Children under the age of 15

Foreign nationals under the age of 15 who have a parent or parents living in Denmark can be eligible for a Danish residence permit, provided that certain conditions are met.

The child must be under the age of 15 at the time the application is submitted. Furthermore, the child’s parent residing in Denmark (or the parent’s spouse) must either be a citizen of a Nordic country (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland or Iceland), hold a residence permit on the grounds of asylum or Protected Status, hold a permanent Danish residence permit or hold a temporary residence permit with a view to permanent residence.

In addition, the following conditions must be met:

After the family reunification, the child must live together with his or her parents or a parent who has full or joint custody of the child.
The child must not have started his or her own family through marriage or cohabiting partnership.
The parent living in Denmark, or his or her spouse/partner, may not have been convicted of abuse of a child under the age of 15 within a period of 10 years prior to the ruling.
General consideration of the interests of the child

Furthermore, the following may be considered:

Whether the parent living in Denmark has adequate accomodation at his or her disposal
Whether the parent living in Danmark can support the child financially
The likelihood that the child can be integrated into Denmark

Please note that special rules apply to EU/EEA citizens residing in Denmark under the EU regulations on free movement. Read more under EU and Nordic Citizens.

Also note that special rules apply if the parent residing in Denmark is a student.

The interests of the child

A Danish residence permit may not be granted if it is at odds with the interests of the child.

If the child's residence permit has been revoked, it can only be reissued if it is in the child's best interest. This applies particularly in cases in which the child has been sent for cultural reconditioning in the family's country of origin.

When assessing whether it is in the interest of the child to grant a new residence permit, the length and nature of the child's residency in Denmark will be weighed against the length and nature of the child’s stay abroad.

The Immigration Service will also consider whether the child is vulnerable to serious social problems in Denmark by identifying whether the family in Denmark has social problems.

Furthermore, emphasis will be placed on the child's connection to his or her country of origin, with considerations such as social interaction, level of education and language proficiency playing a role in the decision. Finally, the immigration authorities will consider whether the child is living with close family in his or her country of origin.

The housing requirement

The Immigration Service may require the parent living in Denmark to document that he or she has adequate accommodation at his or her disposal. The Immigration Service can choose to make this a condition if special circumstances warrant it, for example, if the child and the parent have chosen not to have any contact with each other for an extended period of time.

'Adequate accommodation' is defined as a reasonably large place to live, independently or co-operatively owned or rented by the parent in Denmark. If the property is a rental, the lease period must be permanent, or extend at least three years beyond the date on which the residence permit application is submitted. Sub-letting does not meet the housing requirement.

The residence must be of adequate size. This means that once the family reunification is completed, it must meet at least one of the requirements below:

The total number of people living in the residence may not be more than double the number of rooms, or
The total residential area must be at least 20 sq. metres per person.

However, if the parent in Denmark has recently returned to Denmark after having lived in another country for an extended period of time, it may be difficult to find accomodation which meets the requirements right away. In these cases, the Immigration Service may postpone the time at which the parent must meet this requirement, by up to six months after he/she has been granted a residence permit. If the parent in Denmark does not meet the housing requirement by this deadline, the Immigration Service may revoke the child's residence permit.

The support requirement

The Immigration Service may require that the parent living in Denmark is not receiving public assistance under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act (lov om aktiv socialpolitik) or the Integration Act (integrationsloven) for a specified period of time. This may be required until the child is granted a permanent residence permit.

The Immigration Service can make this a condition if warranted by special circumstances, for example, if the child and the parent have chosen not to have any contact with each other for an extended period of time.

The attachment requirement

If one of the child's parents continues to reside in the country of origin or another country, and if the application for family reunification is submitted more than two years after the parent residing in Denmark meets the requirements for family reunification with a child, a special attachment requirement applies. This requirement stipulates that a residence permit will only be granted if the child has, or has the opportunity to achieve, an attachment to Denmark sufficient to form the basis for successful integration in Denmark.

Must all requirements be met?

Normally, all conditions must be met. However, there may be special cases where the child can be granted family reunification even though one or more of the requirements are not met.

As such, a residence permit will be granted if rejecting the application would be in contravention of Denmark's international obligations. This may be the case if one or both parents living in Denmark left the family in the country of origin (or another country) and was subsequently granted a Danish residence permit on the grounds of asylum or Protected Status. It must be impossible for the parent or parents to reside with their family in their country of origin or any other country.

Likewise, due consideration to the interests of the child could result in a family reunification residence permit being granted even though the child is over the age of 15.

Adoption

A foreign child who is to be adopted by a couple or individual residing in Denmark is normally required to have a residence permit - not a short term visa - prior to arriving in Denmark.

The application for a residence permit must be submitted to a Danish diplomatic mission in the child's country of origin (or the country where the child has legally resided for the past three months).

If the adoption is facilitated by one of the two approved adoption agencies in Denmark (AC International Child Support - Denmark and DanAdopt), the agency will submit the application.

In most cases, the diplomatic mission will send the application on to the Regional State Administration (Statsforvaltning) in Denmark, which will process it.

However, in cases in which adoptive parents have not been approved by a joint council or the Danish National Board of Adoption - typically instances in which the child is in the same family as one of the adoptive parents - the application will be processed by the Immigration Service. Please note that residence permits for an adopted child can only be issued if the adoption procedure has been carried out in accordance with Danish regulations or can be approved by Danish authorities.

A foreign child travelling to Denmark for the purpose of being adopted at a later date must also apply for a residence permit - not a travel visa - prior to arriving in Denmark. Although the Immigration Service is also responsible for processing such applications, they must be submitted to the Danish diplomatic mission in the child's country of origins (or the country where the child has legally resided for the past three months).

More information about Danish adoption regulations is available from the Department of Family Affairs (Familiestyrelsen).