Brexit - Permanent residence

You are a UK citizen and have taken residence in Denmark under EU regulations before the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. You must apply for a residence document as an employee based on the Withdrawal Agreement, if you wish to continue to reside in Denmark. Please note, you are applying after the 31 December 2023 deadline and should therefore read the information on this page carefully.

Normal processing time
3 months

Processing fee
No fee

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What is my situation, if I have not submitted an application before the deadline on 31 December 2023?

If you have reasonable reasons for submitting the application late, you are still able to submit an application for a new residence document based on the Withdrawal Agreement even though the deadline has passed.

There are many different reasons that can be taken into consideration as reasonable reasons for the application being submitted late. 

The assessment SIRI will do, will always be a total and konkrete assessment of your personal situation including circumstances and reasons for not meeting the deadline. When you apply you must therefore submit documentation for the reason that you have not met the application deadline.

If it is SIRI’s assessment that you have had reasonable reasons for not meeting the deadline for submitting the application, we will process your application.

Even if you have submitted your application after the deadline and a decision has not yet been made in your case, including whether you have had
reasonable reasons for submitting your application late, you will continue to have rights based on the Withdrawal Agreement.

This means that you can continue to live and work in Denmark as you have done so far. As documentation of your rights while you wait for our decision,
you can use the receipt issued to you when you have submitted the application form BR1 or you can show a copy of your previously issued EU
residence document.

If you are a citizen of the United Kingdom and need to re-enter Denmark, you are visa exempt in Denmark for up to 90 days within a 180 days period.
You therefore do not need to apply for a re-entry permit in order to be able to enter Denmark.

If it is our assessment that there are no reasonable reasons for you not to have met the deadline for submitting your application, the consequence will be that you lose your rights based on the Withdrawal Agreement and that these rights cannot be reinstated.

This means that your application for residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement will not be processed and that you do not have the right to reside in Denmark.

If you continue to wish to live in Denmark, you must apply for a residence and work permit under the Danish Aliens Act.

You can read more about the different rules regarding residence and work permits under the Danish aliens Act here on newtodenmark.dk:

Read more about applying for a residence and work permit

Read more about applying as an accompanying family member

Read more about applying for family reunification

If it is SIRI’s assessment that there are no reasonable reasons for you submitting your application late, you will receive a written decision containg a specific reasoning.

You are then able to appeal the decision to the Immigration Appeals Board.

If you submit an appeal to the Immigration Appeals Board, you must contact the board for guidance on your rights during your appeal.

Read more about how to appeal a decision to the Immigration Appeals Board

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Who can be apply for permanent residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement?

If you are a UK citizen or a family member to a UK citizen and have taken legal residence in Denmark – based on the EU regulations on free movement – before end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, you can keep you right to residence in Denmark.

You are entitled to permanent residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement when you have had actual and real residence in Denmark for at least 5 consecutive years and for the entire duration have met the conditions for one (or more) grounds for residence based on Eu regulations.

If you already have been granted permanent residence, you can attach your previously issued EU residence document to your application and do not need to attach additional documentation. You are thus able to exchange your previously issued residence document for a new residence document based on the Withdrawal Agreement. It does not matter if your right to permanent residence was granted before the United Kingdom became af member of the EU. It also does not matter if you were granted permanent residence as a third-country citizen based on Danish national law.

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What are the conditions for permanent residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement?

You are a UK citizen or a family member to a UK citizen and have already been granted permanent residence in Denmark based on EU regulations.

You must submit an application for a new residence document based on the Withdrawal Agreement. You must attach a copy of your residence document, since you can exchange your previously issued residence document for permanent residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement.

You are a UK citizen or a family member to a UK citizen and have been granted permanent residence in Denmark based on EU regulations, but you have left Denmark and now reside abroad. You will continue to have the right to permanent residence under the withdrawal Agreement, if you return to Denmark within 5 years after leaving Denmark. You need to, however, to remember to apply for a new permanent residence document in Denmark based on the withdrawal Agreement before 31 December 2023. You can submit your application to a Danish diplomatic mission or visa application center in the country in which you currently reside.

