The Danish spouse's attachment to Denmark
Your spouse/partner in Denmark will normally be required to have resided permanently in Denmark for no less than 12 years in order to meet his/her part of the attachment requirement.
Your spouse/partner must have resided legally in Denmark, that is, he/she must have held a valid residence permit for 12 years, and may not have stayed outside Denmark for extensive periods of time.
Furthermore, your spouse/partner in Denmark must have made an effort to become integrated into Danish society, for instance, through education or work - even if he/she has resided in Denmark for more than 12 years.
The required duration of your spouse/partner's residence in Denmark can be reduced to less than 12 years if your spouse/partner has made a special effort to become integrated into Danish society through education or work.
Ordinary work
The required duration of your spouse/partner's residence in Denmark can be reduced to less than 12 years if your spouse/partner has held a regular job in Denmark for 7-8 years.
The job must have been full-time or on similar conditions, and without extensive breaks.
In other words, your spouse/partner in Denmark must have formed a close, continuous attachment to the Danish labour market.
Furthermore, your spouse/partner must presently be working, or expect to be working shortly, if his/her attachment to the labour market should lead to a reduction of the required duration of his/her residence in Denmark to less than 12 years.
If his/her attachment to the Danish labour market has been characterised by extensive interruptions, the required duration and nature of his/her labour market attachment will be increased.
Integration-furthering work
The required duration of your spouse/partner's residence in Denmark can be reduced to less than 12 years if your spouse/partner has held a particularly integration-furthering job in Denmark for 4-5 years.
Work considered to be highly beneficial to integration must involve a considerable degree of contact and communication in Danish with co-workers and customers, if applicable.
Furthermore, your spouse/partner in Denmark would have to be working at the time you apply.
He/she must have worked for no less than 4-5 years with no significant interruptions.
Education
The requirements for the duration of stay for the spouse living in Denmark can in certain cases be reduced to less than 12 years, if the individual has completed a full-time vocational programme in Denmark and has since completing the programme been employed for an extended period within that field.
The required duration of your spouse/partner's residence in Denmark cannot be reduced to less than 12 years if your spouse/partner has only completed a programme or course of a few months.