Residing in a private residence
As an asylum seeker, you can apply to the Danish Immigration Service for permission to live in a self-financed residence in Denmark until you are granted a residence permit, leave Denmark or are deported.
A self-financed residence can be a regular rental unit, including a sublet, in a house or other form of residential property. You can also live in a rented room (klubværelse). Single asylum seekers can rent a large flat together. However, you do not have the right to purchase real estate in Denmark.
Because it is the responsibility of the Immigration Service to ensure that asylum seekers’ living conditions are acceptable, the residence, as well as you, need to meet certain requirements in order to be approved.
Requirements for residing in a self-financed residence
The residence you would like to live in needs to meet the following requirements:
- It needs to be suitable accommodation for your household
- It needs to be reasonably sized. The number of people living in the residence may not be more than double the number of rooms, or there must be at least 20 sq. metres of living space for each person living there
- It needs to have heating and electricity, as well as access to a kitchen, toilet and bathroom
- It may not be located in a municipality that is not receiving refugees in accordance with the Integration Act (integrationsloven). As of 1 January 2024, these are: Albertslund, Bornholm, Brøndby, Gladsaxe, Glostrup, Høje-Taastrup, Hørsholm, Ishøj, Læsø, Odder, Rebild and Vallensbæk
As an asylum seeker, you need to meet the following requirements:
- You need to find and pay for the residence yourself
- You need to enter into a contract with the Immigration Service specifying the conditions under which you may live in the residence. These conditions include co-operating with the immigration authorities seeking to process your application for asylum and/or assisting with the deportation process if you have received a final refusal of your application for asylum, or if you have withdrawn your application
- You and the landlord need consent to the Immigration Service inspecting the property to ensure that you and any family members living with you are living under reasonable and suitable conditions
- You need to document that you can support yourself. You will be considered financially self-sufficient if your household income (yourself and any individuals over 18) is enough to support your family. Although you are not required to have a job, it will most often be the case
- At least 6 months must have passed from the time you applied for asylum
- The Immigration Service must have decided that your application for asylum is to be processed in Denmark
- Neither you nor a member of your household may, at any time, have been expelled (administrative expulsion) because you were considered a danger to national security or a serious threat to public order, safety or health
- Neither you nor a member of your household may, at any time, have been sentenced to expulsion by a court
- Neither you nor a member of your household may, at any time, have been sentenced to prison (served or suspended) for criminal offences committed in Denmark
- Neither you nor a member of your household may be covered by the grounds for exclusion in the UN Refugee Convention (flygtningekonventionen) (for
example, if there is reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime against peace or humanity, a war crime or a serious crime of a non-political nature)
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Neither you nor a member of your household may have had a residence permit that has lapsed in pursuant of the Aliens Act section 21 b (that means where there is reason to believe that the person during a stay abroad, has participated in activities that threaten, or have the potential to threaten, national security, the public order or the security of other states).
- The Immigration Service may not be processing your request for asylum according to the manifestly unfounded procedure or the expedited version of the manifestly unfounded procedure. Read more about processing applications for asylum
If you are a minor
If you are a minor asylum seeker, you may only be permitted to live in a self-financed residence if, after a specific assessment of i.a. age and maturity, the Immigration Service finds that it would be in your best interests to live in a self-financed residence, and if certain requirements are met.
You can receive healthcare but no cash allowances
If you would like to live in a self-financed residence, neither you nor any other member of your household (typically your spouse or child) may receive cash allowances. You may work, if you meet the requirements. Read more about employment options for asylum seekers
You and any family members living with you can receive necessary healthcare at the asylum centre with which you will be affiliated. You will also continue to have access to education and other activities.
Apply to reside in a private residence
Use application form IN1 when applying for permission to move into a self-financed residence. The application form includes detailed instructions for how to fill it in, and which types of documentation you need to enclose.
You can fill in the application form in Word format on your computer before printing it out. The application form is also available as a PDF file that can be printed out and filled in by hand.
Download form IN1 for print:
If your application is approved
The Immigration Service’s approval to live in a self-financed residence applies until you are granted a residence permit, depart Denmark or are deported. If your residence is only available for temporary rental, your approval will expire when your rental period ends.
The Immigration Service can revoke its approval to live in a self-financed residence (meaning that you and any family members living with you would need to resume living at an asylum centre) if you no longer qualify, or the other requirements specified in the contract are no longer met. Situations that would result in your approval being revoked include failing to co-operate with the Immigration Service seeking to process your application for asylum or no longer assisting with the deportation process if you have received a final refusal of your application, if you are expelled or incarcerated, or if you are no longer financially self-sufficient
If your application is refused
If the Immigration Service decides that you may not live in a self-financed residence, you can appeal the decision to the Immigration Appeals Board within 8 weeks after you have received the decision. However, refusals based on the residence’s geographical location cannot be appealed.