Denmark’s new immigration rules have been announced for different visa and immigration categories. The first is a change in rules for permanent residence and family reunification visas which will be in force from 1 July. On the other hand, the second one is the “Executive Order” which will come into force on 1 June 2024. It is about model workers’ permission on visit visas and visa duration for family members of work permit holders.
1- The Bill for Family Reunification and Permanent Residence Changes
New Bills have been passed by the Danish Parliament on 30 May 2024 regarding family reunification and permanent residence in Denmark. On 1 July 2024, new rules for both of these routes will come into force. This new rule applies to applications for permanent residence and spousal reunification submitted on or after 11 April 2024.
Permanent Residence
On 30 May 2024, the Danish Parliament adopted new rules on permanent residence permits and spousal reunification. This means, among other things, that the condition of not having committed certain types of crime has been tightened so that also a charge or indictment for certain types of offenses will in the future prevent the granting of a permanent residence permit.
The same applies to the so-called transferred conditions for a permanent residence permit, which apply to applications for spousal reunification where the resident spouse is a foreigner, but not a refugee.
Family Reunification
The major changes that will affect the requirements of the family reunification visa are as under:
- the financial security that must be provided will be reduced from approximately DKK 114,000 to DKK 57,000; and
- the spouse must have passed either minimum a test in Prøve I Danish 3 or an equivalent Danish test, or through collective integration
- the resident spouse documented having been in ordinary full-time employment for 5 years, which has significantly involved communication in Danish.
2- Executive Order for Model Workers and Family Members of Work Permit Holders
On 1 June 2024, a new Aliens Executive Order will come into force, which contains a new exemption rule for models and a change to the duration of the residence permit for accompanying families in the business area.
Model workers
A fashion model can work for shorter periods without a work permit in Denmark. It is a requirement that the foreigner must work in connection with companies holding significant and international fashion shows or fashion fairs. The two requirements should be met in order to benefit from the new rules:
- The model worker can work in Denmark for up to 3 separate work periods of up to a total of 3 days duration within 180 days;
- To perform these tasks, you must be either a citizen of a visa-free country or you have been issued a Schengen visa.
Family members of work permit Holders
For all work visa streams in Denmark, it will be possible for an accompanying family to obtain a residence permit for the same period as the family member who is in Denmark to work (the main applicant).
The families of foreigners with a residence and work permit under the supplementary amount scheme and the supplementary amount track under the fast track scheme, where a foreigner can obtain a residence permit for up to 5 years. Until now, it has only been possible for the accompanying family to obtain a residence permit of up to 4 years.
Files from Umer Rasib, NY i Denmark, and schengenvisa.news