Apply for family reunification as a spouse

Conditions you must meet

• The marriage must be legally valid under Danish law, or you must be permanent cohabitants

  If you are married, your marriage needs to be legal under Danish law. In order for your marriage to be declared valid in Denmark, it needs to have been valid in the country where it took place. A marriage can’t be declared valid in Denmark if it violates Danish laws.

• What makes a marriage valid: both present, no proxy, both 18 at the ceremony

  This means that: Both you and your spouse need to have been present during the wedding ceremony Neither you nor your spouse can have been represented by someone else during the wedding ceremony You and your spouse need to have turned 18 at the time of the wedding

• The partner in Denmark must assume responsibility for supporting the applicant

  Your partner in Denmark needs to assume responsibility for supporting you financially if you need it. The application form includes a statement declaring that your partner assumes responsibility for supporting you. Your partner needs to sign this statement.

• Both partners normally need to be at least 24 years old

  You and your spouse/partner normally need to be at least 24 years old in order for you to qualify for family reunification. This is known as the 24-year requirement.

• The couple must COLLECTIVELY meet 4 of 6 integration conditionsQuoted with the split — three conditions on each person — because the number alone does not convey that it is a joint score.

  Normally, you and your spouse/partner in Denmark collectively need to meet 4 out of a total of 6 integration-related conditions. 3 of the conditions apply to you, the applicant, and 3 apply to your spouse/partner in Denmark. If, for example, your spouse/partner meets all 3 of the conditions that apply to him/her, then you would only need to meet 1 of those that apply to you. If, on the other hand, your spouse only meets 1 condition, you would need to meet all 3 that apply to you.

• Full-time means an average work week of at least 30 hours

  Full-time work should be understood to mean an average work week of at least 30 hours.

• The educational programme must be from an accredited organisation

  In order to satisfy this condition, your educational programme needs to have been offered by an accredited organisation. Completing an accredited educational programme means, for example, that you are considered certified in your field, and that the quality of your programme is regulated by the laws of your home country.

• A programme completed without passing the final exam does not count

  If you completed an educational programme but did not pass the final exam, it cannot be counted towards this condition.

• The applicant normally needs to have visited Denmark at least once

  You, the applicant will normally need to have visited Denmark at least once.

• No minimum length, but the visit must have been legal

  There is no minimum requirement for the length of your visit, but you need to have been in Denmark legally (meaning that you entered from another EU country, you held a residence permit, you held a visa or were covered by a visa-waiver programme).

• Entering Denmark as an asylum seeker does not satisfy the visit requirement

  You do not meet this requirement if you e.g. entered Denmark as an asylum seeker.

• After approval: a Danish test at A1, then at A2An obligation that begins when the permit is granted, not before.

  If you are approved for family reunification and granted a residence permit, first you will need to pass a test in Danish at the A1 level or higher , and hereafter you will need to pass a test in Danish at A2 level or higher . Read more about tests in Danish and how to register

• A1 normally within 6 months of the permit being granted

  Normally, you will need to pass a test at A1 level within 6 months of being granted a residence permit. You will normally need to pass a test at A2 level within 9 months of being granted residence permit. Read more about deadlines for passing a test in Danish

• The residence permit can be revoked if the tests are not passed in time

  If you don’t pass the tests in time, your residence permit can be revoked.

• The sponsor must have an independent, reasonably sized residence in Denmark

  You, the spouse/partner of the applicant, need to live in Denmark and have an independent, reasonably sized residence at your disposal. This is known as the housing requirement.

• Reasonably sized: no more than two people per room, or at least 20 sq m each

  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.

• The sponsor's residence must not be in an area on the housing requirement listA condition about the address rather than the people, and invisible unless stated.

  You, the applicant’s spouse/partner, will normally be required to reside in an area that is not mentioned in the current regulation about housing requirement list. See the current version of the housing requirement list (in Danish only)

• The area is assessed when the application is submitted; moving there later does not disqualify

  Your residence must not be placed in an area mentioned on the housing requirement list at the time your spouse/partner submits his/her application for family reunification. If the area where your residence is located is later included on the housing requirement list, you will still meet this requirement. If, after your spouse/partner submits his/her application, you move to an area that is mentioned on the housing requirement list, your residence will no longer meet this requirement.

