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. The employment may not be of a purely marginal nature. Therefore, it is normally a condition that the relevant employment was for 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 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 to 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 any 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.

However, other conditions 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 now also eligible for family reunification upon his/her return to Denmark.

Still, a number of requirements apply.

One requirement is 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 introduction of a 'requirement of evidence' imply?

The 'requirement of evidence' implies that 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, 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 Danish national's genuine and effective residence in another EU/EEA Member State 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 Danish national applying for family reunification under EU law had exercised his/her right of free movement in another EU/EEA Member State. 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 Danish nationals must have had genuine and effective residence in another EU/EEA Member State is now stipulated in the Danish EU Residence Order, and the immigration authorities are given clear guidelines on the criteria that are to be emphasised in their assessment of whether the residence is genuine and effective.

The Danish national 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 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 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.