Spouses, registered partners and cohabiting partners

If your spouse, registered partner or cohabiting partner lives in Denmark, you can apply for a residence permit on the grounds of family reunification.

However, you and your spouse/partner, as well as your relationship, must meet certain requirements.

There are a number of specific requirements relating to your spouse/partner living in Denmark. These requirements primarily concern the grounds for his/her residence in Denmark and his/her ability to support him/herself and you.

Please note that special rules apply to EU/EEA citizens and Swiss 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 your spouse/partner in Denmark is a foreign national with a residence permit on the grounds of studies or work.

Furthermore, special rules apply to Danish citizens who are applying for family reunification under the EU regulations on free movement. Read more about family reunification for Danish citizens under EU law.

Requirements relating to your marriage/partnership

Your marriage or registered partnership must be recognized by Danish law.
Your marriage or registered partnership must have been entered into voluntarily, i.e. there must be no doubt that it was entered into according to the wishes of both you and your spouse/partner. Read more about forced marriages.
The marriage or registered partnership must not have been entered into solely for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit for you. Read more about pro forma marriages.

There are special requirements in the case of cohabiting partners who are not married, see below.

Special rules apply to Afghan citizens who are married in Pakistan. Read news about Afghan couples who apply for family reunification.

Requirements relating to you and your spouse/partner

You must both be over the age of 24.
You must live together at the same address in Denmark when your residence permit is granted.
Your combined attachment to Denmark must be greater than your combined attachment to any other country. Read more about the attachment requirement.

Requirements relating to your spouse/partner in Denmark

Your spouse/partner in Denmark must either:

be a Danish citizen or a citizen of one of the other Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland), or
hold a Danish residence permit granted on the grounds of asylum or Protected Status, or
have held a permanent Danish residence permit for the past three years or more.

Furthermore, your spouse/partner in Denmark:

must reside permanently in Denmark.
must have accommodation of adequate size at his/her disposal. Read more about the housing requirement.
must be able to support him/herself and you. In most cases, this requirement will be met if your spouse/partner has not received public assistance under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act (lov om aktiv socialpolitik) or the Integration Act (integrationsloven) for at least 12 months prior to the application being processed by the Immigration Service.
must post DKK 62,231 (2010 level) in bank-backed collateral to cover any public assistance paid to you by your municipality after you relocate to Denmark. Read more about the collateral requirement.
must not have been convicted of violent acts against a former spouse/partner within a period of 10 years prior to your application being processed.

Special requirements for cohabiting partners

If you and your partner are not legally married or registered partners, your relationship must be of a permanent and lasting nature. The Immigration Service will assess, based on all relevant information, if this is the case. Normally, you must be able to document that you have lived with your partner for at least 18 months at a shared address.

Furthermore, your partner in Denmark must assume full responsibility for supporting you.

Must you meet all requirements?

You should normally expect that all requirements must be met. However, there may be special situations in which you and your spouse/partner can be granted family reunification even though one or more of the requirements are not met.

The Immigration Service cannot make its decision about whether you and your spouse/partner can receive an exemption from one or more of the requirements until the Immigration Service has received and processed your application.

Below, you can read more about the special circumstances that can result in an exemption from one or more of the requirements.

In accordance with Denmark’s international obligations to protect the right to family life, exemptions from the following requirements can be granted to certain groups of applicants:

the 24-year requirement
the attachment requirement
the housing requirement
the collateral requirement
the requirement that your spouse/partner not have received certain types of public assistance within the past 12 months

Exemptions can be granted if your spouse/partner in Denmark holds a residence permit on the grounds of asylum or Protected Status and still risks persecution in his/her country of origin.

An exemption can also be granted if your spouse/partner in Denmark has a child from a previous relationship who is also living in Denmark, and if your spouse/partner has custody of the child or has visitation rights and sees the child on a regular basis.

Furthermore, an exemption can be granted if your spouse/partner in Denmark is elderly or has a serious illness or a debilitating handicap, and a lack of adequate care and treatment in your country would make it indefensible from a humanitarian point of view to force him/her to relocate there.

In some cases the requirement that unmarried couples have lived together at a shared address for at least 18 months can be waived. This decision is made at the discretion of the Immigration Service.

Moreover, Denmark’s obligations to protect women’s rights can lead to an exemption from the requirement that the spouse/partner not have received certain types of public assistance within the past 12 months. Such an exemption can be granted if the need for public support or the inability to support a family was the result of your spouse/partner in Denmark being on parental leave from a job and if he/she will return to work after the leave period.

Finally, special rules apply if your spouse/partner in Denmark works in a field which is currently experiencing a shortage of qualified professionals. Exemptions to the 24-year requirement and the attachment requirement can be granted if your spouse/partner’s job is included on the Positive List.

The same applies if your spouse/partner in Denmark works for the Danish government and holds a position of particular importance for Denmark’s security or foreign policy. This includes military personnel holding a position that could require them to serve abroad in peacemaking or peacekeeping operations.

Issuance of a certificate of registration or residence card under the EU regulations

You may be eligible for a certificate of registration or residence card if your spouse/partner is a Danish citizen and makes use of the EU rules on freedom of movement.

Read more about family reunification for Danish citizens under EU law.