Asylum border procedure

With the implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, from 3 September 2026 the Minister for Immigration and Integration may, in special circumstances, decide to activate a so-called asylum border procedure.

The procedure may be activated for a period of up to 6 months, with the possibility of extension.

The procedure may last no more than 12 weeks from the time the application is registered. This period includes both the Danish Immigration Service's examination of the application for asylum and the Refugee Appeals Board's examination of any appeal.

Who can, as a general rule, be subject to the asylum border procedure?

The asylum border procedure may, as a general rule, apply to applications for asylum submitted at the external border, i.e. sea and air borders, where there are grounds from the outset to presume that the application for asylum will be refused.

An applicant may, for example, be referred to the asylum border procedure if they intentionally mislead the authorities, pose a threat to national security or public order, or come from a third country where the recognition rate for asylum is low, i.e. 20% or less.

Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers will, as a general rule, not be subject to the asylum border procedure.

Appeals under the asylum border procedure and return border procedure

A decision made under the asylum border procedure is not automatically considered to have been appealed, and, as an overriding general rule, an appeal does not have suspensive effect. This means that the foreign national will be subject to return while the appeal is being examined.

In exceptional cases, an appeal may have suspensive effect if the Refugee Appeals Board finds, based on the circumstances of the individual case, that there are special reasons for doing so.

If an appeal is given suspensive effect, any deadline set for departure will be suspended while the appeal is being examined.

If the Refugee Appeals Board is unable to make a decision within the overall 12-week time limit, and the failure to comply with the time limit is not due to the case having to be referred for examination by the full Board or other wholly exceptional circumstances, the applicant must also be permitted to enter Denmark while the appeal is being examined.