In regards to non-EU the Danish government is tightening the laws surrounding residence permits e.g. the pathway to citizenship test has seen its difficulty increased exponentially.

With NFS you will receive expert advice and commendable guidance about the rules for family reunification in Denmark. Both for members of EU and non-EU countries.

NFS will support you and your family throughout the application process, both before, during and after.

The basic conditions for family reunification are:

• Applicant resident age, also called 24-year rule or the 24-year requirement.
• Resident’s citizenship or residence current accommodation status or residence address.
• Requirements for marriage or co-habitation.
• Reunification address.

24-year rule

The condition for granting a residence permit to a spouse or partner is that they are both over 24 years of age. This is an absolute condition.

The aim is to reduce the risk of forced marriages and arranged marriages, which aims to trigger family reunification.

The age rule can only be waived due to extenuating circumstances e.g. if the resident is included in the positive list of the Aliens Act § 9a, or if the parties are forced to live as a family in a country where the resident does not have the ability to enter and reside with the applicant.

These examples are not exhaustive. The 24-year rule may be waived where the denial of family reunification, only if it runs counter to Denmark’s international obligations.

Resident status

There are three groups of nonresident where citizenship/ residency status has implications for access to family reunification

• Danish citizenship
• A citizen of another Nordic country
• Immigrants’ residents’ permit under § 7 and § 8th

These people have the right to get their husband or spouse to DK, if all conditions are met in § 9th

For other resident foreigners it is a condition for family reunification, the resident has a permanent residence permit in the country over the last 3 years, which is an absolute condition.

As the deadline for obtaining a permanent residence permit in principle is five years, these foreigners first family reunification after eight years of legal residence in Denmark. The condition for waiving the 3-year waiting period, require extenuating circumstances.

The condition for family reunification for permanent residents of Denmark is that the spouse / partner may be deemed to be a permanent resident in Denmark, which implies a requirement for permanent address which is based on the official registry office registration

Requirements for marriage or cohabitation

A requirement for marriage, which is a precondition for family reunification, is that marriage meets the basic conditions for its validity under Danish law which are:

Both parties must be present during the ceremony, and both must consent to it.

Certain formal requirements for the Danish marriage authority. Marriages concluded in a religious body not approved by the state will not be recognized as a basis for the case.

Marriage Conditions. The general principles of Danish law must be respected, e.g. bigamy is not recognized, i.e you cannot have multiple wives.

For unmarried cohabiting further requirements than marriage. It requires that the parties have had regular cohabitation of a prolonged duration.

Residence permit for a cohabitation partner, involves a specific and comprehensive assessment which means the decision will be discretionary marked. The starting point in practice is that one has a length of about 1½-2 years. It does not mean a shorter cohabitation may not be sufficient if there have been other reasons or obstacles for cohabitation.

This recital is based on the relationship firmness, including how long the parties have known each other, what language they communicate in contact, telephone, letters, etc., As well as common child plans, housing plans for the reconstruction of cohabitation.