A list of places, where you are able to submit your application is avaiable here

You are a UK citizen or a family member to a UK citizen and have taken legal residence in Denmark – based on the EU regulations on free movement – before end of the transition period on 31 December 2020.

It is not a requirement in order to be granted permanent residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement that you as a UK citizen have had permanent residence document under the EU regulations.

If you have been residing in Denmark for at least 5 consecutive years and during the entire period have met the conditions for one of the grounds for residence, you can be granted permanent residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement. The conditions for permanent residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement are the same as the conditions for permanent residence based on the EU regulations.

You must have had actual and real residence for 5 years. You must therefore have undertaken an actual and real relocation to Denmark. It is not sufficient that you have been registered at a Danish address, or that you are the owner or tenant of a home in Denmark.

During the entirety of the 5 consecutive years, you must have met the conditions for at least one type of grounds for residence according to the EU regulations.

Legal grounds for residence can be that you during the 5 year period have been an employee, self-employed, student, person with sufficient funds or pensioner. It does not matter whether you met the conditions for the same type of grounds for residence during the entire period. 

As a third-country national, your grounds for residence will normally have been as a family member to a UK citizen. You are also able to be granted the right to permanent residence when you have had actual and real residence in Denmark for 5 consecutive years and when the UK citizen also has met the conditions for legal residence during the same period.

If you as a third-country national no longer is a family member to a UK citizen during the 5 years of residence in denmark, you can – under certain conditions – continue to meet the conditions and keep your residence in Denmark based on the Withdrawal Agreement.

You must normally have had actual and real residence in Denmark for the entire 5 year period.

Temporary stays abroad of up to 6 months total per year is in and of itself not a hindrance for you to be granted permanent residence.

The same holds true for one stay abroad of up to one year duration for important reasons or stays abroad for a longer duration due to mandatory military conscription or you being stationed abroad.

If you have travelled abroad for more than 6 months per year or for more than 12 consecutive months without weighty reasons, your residence in Denmark will be considered to have been interrupted and you therefore no longer meet the conditions for permanent residence.

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What are my rights, if I am granted a permanent residence document based on the Withdrawal Agreement?

You are granted the same rights as with a non-permanent residence document except that you no longer need to meet the conditions for your original grounds for residence.

This means that you will not lose your right to reside in Denmark if you stop working, studying, running your own business etc.

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Can I lose my permanent residence rights?

If you have been granted permanent residence you will keep it as long as you continue to have actual and real residence in Denmark.

Residence outside Denmark for less than 5 years

 If you have been granted permanent residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement and reside outside Denmark for less than 5 years, you will not lose your permanent residence rights.

Residence outside Denmark for more than 5 years

If you have been granted permanent residence and reside outside Denmark for more than 5 years, you will normally lose your permanent residence rights.

Before SIRI makes a new decision about your grounds for residence, we will send you a hearing, i.e. we will give you the opportunity to provide your comments and submit additional documentation before we make a decision.

If you no longer meet the conditions for permanent residence or for one of the categories of grounds for residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement, your ties to Denmark will be considered and this may influence whether you retain your right to residence.

Among other factors this includes considering how long you have lived in Denmark and your degree of attachment to the Danish labour market.

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Can my family be granted a residence document based on the Withdrawal Agreement?

The Withdrawal Agreement ensures that all family members regardless of nationality – who by the end of the transition period are residing legally in Denmark with a UK citizen – can reside in Denmark under the same conditions as before the end of the transition period. However, the family member must submit the required application for a new residence document.

This is also the case for close family members not yet residing in Denmark before the end of the transition period. They will be able to move to Denmark after the transition period provided that they continue to be married, for example, to the UK citizen at the time the family member is applying for residence in Denmark and provided that the UK citizen in the meantime has not given op his or her residence status in Denmark.

