Family reunification under EU law

Can Danish nationals be reunified with family members under EU law?

The EU rules on freedom of movement do not apply to purely internal matters.

This means that spouses of Danish nationals who live in Denmark cannot normally obtain a residence card for Denmark under the EU rules.

A Danish national who has exercised his/her right of free movement in another EU/EEA Member State or Switzerland will be eligible for family reunification under EU law upon his/her return to Denmark if certain requirements are satisfied. One requirement is that s/he must have had genuine and effective residence in another EU/EEA Member State or Switzerland in which s/he resided as a worker or for other purposes. This means that it must be a genuine move to another EU Member State.

Where an application is made for spousal reunification, the marriage is required to be genuine.

Learn more about the rules.

How long must Danish nationals work in another EU/EEA Member State to become eligible for family reunification under EU law upon their return to Denmark?

It depends on a concrete assessment whether a Union citizen/an EEA national is deemed to be a worker under EU law.

What is crucial is whether the person has had genuine and effective employment. Emphasis will also be laid on as to whether the person performs services for and under the direction of another person in which s/he receives remuneration. The employment may not be of a purely marginal nature. Therefore, it is normally a condition that the relevant employment amounts at least 10-12 hours a week.

It is not possible to fix a lower limit for the duration of the employment for assessment purposes.

Accordingly, a concrete assessment must always be made of each case independently of the duration of the employment to determine whether a Union citizen/an EEA national is deemed to be a worker under EU law.

Learn more about when a Union citizen/an EEA national is deemed to be a worker under EU law.

Is a Danish national eligible for family reunification under EU law if s/he has stayed in another EU/EEA Member State without having a job or otherwise being economically active?

Yes, it follows from the Metock judgment of July 2008 that students and self-supporting persons who have resided in another EU/EEA Member State are also eligible for family reunification under EU law upon their return to their country of origin.

Danish nationals are required to have had genuine and effective residence in the EU/EEA Member State in which they resided as students or self-supporting persons. This means that it must be a genuine move.

The move must be real, and a short stay at, for example, a hotel room is not sufficient.

Students must have enrolled at a private or public educational institution accredited or financed by public authorities according to legislation or administrative practice for the purpose of following a course of study, including a vocational course, at such institution. Students must also be able to support themselves and their family during such a stay.

Self-supportive persons must dispose of such income or means for their own and their family members' support that, based on a concrete assessment, they are presumed not to become a burden on the public authorities. In other words, self-supportive persons are not eligible if they have received social assistance during their stay in another EU/EEA Member State.

Where an application is made for spousal reunification, the marriage is also required to be genuine.

Learn more about the conditions for family reunification under EU law.

What are the consequences of the Eind judgment?

As a consequence of the Eind judgment of December 2007, a Danish national who has exercised his/her right of free movement in another EU/EEA Member State as:

• a worker
• a self-employed person
• a service provider
• a retired worker
• a retired self-employed person or
• a retired service provider

need not be economically active to obtain family reunification with his/her spouse/registered partner/permanent cohabitant and/or his/her or the spouse's children under 21 years of age upon his/her return to Denmark.

Accordingly, a Danish national may be eligible for family reunification under EU law if, for example, s/he has exercised his/her right of free movement as a worker in another EU/EEA Member State regardless of whether s/he is economically active upon his/her return to Denmark.

Still, a number of requirements apply.

Learn more about the conditions for family reunification under EU law.

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 Danish national having exercised his/her right of free movement in another EU/EEA Member State is eligible for family reunification with his/her foreign family members in Denmark under EU law, regardless of whether the family members have had previous lawful residence in another EU/EEA Member State.

The Metock judgment also implies that a Danish national who has exercised his/her right of free movement in another EU/EEA Member State as a student or a self-supporting person is also eligible for family reunification upon his/her return to Denmark.

Still, a number of requirements apply. 

It is a requirement that the Danish national must have had genuine and effective residence in another EU/EEA Member State.

It is also a requirement that the family member has had genuine cohabitation with the Danish national in the EU/EEA Member State in which s/he exercised his/her right of free movement.

Where an application is made for spousal reunification, the marriage is also required to be genuine.

Learn more about the conditions for family reunification under EU law.

What does the requirement of genuine and effective residence imply?

Danish nationals who have exercised their right of free of movement in another EU/EEA Member State must have had genuine and effective residence in another EU Member State if they want to achieve family reunification under EU law.

The requirement also implies that it must be a genuine and effective move to another EU/EEA Member State. The move must be real, and a short stay at, for example, a hotel room is not sufficient.

Moreover, the Danish national has to sign a sworn declaration included in the application form that s/he satisfies the requirement of genuine and effective residence.

If the application for family reunification to the immigration authorities raises doubts of whether the requirement of genuine and effective residence has been satisfied, the authorities will request the applicant to submit relevant evidence for such residence.

Genuine and effective residence

What are the possibilities of having a case reopened?

A Danish national who believes that s/he falls within the scope of the new practice following from the Eind and Metock judgments 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.