Questions and answers

When you are granted a residence permit in Denmark as a refugee, and you have not previously held a Danish residence permit, you are subject to the regulations stipulated in the Danish Integration Act relating to housing placement. These regulations specify that the Immigration Service will decide where in Denmark you are to live. This is called allocation.

When the Immigration Service allocates a refugee, i.e. decides in which municipality he/she is to live, the decision is based on the number of refugees each municipality must accept (its quota). Thus a refugee must be allocated to a municipality that according to the quotas must receive and allocate the refugees.

Read more about the establishment of quotas at us.dk (only in Danish)

Allocation decisions are not only based on the quotas but also on the basis of your circumstances and the situation in the individual municipality and surrounding municipalities.

Possibility of employment

A key consideration that will be taken into account is your possibility of employment. In connection to this your educational and professional skills can be emphasized as well as your work experience in conjunction with information about the labor market and the educational conditions in the municipality and surrounding municipalities. Furthermore, information about other relevant conditions in the municipality can be taken into account.

If you have demonstrated that you have an actual and real job offer, you will generally be allocated to the municipality in which the workplace is located or in a nearby municipality. The job offer must at least be 15 hours per week and it must not be temporary unless it is an offer of a basic integration education (integrationsgrunduddannelse), cf. Act on basic integration education (lov om integrationsgrunduddannelse). You must present written documentation of the job offer, i.e. an employment contract or an agreement on a basic integration education that the Immigration Service has to have received by at the time of the allocation decision.

Certain personal circumstances

The Immigration Service also takes into account that there can be certain personal circumstances that are in favor of an allocation to another municipality. For example, if you have close familial relations to persons who are living in Denmark or if you have certain needs for special care etc.

Last place of residence

In decisions of allocation the Immigration Service can also take your last place of residence into account.

Your personal circumstances are examined during the asylum case processing. The examination is based on the residence placement form. It is important that the Immigration Service is notified if any new information arises that may be relevant for the case. Use this information form to inform the Immigration Service

If you have a special tie to a municipality you can be allocated to this municipality even though the municipality according to the quotas should not receive any (more) refugees (A so-called 0-municipality). This can be the case if you were placed in an institution or in family care in the municipality before you were granted your residence permit, or have close family members living in the municipality, or if other certain circumstances exist.

If you can demonstrate, before the Immigration Service’s decision on allocation, that you have an actual and real job offer and that the overall transportation time between your residence and work will be more than 2 hours by public transportation, and that you are allocated to a municipality that has to receive and allocate refugees, you can be allocated to the municipality where the workplace is located or to a nearby municipality.

When the Immigration Service has decided where you will live, you will be informed about the decision by mail. The Immigration Service also informs the chosen municipality about the decision. The municipality then receives relevant information about the personal circumstances of you and a copy of the residence placement form.

When you receive the message about being granted a residence permit you will also receive an administrative CPR number from the Danish Immigration Service. An administrative CPR number is a regular CPR number that initially is made for the use of the public authorities’ administrative case processing. Only when your residence is registered at your local municipality, you will obtain the rights that are a part of the CPR number, e.g. health insurance.

It is important that you inform that you have received an administrative CPR number when you are entered into the Civil Registration System (CPR) in your local municipality in order to avoid double registration.

Read more about how the Immigration Service issues administrative CPR numbers

When you have applied for asylum in Denmark and you have a national passport, the passport will be confiscated and used in the case processing. It will be kept at the National Center of Foreign Nationals (Nationalt Udlændinge Center) or at the Immigration Service. The passport is not returned to you automatically after you have been granted a Danish residence permit.

If you wish to get your national passport back after you have been granted a residence permit and have been recognized as a refugee in Denmark, you have to contact the Immigration Service. Hereafter you will be asked to appear at the Immigration Service in Center Sandholm for a short interview. The interview will be about why you want your passport back and you will be given guidance about the rules concerning lapse and revocation of a residence permit.

If you also possess a convention or alien’s passport

As a refugee you are not allowed to be in possession of both a national passport and a convention or alien’s passport at the same time. If you wish to get your national passport back and the Immigration Service has issued a Danish convention or alien’s passport to you, one of the passports must be deposited at the Immigration Service. The passport that is deposited at the Immigration Service will stay valid until its expiration date. You can always contact the Immigration Service to exchange the passports.

Contact us in due time

The Immigration Service recommends that you contact the Immigration Service early on if you wish to get your national passport back. Furthermore the Immigration Service recommends that you do not buy plane tickets or other forms of tickets before you have been at the Immigration Service in Center Sandholm for the interview. The reason being, that there can be a few weeks waiting period for an interview.

While you are still staying at the asylum center you will receive education in the transition phase from the asylum center to the municipality. The educational material ’Tjek DK’ is a standard package with educational material which the asylum centers use for the teaching. Read more about education of refugees in the transition phase (in Danish only)