Your family members do not automatically have the right to permanent residence based on the Withdrawal Agreement just because you have been granted permanent residence.

Read more about grounds for residence as a family member here

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What if I have dual citizenship?

If besides being a UK citizen, you are also a Danish citizen, you do not need to apply for a new residence document, as your right to reside in Denmark is guaranteed through your Danish citizenship.

If besides being a UK citizen, you are also a citizen of an EU country, you do not need to apply for a new residence document either, as you have a right to reside in Denmark under the EU regulations. However, you should make sure that you have an EU residence document which proves your right to residence as an EU citizen.

You have a right, but no obligation to apply for a new residence document for British citizens.

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What if I hold a permanent residence permit under the Danish Aliens Act?

If you hold a permanent residence permit under the Danish Aliens Act, you do not need to apply for a new residence document, as you have a right to reside in Denmark under the Aliens Act. This may be the case if you were granted a permanent residence permit in Denmark before the UK became a member of the EU or on the grounds of family reunification or work.

You can still be covered by the Withdrawal Agreeement, if you document that you have used your right to free movement under EU regulations as, for example, an employee by the end of the transition periood on 31 December 2020.

You have a right, but no obligation to apply for a new residence document for British citizens.

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What more do I need to know before I apply?

An application for a new residence document based on the Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland should be submitted to the Danish agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

You can submit your application no later than 31 December 2023. Applications submitted after the 31 December 2023 will only be processed, if SIRI considers special excusable circumstances to be present.

Before you submit an application you must have your relevant document ready in a digital format.

You can see which document you must have ready on the tab “How to Apply” on the right. Here you will also find the application form which you need to complete (BR1).

SIRI will contact you or your employer if we need further information to process your case.

What do you want to print?

Below you will find a step-by-step guide to submitting an application to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

It is a good idea to gather the necessary documents before you start to complete the application form.

You can use the check list below.

You can submit the following documentation, if you have obtained a permanent EU residence document:

If you have not obtained permanent residence based on EU regulations, you can submit the following documentation:

As documentation that your have met the conditions as an employee/self-employed person you can submit:

As documentation that your have met the conditions as a student you can submit:

As documentation that your have met the conditions as a person with sufficient funds or as a pensioner you can submit:

As documentation that your have met the conditions as a family member you can submit:

If you have had other grounds for residence than the above mentioned, you must submit documentation of this.

If you have had changing grounds for residence during the time you have been residing in Denmark, you should submit documentation.

Expect to use

10-15 minutes

to complete the application

1 person

You complete the appication form yourself

In this step you have access to the relevant application form BR1.

The application form contains instructions for how to complete it and what kind of documents you must submit along with the form.

 

Online form BR1

 

Please note, if you need to complete more than one application - e.g. if you have family members, who also need to apply - you must close your browser completely after completing each application. If you do not close your browser completely after completing and submitting the first application, you might find that the online form does not work as intented. 

You can read more about how we process your personal data here

When you apply for a new residence document, you must have your biometric features recorded. This means that you must have a facial photo taken and your fingerprints recorded. The facial photo and your fingerprints will be stored on a microchip embedded in the residence card, which will be issued to you, if you are granted a new residence document.

You must have your biometric features recorded no later than 2 weeks after submitting your application

Your biometric features can be recorded in one of SIRI's branch offices in Denmark.

You can find information on SIRI's branch offices here

Remember you must always book an appointment before appearing in one of SIRI's branch offices.

You can book an appointment here

If you are currently residing abroad, you can have your biometric features recorded at a Danish diplomatic mission or visa application center instead.

See the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ list of diplomatic missions or application centres where you can have your biometric features recorded (opens in a new window)

You have submitted your application succesfully if you have:

  • submitted the application

  • had your biometric features recorded

You can see the normal case processing time to the right on this page. When we make a decision in your case, you will receive an answer.

SIRI will contact you or your employer if we need further information to process your case.

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Last updated 01-01-2024 - Published by: SIRI