The housing requirement
In order for you to be granted family reunification, your spouse/partner in Denmark must be able to document that he/she has accommodation of adequate size at his/her disposal.
To
have accomodation at his/her disposal means that your spouse/partner must own, co-operatively own (known as 'andel' or 'anpart') or rent his or 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.
It is not a requirement that the residence has its own kitchen or toilet.
It will not keep you from being granted a residence permit, if your spouse/partner owns or rents the residence together with on or more other persons.
However, if your spouse/partner 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 your spouse/partner must meet this requirement by up to six months after you have been granted a residence permit.
Dispensation
The housing requirement can be suspended if special reasons apply. This could be the case, if your spouse/partner in Denmark:
- is a refugee or has protected status and still risks persecution in his/her country of origin. Read more about refugees
- has children under 18 living in the home who have formed an individual attachment to Denmark, or has children from a previous relationship and has custody of the child or has visitation rights and sees the child on a regular basis. Read more about children under 18
- is seriously ill. Read more about serious illness/disability