Apply for a passport for foreign nationals

Foreign nationals residing in Denmark will normally hold a national passport. A national passport is renewed by the diplomatic mission (embassy or consulate general) of the country that issued it. The embassy may be situated either in Denmark or in another country.

Some foreign nationals cannot obtain a passport from the authorities in the country of which they are a citizen.

If you hold a Danish residence permit as a refugee you cannot be required to apply for a passport from the authorities in the country of which you are a citizen. Instead, you can be issued a passport by the Danish authorities.

If you hold a Danish residence permit and are recognised as stateless under the United Nations Convention of 28 September 1954 relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, you are entitled to an alien’s passport, which states that the holder has been recognised as stateless in accordance with the convention.

The Immigration Service can also issue an alien’s passport to foreign nationals who hold a Danish residence permit, for example, as a family-reunified person, if the authorities in the country of which they are a citizen will not issue a national passport.

There are 2 types of passports issued to foreign nationals:

• A convention passport (a Danish travel document for refugees)
• An alien's passport
   

The requirements you need to meet in order to qualify for an alien’s passport depend on the type of passport you are applying for.

The fee for obtaining a new passport depends on your age, and if necessary whether you can present your last issued passport.

The prices for a passport in 2026 are: 

• Children 0-11 years: DKK 150
• Children 12-17 years: DKK 181
• Persons aged 18-66: DKK 893
• Persons aged 67+ (state retirement age): DKK 381.

Double fee if you cannot present your last issued passport

You have to pay a double fee for your passport, iIf you have previously received a passport from the Immigration Service and you are not able to show your most recent passport when you apply for a new passport – e.g. because you have lost or damaged your recent passport. 

How do you pay the fee?

You must pay the passport fee online at newtodenmark.dk. You can pay the fee using a payment card. Follow the instructions in the application form.

If a passport cannot be issued to you, the fee will be refunded.

Read more about the payment terms when paying the passport fee

In certain cases, you may be able to extend the validity of your current passport issued by the Immigration Service. There is no fee for extending the validity of a passport.

Read more about the situations in which the validity can be extended and how to apply for an extension of your passport’s validity

The Immigration Service can refuse to issue or revoke a convention passport or alien’s passport if:

• you have a pending criminal case and there is some suspicion that you will travel abroad,
• you have received a prison sentence that has not been served, have been imposed a confiscation or fee that has not been paid and there is some suspicion that you will travel abroad,
• you have not fulfilled your obligations towards public authorities or a private party, and your presence in Denmark, therefore, has to be ensured,
• there is reason to believe that you will travel abroad to join activities that endanger the state’s safety or other states’ safety or will pose a significant threat to the public order,
• you are a minor and there is reason to believe that you will be sent abroad to get married or  to be sent on a re-education, 
• you have been issued multiple replacement convention passports or alien’s passports within the last few years because you lost your passport,
• there is reason to believe that you or someone else has destroyed or removed parts of your passport,
• there is reason to believe that you have provided or attempted to provide someone else with your convention or alien’s passport or someone has attempted to travel to the Schengen region with your passport,
• you have deliberately withheld information or given incorrect information which has led to you or someone else receiving travel documentation that will not include the holder’s photo, correct name, date of birth, or other personal information,
• we decide that issuing you a passport would pose a threat to national security or the public order, or otherwise not be in Denmark’s best interest, or
• you have been imposed an exit ban by a court ruling under the Criminal Act’s section 236 (1), no. 5. 

The Immigration Service cannot refuse to issue or revoke a convention or alien’s passport if doing so will be against Denmark’s obligations under international law. 

If you have a residence permit as a convention refugee or you have been issued an alien’s passport that states that you are stateless, the Immigration Service can only refuse to issue a passport if not doing so would pose an immediate threat to national security or the public order.

Even if the requirements for refusing to issue or revoke a convention or alien’s passport are present, the Immigration Service can make an exception and issue you a new passport if there are exceptional reasons for doing so. It may, for instance, be that you have lost your passport several times within the last few years and received a new one, but you can prove that it was lost in a fire or that it was stolen and found by the police.  

If the Immigration Service refuses to issue you a convention passport or alien’s passport you will be barred from holding a passport for five years, unless there are exceptional reasons for issuing you a new passport. Such reasons include: the death or serious illness of an immediate family member living abroad, or planned work-related travel that would be particularly disruptive to your work, or result in substantial financial loss for you or your employer, if not completed. In such cases, you can be issued travel documentation that will be valid for the specific trip.

Young people who are subjected to force

If you are a minor or related to a minor, and think that you or your relative will be sent on a re-education trip or a trip where a marriage or a marriage-like relationship will be entered into, you can contact the Immigration Service’s hotline for young people subjected to force. You can also write to us via the Immigration Service’s contact form.

If you have been granted refugee status in Denmark, your passport will state that it is invalid for travel to your home country or the country where you risk persecution. You can apply to the Immigration Service to have this travel restriction revoked.

Read more about travel restrictions for refugees
 

When children with a residence permit in Denmark go on a school trip, they are normally required to have a valid passport. Schools are therefore encouraged to ensure well in advance that all children have a valid passport.

Children who do not have a passport and are unable to obtain one in time may still participate in school trips if they are listed on a school travel list and are traveling to an EU or Schengen country covered by the school travel list scheme.

Read more about school travel lists
 

The Immigration Service only issues laissez-passer to a very limited extent and your application has to show cause. We do not issue laissez-passer for vacation trips.  

You can be granted a laissez-passer if you have a residence permit in Denmark and wish to travel out of the country, but do not hold any other valid travel documentation. 

For instance, it may be that you have to travel out of the country in order to apply for a new passport from the authorities in your home country. 

Read more about laissez-passer