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FAMILY

New Danish rules on bringing foreign spouses to apply ‘at point of decision’

Anyone whose application to come to Denmark to join a Danish partner is still outstanding when new rules come into force on July 1st will be treated under the new rules, the Danish Immigration Service has confirmed.

Published: 6 May 2024 10:54 CEST
New Danish rules on bringing foreign spouses to apply 'at point of decision'
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This means that they will only have to deposit 57,000 kroner in an account for their local municipality, rather than 114,000 kroner under the existing rules, and also means the Danish partner will not have to prove they have reached Danish 3 or higher in a Danish test if they have worked in Denmark full time for five years or more. 

The new rules, which make small but still significant changes to Denmark’s draconian system of family reunion for spouses, are set for their final vote in the Danish parliament on May 30th.  

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“If the proposal is passed, the new rules will come into force on 1 July 2024,” the service said in a press release. “However, it will also be possible to have an application submitted before this time processed under the new rules when they come into force.”

In the press release, the service said that it planned to contact those who have already submitted applications under existing rules to ask whether they wanted to delay a decision until after the new rules have come into force. 

It also said that people whose applications for family reunion were refused before the proposal was presented to the Danish parliament on April 11th, either because they could not meet the financial guarantee or because of the language requirement, would be able to submit a new application after the rules come into force on July 1st. 

Many spouses who have moved to Denmark under the existing rules still have more than 100,000 kroner sitting in a bank account reserved for the use of their local municipality should they become unemployed, or require other support. 

The Local is waiting for clarification from the agency over whether they can now withdrawn some of the funds — in some cases as much as 57,000 kroner — so that the amount reaches the lower level of 57,000 kroner stipulated in the new rules.  

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RESIDENCE PERMITS

Foreign spouses already in Denmark will not get back 57,000 kroner deposit 

Danes and foreign partners who have already deposited up to 114,000 kroner to qualify for family reunification, will not be allowed to withdraw some of the money when a new law halves the required security in July, Denmark's immigration service has told The Local.

Published: 15 May 2024 09:47 CEST
Updated: 15 May 2024 11:50 CEST
Foreign spouses already in Denmark will not get back 57,000 kroner deposit 

The new law on spousal reunion, which should be voted through parliament on May 30th, proposes that the bankgaranti, or bank guarantee, the deposit couples need to leave in an account accessible to their local municipality, be halved from 114,000 kroner to 57,000 kroner (both 2024 level) from July 1st.  

However, according to the Danish Immigration Service, couples who have already completed the process before July 1st and have already deposited the full guarantee will not be able to draw down their deposit to the new, lower, sum. 

“A concluded case resulting in a residence permit issued prior to the proposal is not subject to the new rules. Therefore, it will only be possible to reduce the collateral guarantee requirement with the amounts applicable before the amendment of the law,”  the immigration service told The Local in a written statement. 

The purpose of the bank guarantee is ostensibly to ensure that municipalities can draw from the fund to pay for costs such as unemployment benefits, if the family reunified person needs them.

But the requirement may have little practical effect because foreign nationals resident under family reunification rules are likely to lose their residence status anyway if unemployed, negating the need for social welfare benefits.

READ ALSO: What’s in the new law on bringing a foreign spouse to Denmark?

The immigration service told The Local that anyone whose application had yet to receive a decision at the time the new law was presented to parliament on April 11th will be invited to request that the decision on their application be delayed until after July 1st, so that their application will only need to meet the new more lenient rules. 

In these situations, it said, the spouse already residing in Denmark will generally be contacted via their Digital Post and asked whether they want the decision on their case to be delayed.  

Couples who have had their request for family reunion rejected “due to non-compliance with the current requirement for collateral guarantee or the current language requirement”, will be allowed to sbmit a new application under the new rules after July 1st.

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