Apply to extend a residence permit as a religious worker

If you are a member of the clergy, missionary or serve a religious order in some other capacity, such as a nun or monk, you can be granted a residence permit for 7 months. Permits can be extended for 1 year at a time, for a maximum of 3 years in total.

If you are authorised to perform weddings, your residence permit can be extended for 2 years initially, and then for a period of 3 years and 5 months. Subsequent extensions will be granted for four years at a time, with no upper limit on the number of extensions.

If you are granted the right to perform weddings after your initial 3-year residency as a religious worker, your residence permit cannot be extended. Instead, you will need to apply for a new residence permit according to the current rules for first-time applicants.

Furthermore, your residence permit can be extended only up to 3 months prior to your passport’s expiry date. In other words, if your passport expires in 12 months, your residence permit can be extended for only 9 months.

National passports are renewed by the embassy or consulate of the country that issued them. Convention and alien’s passports are renewed by the Immigration Service.

The Immigration Service does not extend temporary residence permits for less than six months.

Normally, the Immigration Service does not grant exemptions from the extension test or the course in Danish family law, individual rights and democracy. Exemptions can be granted if you can document that you were unable to take the extension test or to complete the course in Danish family law, individual rights and democracy. Examples of valid reasons for granting an exemption include severe hearing and speaking disabilities. An exemption can only be granted if you present recent medical documentation for your condition when applying for your residence permit.

You can be granted an exemption from taking the course in Danish family law, individual rights and democracy if you possess sufficient knowledge of Danish family law, individual rights and democracy. You can be granted an exemption if you for example have taken a course that is similar in scope to the Danish family law, individual/fundamental rights and democracy course, or if you have earned a degree from a Danish educational institution in law, social work or similar field.

If you completed a course in Danish family law, individual rights and democracy as part of your approval to perform weddings, you do not need to take the Danish family law, individual/fundamental rights and democracy course when applying for an extension of your residence permit as a religious worker.

The Immigration Service grants exemptions from taking the extension test and the course in Danish family law, individual rights and democracy on a case-by-case basis. Because applications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, the Immigration Service cannot give a binding answer about whether you would need to take the extension test prior to your application being submitted.

Turkish citizens

In 1963, Türkiye and the EU entered into an association agreement as a way to extend certain rights to Turkish citizens working or otherwise economically active in some other way in an EU country. The European Court of Justice has issued a number of rulings that have determined how the agreement is interpreted.
Based on these rulings, it has been concluded that if you are a Turkish citizen applying to extend your residence permit as a religious worker, you cannot be required to take the extension test or the course in Danish family law, individual rights and democracy. 

You are not required to pass the extension test or to complete a course in Danish family law, individual rights and democracy, as is otherwise required for religious workers seeking to extend their residence permit. The reason is that religious workers are viewed as being economically active.

If you are a Turkish citizen and are uncertain about whether you are exempt from taking the extension test or the course in Danish family law, individual rights and democracy, please contact the Immigration Service.

Citizens of EU/EEA countries

Citizens of EU/EEA countries who apply for a residence permit as a religious worker are not required to pass the extension test or to complete a course in Danish family law, individual rights and democracy.

It is very important to submit your application for an extension before your current residence permit expires. You may not submit your application more than 3 months before your residence permit is due to expire.

If you submit your application in time, you may remain in Denmark legally while your application is being processed.

If you do not apply in time

If you do not submit your application in time, you should expect the application to be rejected on the grounds that you would be in Denmark illegally. The application will be rejected regardless of how briefly you are in Denmark illegally.

If your application is rejected because you missed the deadline, you will need to leave Denmark and apply for a new residence permit in your home country. Your application will be considered a new application for a residence permit, and will be processed based on the current rules for first-time applicants. These rules may not be the same as the ones you had to meet when you were granted your residence permit.

If you are staying in Denmark illegally, you risk being punished for illegal residence. You also risk being deported and banned from entering Denmark or any other EU or Schengen country for up to two years.

If Denmark’s international obligations demand it, an application is allowed to be submitted even though it is submitted to late. This means that you have a legal residence while we process your application for extension. However you can risk being punished for illegal residence in the period from your residence permit expired and until you submitted your application for extension.