Permanent residence in Denmark under EU regulations

You have resided in Denmark under EU regulations for at least 5 consecutive years.

Normal processing time
0-90 days

Processing fee
No fee

Who can get permanent residence in Denmark under EU regulations?

You have the right to permanent residence when you have had actual and real residence in Denmark under EU regulations for a period of at least 5 years.

The years must be consecutive and for the entire period you must continuously have met the conditions for residence under EU regulations.

Children, born in Denmark or having entered Denmark shortly after birth, whose parent/parents have permanent residence, can apply for a permanent residence permit immeditately after their birth or entry into Denmark.

What are the conditions?

To get permanent residence under EU regulations, you must meet the following conditions.

Actual and real residence means that you have lived your life and arranged yourself in such a way that you have had your existence and daily life in Denmark.

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

At any time during the 5 consecutive years, you must have met the conditions for residence under EU regulations.

You may have had several different grounds for residence during the 5 years. For example, you may have had EU residence as a student, worker or family member to an EU citizen.

As a third-country national, your grounds for residence can only have been as a family member to an EU citizen.

Read more about the different grounds for EU residence

Temporary residence abroad for a total of less than 6 months per year, however, will not in and of itself prevent you from getting permanent residence under EU regulations.

The same applies to absences of up to 12 months due to weighty reasons such as pregnancy and birth, serious illness, educational activities or vocational training or being stationed abroad.

Time spent abroad for more than 12 months due to compulsory military service, will also not in and of itself prevent you from getting permanent residence under EU regulations.

When should I apply for permanent residence under EU regulations?

You are an EU citizen

You can apply for permanent residence when you have been in Denmark for 5 consecutive years and meet the conditions. 

It is not mandatory to apply for permanent residence and there is no deadline for when you must apply. 

If you meet the conditions for permanent residence, you have this right, regardless of whether you submit an application or not.

If you do not meet the conditions for permanent residence, you must continue to meet the conditions for residence under EU regulations, This is the case regardless of whether you have been in Denmark for 5 years or more, and regardless of whether you have applied for permanent residence.

You are a citizen of a country outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland 

You can submit your application for permanent residence no sooner than one month before you have been in Denmark for 5 consecutive years.

However, you must always submit the application before your residence card expires.

Read about how you can apply for an extension of your residence card

What are my rights with permanent residence under EU regulations?

You have the same rights as with a non-permanent EU residence document.

You do, however, no longer have to meet the conditions of your previous grounds for EU residence. 

This means that you do not lose your right to permanent residence if you, for example, no longer work, study, run your own business etc.

Can I lose my right to permanent residence?

If you have been granted permanent residence under EU regulations, you retain your right to permanent residence as long as you have actual and real residence in Denmark.

Abroad for less than 2 years

You do not lose your permanent right to residence if you reside outside Denmark for less than 2 years.

When you return to Denmark, your municipality of residence will ask for a written confirmation from SIRI of your continued right to residence when you seek to register your address with the Civil Registration System (CPR). 

You only need the confirmation if your address has deregistered from the CPR register. If you have been abroad for ordinary holidays or the like, and your address has not been deregistered from the CPR, you do not need a confirmation.

Abroad for more than 2 years

If you have been granted permanent residence and will be staying outside Denmark for more than 2 years and you then intend to return to Denmark, you may in special cases get a dispensation, so that you do not lose your right to residence.

In your application for dispensation, you must document the reason for and length of your residence outside Denmark. SIRI can grant a dispensation for up to 2 years (in addition to the 2 years abroad you are allowed with a permanent right to residence).

Yes, if you have permanent residence in Denmark under EU regulations, receiving public benefits will not have any impact on your right to reside in Denmark.

SIRI will write you to inform you, if we are considering making a decision that could affect your right to residence, for example, if you have been abroad for a period of more than 2 years. In such instances, you will have the opportunity to provide information or documentation before we make a decision.

If you no longer meet the conditions for permanent residence or for one of the other types of grounds for residence under EU regulations, your attachment to Denmark will be taken into consideration as to whether you retain your right to residence. Other factors to be taken into consideration include how long you have lived in Denmark and your work history here.

Can my family qualify for permanent residence under EU regulations?

Your family does not automatically obtain the right to permanent residence because you have obtained the right to permanent residence.

Your family must have had actual and real residence in Denmark for 5 consecutive years and during the entire period met the conditions for EU residence. 

Your family members are not covered by your application for permanent residence. They must therefore submit their own applications for permanent residence (after 5 years of residence).

Read more about EU residence as a family member

Children, born in Denmark or having entered Denmark shortly after birth, whose parent/parents have permanent residence, can apply for a permanent residence permit immeditately after their birth or entry into Denmark.

What more do I need to know before I apply for permanent residence?

The ‘How to Apply’ tab on the right provides more information about the application process. Here your also find the application form, you must complete.

SIRI makes its decision based on the information and documents you submit with the application form. SIRI will contact you if we need more information when we process your application.

If you wish for SIRI to be able to give information regarding your case to others than yourself while we process your application, you must grant power of attorney to the person you wish to be able to access the information. The power of attorney must be submitted to SIRI preferably as part of your application.

If you state in your application that you are being represented by a solicitor, you do not need to submit a power of attorney. Solicitors, due to their profession, are automatically granted power of attorney. If you are being represented by a solicitor, SIRI will send all correspondence about your application to your solicitor.

Your application will be submitted to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

Make sure you have all documents ready in a digital format so you can attach them to the online application.

You must always attach:

If your grounds for residence has changed during your stay in Denmark, please submit documentation of your various grounds for residence.

If you are or have been a self-employed person you must also attach:

If you are or have been a student you must also attach:

If you are or have been a family member to an EU citizen you must also attach:

Expect to use

15 minutes

to complete the application form

1 person

You complete the application form yourself

In this step you have access to the relevant application form OD1C.

The form contain instructions on how to complete the form and what kind of documents you must submit along with the form.

 

Use the online form OD1C (opens in a new window)

 

Read about how we process your personal data

We recommend that you apply online, since digital applications often can be processed faster.

You can also choose to send a physical application – find a printable form and read more about the process

You can find your ongoing and completed applications for 30 days from your last login.

Log in to see your applications (opens in a new window)

If you a a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland, you must have your biometric features recorded in order to be issued a residence card. This means that you must have a facial photo taken and submit your fingerprints. Your facial photo and your fingerprints will be stored in a chip on the residence card you will receive, if you are granted a residence document.

If you do not agree to have your biometric features recorded, we cannot issue the physical residence card to you.

You can have your biometric features recorded in one of SIRI's branch offices. You can choose to do so while we are processing your application. You can also choose to wait, until we have processed your application and you have received your residence document. Please note, however, that the residence card cannot be issued before you have had your biometric features recorded.

Book an appointment to have your biometric features recorded in one of SIRI's branch offices (opens in a new window)

If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland you do not need to have biometrics recorded and therefore do not need to appear in one of SIRI's branch offices as part of your application for permanent residence.

If you attach all necessary documents to the application, and if you meet the conditions for your grounds for residence, SIRI can process your application quicker.

If any documentation is missing the case will take longer to process. 

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland, your residence card will be sent to the address that has been registered under your name in the Civil Registration System (CPR)

It is therefore important that your name is written on your mailbox. If your name is not written on your mailbox, there is a chance that the residence card will not be delivered to you, and that it will be sent back to SIRI instead.

You have the right to stay and work in Denmark while you wait for an answer.

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Last updated 03-07-2025 - Published by: SIRI