptions are granted on a case-by-case basis.

A decision to grant an exemption from paying an application fee does not influence other aspects of the application process. A fee exemption cannot be used as an indication of whether an application will be approved, or if exemptions to other requirements for obtaining a residence permit can be granted.

The concept of family life includes spouses and their minor children. The application is therefore subject to a fee if the applicant is not part of the resident's elementary family.

The application for family reunification will also be subject to a fee if, in connection with a previous application, the Danish Immigration Service has assessed that the applicant and the person in Denmark have not established a family life that can be considered worthy of protection according to Denmark's international obligations.

This applies, for example, to persons where the Danish Immigration Service has assessed that there are certain reasons to assume that the marriage between the person in Denmark and the applicant is entered into with the primary purpose of the applicant being able to obtain a residence permit in Denmark

Finally, an application will also be subject to a fee if the applicant already has a residence permit in Denmark, and the fee requirement therefore is not an obstacle to continuing to exercise family life in Denmark.

The information below provides examples of situations in which it would be in keeping with Denmark’s international obligations to grant an exemption from the application fee.

Refugee status

An exemption from paying the application fee can be granted in cases of family reunification if the person living in Denmark is a refugee and the family life with the applicant cannot be exercised in the home country or other countries.

The Immigration Service has, however, assessed that in some countries the general situation has improved enough that the person already living in Denmark (the sponsor) no longer risks persecution. In such cases, you need to pay a fee when you apply for family reunification or extension of family reunification.

This applies to, among others, individuals granted a residence permit as a refugee in connection with the civil war in Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

If the Immigration Service, when the processing your application, finds that you risk persecution in your home country, the fee will be refunded.

Children living at home who have an individual attachment to Denmark

An exemption from paying the application fee can be granted in cases of family reunification if the individual living in Denmark has a child under the age of 18 living at home.

The child can either be the child of the person living in Denmark and the person applying for residence permit, or the child of the person living Denmark and another person.

Children who have lived in Denmark for more than 6-7 years without interruption, and who have been enrolled in Danish childcare or attended Danish schools, are normally considered to have formed an individual attachment to Denmark. Read more about the Immigration Service’s criteria for determining whether a child has an individual attachment to Denmark 

Contact with children from a previous relationship

The Immigration Service can grant an exemption from paying the application fee in cases of family reunification if the individual living in Denmark has children from a previous relationship living at home, even if they have not formed independent ties to Denmark. However, in order for an exemption to be granted, the parent living in Denmark needs to have regular, substantial contact with the child.

The Immigration Service can also grant an exemption from paying the application fee if the individual living in Denmark has regular, substantial contact with a child from a previous relationship who lives in Denmark with his/her other parent.

Disability

An exemption from paying the application fee can be granted in cases of family reunification and extension of residence permit as family reunified if at the time of application, there is documentation showing that the person already living in Denmark or the applicant themselves suffers from a very serious illness requiring treatment, or risks a worsening of a serious disability upon returning to their home country.

Turkish citizens

Turkish citizens covered by the Association Agreement between the EU and Türkiye are exempt from paying fees. Therefore, Turkish citizens applying for a residence permit on grounds of work do not have to pay a fee.

Turkish citizens applying as interns and receiving salary from the place of internship, are exempt from paying the fee. Applicants who instead do not receive salary but receive, for example, a scholarship must pay the fee.  

Turkish citizens applying for a residence permit based on participation in PhD studies at ESS in Sweden do not have to pay a fee either.

Turkish citizens applying for an extension of a residence permit or a permanent residence permit who are economically active as workers, self-employed persons or service providers are also exempt from paying a fee.

Furthermore, you are exempt from paying a fee if you are applying for a residence permit, an extension of a residence permit or a permanent residence permit on the grounds of family reunification with or as an accompanying family member to a Turkish citizen residing in Denmark who is economically active as an employee, self-employed person or service provider.

Read more about exemptions for Turkish citizens

EU and Nordic citizens

EU/EEA citizens applying for a residence permit under EU law are exempt from paying a fee.

Citizens of Nordic countries do not need to apply for a residence permit in order to reside in Denmark and thus do not need to pay the application fee.

An application that warrants a fee will normally be rejected if the fee has not been paid.

If you believe, you are exempt from paying the fee and you therefore submit your application, appeal or request that the case be reopened without paying a fee but the authorities determine that you are, in fact, not exempt from paying the fee, your application, appeal or request that the case be reopened will be rejected. In such instances, you will need to go through the entire process again: create case order ID, pay the fee, and submit a new application, appeal or request that the case be reopened.

If you have paid the fee and the authorities decide that you are in fact exempt from paying the fee, the fee will be refunded.

There is no fee for submitting an application for a residence permit or an extension of a residence permit in the following case types:

• Japanese citizens applying for Working Holiday (other nationalities applying for Working Holiday must pay a fee)
• Volunteers
• Commuters (work permits for persons who reside outside Denmark)
• Asylum
• Residence permit on humanitarian grounds
• Residence permit on the grounds of the International Cities of Refugee Network programme
• Residence permit as a non-deportable person
• Residence permit on the grounds of former Danish citizenship or Danish descent   
• Residence permit under EU law
• Residence permit in Greenland

Moreover, you do not have to pay a fee to appeal a ruling or request to reopen a case in the above-mentioned case types.

Furthermore, you do not have to pay a fee for submitting a complaint over the way a case was processed, also known as a ‘case-processing complaint’.

If you are applying for a residence permit, an extension of a residence permit or a permanent residence permit, we recommend that you pay the fee on the relevant application page on nyidanmark.dk under the 'How to Apply' tab. This ensures that you choose the correct application type. On the application page, you can also read more about the rules and conditions under the 'Need to Know' tab.

Pay fee for appeals or re-opening of cases

Read the user manual for payment of fee