EU/EEA and Nordic countries
At this page you will find questions and answers about nationals of EU/EEA Member States, Switzerland and the Nordic countries.
Nordic nationals may travel freely to Denmark to stay and work here. They need no work permit to work in Denmark. Learn more about the right of Nordic nationals to stay in Denmark.
Union citizens and EEA/Swiss nationals may stay in Denmark under the EU rules on free movement of persons and services. Accordingly, they may stay freely in Denmark for up to three months, and if they are seeking employment, they may stay here for up to six months. Persons wanting to stay in Denmark for a longer period must apply for a registration certificate. Learn more about the possibilities of Union citizens/EEA nationals to stay in Denmark.
How do you apply for a registration certificate?
Union citizens and EEA/Swiss nationals can apply to the Regional State Administration where they live for a registration certificate. The application is not to be submitted to the Danish Immigration Service. If an application is refused, the applicant may appeal such refusal to the Danish Immigration Service. Learn more about how to apply for a registration certificate.
Can a Union citizen/an EEA national working in Denmark bring his/her family?
Union citizens and EEA/Swiss nationals may bring their family members (spouse, registered partner or regular cohabitant, children under 21 years of age and family members dependent on the Union citizen/EEA national) for three months, or for six months if the Union citizen or EEA/Swiss national stays in Denmark to seek employment. However, family members must always have a visa if they come from a country in which a visa is required for Denmark. If the Union citizen or EEA/Swiss national satisfies the conditions of the Danish EU Residence Order for residence in excess of three or six months, his/her family members may also stay in Denmark. Learn more about the rules for bringing family members.
What are the consequences of the Metock judgment?
The Metock judgment of July 2008 implies that it is no longer possible to require previous lawful residence in another EU/EEA Member State of a third-country national who wants family reunification with a Union citizen/an EEA national who exercises or has exercised his/her right of free movement.
Accordingly, a Union citizen/an EEA national exercising his/her right of free movement in Denmark is eligible for family reunification with his/her spouse in Denmark under EU law, regardless of whether the spouse has had previous lawful residence in another EU/EEA Member State.
Still, a number of requirements apply.
One requirement is that the Union citizen/EEA national must establish genuine and effective residence in Denmark.
Where an application is made for spousal reunification, it is also required that the marriage must be genuine.
Learn more about the conditions for family reunification under EU law.
What does the introduction of a 'requirement of evidence' imply?
The 'requirement of evidence' implies that Union citizens/EEA nationals exercising their right of free of movement in Denmark must have established genuine and effective residence in Denmark if they want to achieve family reunification under EU law.
The requirement means that it must be a genuine and effective move to Denmark. The move must be real, and a short stay at, for example, a hotel room is not sufficient.
The Union citizen also has to sign, under the penalties of perjury, a declaration included in the application form that s/he satisfies the requirement of genuine and effective residence.
If the application for family reunification makes the immigration authorities doubt whether the requirement of genuine and effective residence has been satisfied, the authorities will request the applicant to submit relevant evidence for such residence.
What evidence can be requested to prove genuine and effective residence?
Examples of documents that may be requested as evidence of a Union citizen's genuine and effective residence in Denmark are:
- proof of address, including a transcript from the national register that the applicant's residence has been registered with the Central National Register
- a conveyance for property, a tenancy agreement or receipts for payment of rent
- evidence that the Union citizen has moved from his/her former residence, including evidence that s/he has terminated his/her tenancy agreement, sold his/her property or sublet his/her home for a certain period
- enrolment of children at school, kindergarten, etc.
- proof of a national health insurance number or a special health insurance
Other documents than those listed may be submitted as evidence.
What new does the 'requirement of evidence' bring compared with the state of law before the Metock judgment?
Before the Metock judgment, the immigration authorities also assessed whether a Union citizen/an EEA national applying for family reunification under EU law exercised his/her right of free movement in Denmark. It was also assessed whether the marriage was a marriage of convenience.
Following the Metock judgment, the immigration authorities will focus more on checking whether rights are being abused. The requirement that Union citizens/EEA nationals must have established genuine and effective residence in Denmark is now stipulated directly in the Danish EU Residence Order, and the immigration authorities are given clear guidelines on the criteria to be emphasised in their assessment of whether the residence is genuine and effective.
At the same time, the Union citizen/EEA national also has to sign, under the penalties of perjury, a solemn declaration included in the application form that s/he satisfies the requirement of genuine and effective residence.
If the declaration or other circumstances of the case make the immigration authorities suspect that no genuine and effective residence has been established, the applicant will be required to submit evidence of the nature of the residence.
What are the possibilities of having a case reopened?
A Union citizen/an EEA national who believes that s/he falls within the scope of the new practice following from the Metock judgment or is otherwise entitled to family reunification under EU law, and his/her previous application for family reunification under EU law was refused, may request the authority that most recently processed the application to reopen the case.
It will then be assessed whether there is any basis for reopening the case.
Learn more about reopening of cases.