• The sponsor must be self-supporting

  Normally you, the applicant’s spouse/partner in Denmark, need to be able to support yourself. This requirement means that if you have received certain forms of social benefits at any time in the past three years, your spouse/partner can’t be approved for family reunification. The forms of social benefits that will prevent your spouse/partner from being approved for family reunification are those made under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act (lov om aktiv socialpolitik) or the Integration Act (integrationsloven).

• Even short periods on cash benefits in the past three years can defeat the self-support requirement

  Even short periods on social benefits such as cash benefits (kontanthjælp) in the past three years can be enough to prevent you from meeting the self-support requirement.

• The sponsor must post collateral of DKK 61,709.34 (2026 level)DKK 61,709.34 collateral

  Normally, you, the spouse/partner of the applicant, will need to have DKK 61,709.34 (2026 level) set aside.

• The collateral must be a demand guarantee or an escrow account

  The money can be available as a demand guarantee (anfordringsgaranti) or placed in an escrow account (deponeringskonto). Read more about the financial guarantee

• MANDATORY for the sponsor: Prøve i Dansk 3, or 5 years' employment with significant Danish communicationRequired regardless of the 4-of-6 score. Quoted with both branches, because either alone is not the condition.

  It is a mandatory condition as part of the integration requirement, that you need to have: passed Prøve i Dansk 3 or another Danish test at the same or higher level, or been in employment for 5 years with significant communication in Danish.

• A sponsor who is not a Danish or Nordic citizen must have held permanent residence for at least three years

  You need to have held a permanent residence permit at least the past three years.

Documents you must provide

• Both partners must sign a declaration of active participation in language learning and integration

  You, the applicant, and your spouse/partner in Denmark will both be asked to declare that you will actively participate in your efforts to learn Danish and to integrate into Danish society. If you have children who will be accompanying you to Denmark, you and your spouse/partner will also be asked to actively participate in their Danish-language learning and integration.

Government fees

• Application feeDKK 8,490

  The fee is DKK 8,490,-

Also stated by the authority

Not requirements in themselves. These are alternatives, exemptions, rights and warnings the authority publishes alongside the requirements — quoted here because they can change what applies to you.

• The application may be submitted when the younger partner is 23 years and 6 monthsRegistered because the 24-year rule alone would make people wait six months longer than they must.

  You may submit your application for family reunification when the younger spouse/partner is 23 years and 6 months.

• When the 24-year requirement can be suspended

  The Immigration Service can suspend the 24-year requirement in special situations, such as if you, the applicant’s spouse/partner in Denmark: are raising minor children who have an attachment of their own to Denmark, or if you have contact with minor children from a previous relationship. Read more about minor children are seriously ill or have a serious disability. Read more about serious illness/disability Work in a field that is included on the Positive Lists. Read about the Positive Lists Work for the Danish state and hold a position of special importance for Denmark’s security or foreign policy. For more information, see the Ministry of Integration’s memorandum of 26 May 2003 (in Danish only)

• Conditions trade between the partners — the authority's own worked example

  If, for example, the applicant meets all 3 of the conditions that apply to him/her, then you only need to meet 1 of those that apply to you. If, on the other hand, the applicant only meets 1 condition, you need to meet all 3 that apply to you.

• Integration condition: Prøve i Dansk 1 or an English test at B1 level

  You meet one of the conditions of the integration requirement if you have passed Prøve i Dansk 1 or another Danish language test of an equal or higher level. Alternately, you can satisfy the condition by passing an English language test at the B1 level or another English test that are equivalent to or at a higher level

• Integration condition: full-time work for at least 3 of the last 5 years

  You meet one of the conditions of the integration requirement if you have worked for at least 3 of the last 5 years prior to applying for a residence permit.

• Integration condition: at least 1 year of completed education

  You satisfy one of the conditions of the integration requirement if you have completed at least 1 year of education.

• The collateral can be reduced if the applicant passes two Danish tests

  The amount of money you need to have available can be reduced if your spouse/partner passes two tests in Danish. In some situations, the guarantee can be released entirely. Read more about reducing and eliminating the financial guarantee

• What the five-year employment branch requires

  You can also meet the requirement if you have held a regular, full-time position, or been self-employed for at least 5 years in Denmark, which has significantly involved communication in Danish.

• Expected maximum processing time

  The expected maximum processing time is 10 months