The housing requirement
If special reasons apply, a child's residence permit can be made contingent upon the parent in Denmark documenting that he/she has adequate accommodation at his or her disposal. Special reasons can be that the parent in Denmark has chosen not to have any contact with the child for an extended period of time.
To have accomodation at one's disposal means that the parent in Denmark must own, co-operatively own (known as 'andel' or 'anpart') or rent his/her place of residence. 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.
In addition, the residence must be of adequate size. This means that once the family reunification is completed, the residence must meet at least one of the following requirements:
- 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.
The residence does not need to have its own kitchen or toilet.
If the parent owns or rents the residence together with one or more other persons, this will not keep the child from being granted a residence permit.
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 can postpone the time at which the parent must meet this requirement by up to six months after the child has been granted a residence permit.
Dispensation
The housing requirement can be suspended if the parent in Denmark holds a residence permit as a refugee or has protected status and still risks persecution, has a child from a previous relationship who is also living in Denmark, and if the parent has custody of the child or has visitation rights and sees the child on a regular basis, or is seriously ill and cannot be advised to reside in another country.