From June 23, new rules go into effect for accompanying family members of foreign national employees who have been granted permanent residence in Denmark or Danish citizenship. The rule change also applies to the accompanying family members of international students and green card holders granted permanent residence or Danish citizenship and accompanying family members who have a residence permit under the repealed expatriate Dane scheme.
Key Changes
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Accompanying family members can extend their residence permits, even if their sponsor (the foreign employee) has been granted Danish citizenship.
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When an accompanying family member applies for an extension, the sponsor with permanent residence or Danish citizenship has to meet the conditions for an extension of the residence permit which they had when they were granted permanent residence or have employment that qualifies for a residence permit under one of the current work schemes.
- Additionally, the residence permits of accompanying family members of foreign nationals who have been granted permanent residence based on the Fast-track scheme, the Researcher scheme, the ESS scheme, the scheme for Ph.D. students, and joint-degree students are no longer exempt from lapsing. As a result, if accompanying family members give up their residency in Denmark or stay out of Denmark for more than six months, their residence permits will lapse.
The previous conditions remain in place, including having a shared address, the sponsor’s ability to support their accompanying family financially, and ineligibility to receive any benefits under the Active Social Policy Act.
Erickson Insights
The rules will apply to all cases from June 23, 2022, and for cases in which the accompanying family members had applied before the law came into effect. The Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) may require additional information for their case processing. Learn more about applying for a residence permit under the new scheme and applying for an extension of a residence permit under the new scheme.
Erickson Immigration Group will continue to share updates as more news is available. If you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions, please contact your employer or EIG attorney.