Applying for asylum
A foreign national who enters Denmark without entry documents (residence permit or visa) and applies for asylum, is called a spontaneous asylum seeker.
A foreign national can apply for asylum by:
Applying in person at a police station, including the police station in Copenhagen Airport.
Applying in person at the Sandholm accommodation centre.
Submitting a written application to the Immigration Service or the police, either personally or with the assistance of an attorney or another representative. There is no official form, but the applicant's identity and residence must be clearly stated in the application.
A spontaneous asylum seeker who applies in writing will be referred to the Sandholm accommodation centre, where he/she will be registered and offered accommodation.
Applicants not rejected at the border will be registered, photographed and fingerprinted by the police. Then they will be placed in the Sandholm accommodation centre by the Danish Red Cross, and the further processing of their application case will begin. The Immigration Service will use this information to determine if the application for asylum is to be processed in Denmark or another country as a result of the Dublin Regulation. Read more about the Dublin Regulation.
A foreign national with permission to stay in Denmark (residence permit or visa) is also permitted to apply for asylum. The application can be made by:
Applying in person at a police station.
Applying in person at the Sandholm accommodation centre.
Submitting a written application to the Immigration Service or the police, either personally or with the assistance of an attorney or another representative. There is no official form, but the applicant's identity and residence must be clearly stated in the application.
As soon as the application is received, the asylum seeker will be referred to the nearest police station to be registered, photographed and fingerprinted. Afterwards, the asylum seeker will be requested by the Immigration Service to complete an application form, and scheduled for an interview with the Immigration Service. In the form and at the interview, the asylum seeker will be asked to state his/her grounds for seeking asylum. Read more about how applications are processed.
Seeking asylum from abroad is not possible
It is not possible to seek asylum in Denmark from outside the country's borders. People outside Denmark can neither seek asylum via a Danish diplomatic mission (embassy or consulate general) nor by sending a written application to the Immigration Service or the Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs.