Private visits and tourist visits
It is possible to obtain a visa to visit family and friends and for tourist visits.
The diplomatic mission (embassy or consulate general) which receives the application for a visa can process the application and issue a visa if it is obvious that there is no asylum, immigration or safety risk. In other cases, the application will be forwarded to the Immigration Service in Denmark for further investigation.
Countries with a visa requirement to visit Denmark are divided into three national categories:
- The asylum group
- The immigration group
- The tourist group
Different rules for visa issuance apply to the three groups.
Each visa application will be processed individually, so the division into groups is intended as a guideline only. If the applicant has previously held a visa and met the conditions, this may play a part in the processing of a later visa application. Extraordinary circumstances may also be relevant to the case, for example if the family member residing in Denmark suffers from a life-threatening illness, or if the purpose of the visit is to take part in the funeral of a close relative.
The Immigration Service may also issue a visa to persons who have not previously held a Schengen visa, even if the applicant does not belong to the group of persons who can normally be issued a visa. This can apply in cases where the Immigration Service assesses that there is no risk that the applicant intends to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country, or that he or she may pose a security risk.
Likewise, it applies to all three groups that the Immigration Service may turn down an application for a visa if it suspects that an applicant intends to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country, or that he or she may pose a security risk.
The asylum group
The following countries currently comprise the asylum group:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria and stateless Palestinians. However, special conditions apply to Somali citizens (see below). Stateless persons other than Palestinians will be assessed based on their country of residence.
Citizens from these countries are generally only granted visas if they are spouses/registered partners/cohabiting partners, children under the age of 18 or parents of the person residing in Denmark. Cohabiting partners are defined as persons who can document that they have lived together with the person they wish to visit in Denmark in a permanent relationship at a shared address for at least 18 months.
An application for a visa will be turned down if the immigration authorities have reason to believe that an applicant intends to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country.
Particularly restrictive rules apply to Somali citizens. These citizens will normally only be granted a visa in extraordinary situations, e.g. if a family member residing in Denmark suffers from a life-threatening illness or has died.
In some cases, Somali citizens can be granted a visa in order to visit a spouse or cohabiting partner, but only if the applicant has previously applied for family reunification and has been turned down because he or she did not meet the attachment requirement.
I these cases, a visa can be granted if the spouse/partner residing in Denmark has a considerable attachment to Denmark; if the marriage is legally valid, and if the other conditions for family reunification with a spouse are met (e.g. the housing requirement and the requirement that he/she has not received certain types of public assistance within the past 12 months). However, the spouse/partner residing in Denmark is not required to produce the demand guarantee connected with the collateral requirement at this point. This will only be required in connection with a later application for family reunification.
Read more about processing time.
Read more about how to apply.
The immigration group
The immigration group is divided into two sub-categories:
- Countries whose citizens are required to have a certain attachment to the individual they wish to visit
- Countries whose citizens are not required to have a certain attachment to the individual they wish to visit, but who must have a host in Denmark
The following countries are currently listed as part of the immigration country category whose applicants are required to have a certain attachment to the person residing in Denmark:
Armenia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Cameroon, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, India, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam and Yemen.
Citizens from countries in this group are normally granted visas if they are spouses, cohabiting partners or boyfriends/girlfriends, children irrespective of age and accompanying spouse, parents and accompanying spouse, siblings and accompanying spouse.
Visas are also granted to nieces, nephews and grandchildren under the age of 18 who wish to come to Denmark for a temporary holiday visit unaccompanied by their parents or another adult, close acquaintances of previously foreign-stationed Danes, sponsor children under 18 and applicants accompanying older, frail family members. Furthermore, a visa can be granted to spouses, cohabiting partners or boyfriends/girlfriends and children under 18 of a Danish citizen who has effectively established him/herself in a foreign country, if the couple plans to travel to Denmark on vacation, or similar.
In order to grant visas to boyfriends/girlfriends - including applicants wishing to travel to Denmark for the purpose of marriage - the couple must document that they are in an actual relationship. That is, they must be able to document that they are both unmarried and that they know each other personally, and that they have seen each other in the year leading up to the visa application. It is not enough that the couple only know each other through telephone and/or written contact. If the couple do not have a significant level of mutual personal knowledge, the visa application will be turned down.
For certain countries - Russia, China, Ukraine and India - so-called travel agency arrangements have been established, making it easier for citizens from these countries to visit Denmark as tourists. Read more about travel agency and tourist arrangements.
Currently, citizens from the following countries are not required to have a particular attachment to the person residing in Denmark:
Albania, Azerbaijan, Benin, Bosnia-Herzegovina*, Congo (Brazzaville), Macedonia (FYROM)*, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro*, Nepal, Niger, Peru, Philippines, Serbia*, Thailand, Togo, Tunesia and Zimbabwe.
*Citizens of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia (FYROM), Montenegro or Serbia who hold a biometric passport are not required to hold a visa. Read more about visa requirements for visiting Denmark.
Visas are generally granted to applicants from these countries, no matter who they intend to visit, including friends and acquaintances. In other words, there must be a host in Denmark, but the applicant is not required to have a particular attachment to the host. Furthermore, a visa can be granted to a spouse, cohabiting partner or child under 18 of a Danish citizen residing outside Denmark if, for example, the couple wish to go on holiday in Denmark.
For applicants from the entire immigration group, an application for a visa will be turned down if the immigration authorities have reason to believe that an applicant may seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country.
This may be the case if the immigration authorities have particular reasons to suspect that an applicant will misuse his/her visa, for example, if he/she has previously violated the conditions for a visa or residence permit.
If the applicant is someone other than a spouse/partner, child under 18 or parent of the person in Denmark, the application will be turned down if the application authorities assess that his/her attachment to his/her country of residence is not strong enough to guarantee that he/she will return after the visa stay.
In connection with this assessment the authorities will consider which type of long-term residency the applicant is likely to seek.
In certain cases, an applicant can be granted a visa even if the authorities assess that he/she is likely to seek long-term residency. This will be the case if he/she is deemed likely to seek a type of residence permit which does will not cause a penalty period.
Read more about processing time.
Read more about how to apply.
The tourist group
The following countries currently comprise the tourist group:
Angola, Bahrain, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Colombia, Chad, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Fiji, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Jamaica, the Cape Verde Islands, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Sao Tomé & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, Swaziland, South Africa, Tajikistan, Taiwan*, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad/Tobago, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea and East Timor (Timor-Leste).
* Citizens with a passport issued by Taiwan which contains an identity card number do not need a visa. The same applies to citizens with old Taiwanese passports with "Republic of China" on the front page, if the stated place of birth is Taiwan and the passport contains an identity card number.
Citizens from these countries are generally eligible for visas for purely tourist-related visits even if the applicant will not be hosted by anyone in Denmark.
However, an application for a visa will be turned down if the immigration authorities have reason to believe that an applicant may seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country.
Read more about processing time.
Read more about how to apply.
Conditions to be met by the person in Denmark (the host)
If the applicant is a citizen of a country that is located in the asylum group or the immigration group, a visa can normally only be granted if the applicant is to visit a person in Denmark. In such cases the person living in Denmark must meet certain requirements.
Firstly, it is required that the person in Denmark confirms that he or she is expecting a visit from the applicant. The Immigration Service recommends that the host uses the Immigration Service's invitation form (either the print version or electronic version). However, there are no specific requirements as to how an invitation must look. A visa will not be granted if the person in Denmark is not expecting a visit by the applicant.
Secondly, it is normally required that the person who has invited the applicant has permanent residence in Denmark and is either a Danish citizen, or has a valid residence permit in Denmark. This may be departed in special cases, e.g. if the applicant is invited by a Danish citizen who is effectively established abroad.