The food allowance program for asylum seekers
If you as an asylum seeker do not live up to the obligations specified in the Danish Aliens Act, the Immigration Service can place you, and your family, if applicable, on the ‘food allowance’ program.
In actuality the program is normally used if you have received a final rejection of your application for a residence permit in Denmark, have not left the country by the set deadline and are refusing to assist the police with the departure process.
If you live at a center with a cafeteria where free food is served, and you are on the food allowance program, you will be paid neither basic allowance, supplementary allowance nor caregiver allowance.
If you live at a center where free food is not served, and you are on the food allowance program, you will receive a basic allowance and caregiver allowance but no supplementary allowance.
Families with children under 18 on the food allowance program will receive one ‘child package’ every 14 days per child, regardless of age. The child package contains e.g. fruit, soft drinks and a few sweets.
Only in very special cases, the Immigration Service can set aside the food allowance program for foreign nationals who are not assisting the authorities with the deportation process. For example, exemptions may be made if you are an unaccompanied underage child or if you are suffering from certain kinds of life-threatening illnesses.
If the Immigration Service places you on the food allowance program, you can appeal the decision to the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.
Relocation to a departure center
If you have been on the food allowance program for four weeks and still refuse to assist the police with the departure process, the police can recommend to the Immigration Service that you should be transferred to a departure center. The Immigration Service will then make a relocation order. The relocation order will be announced by the police.
Relocation orders are intended as an incentive, especially if an asylum seeker whose application has been rejected refuses to assist the authorities with the deportation process.
A relocation order also applies to your under 18, if applicable.
When the Immigration Service makes a relocation order, you and your family must immediately move to a departure center. If you refuse to abide by the relocation order, you can be detained by the police.