The new eased rules are expected to be a part of the new immigration policy for Family Reunification in Denmark. The Immigration and Integration Minister tabled a bill in the Danish Parliament on 11 April to relax the family visa rules. This will help reduce the security amount to apply for the family reunification visa and alternative language proficiency (Danish) ways.
The bill when passed will finally come into effect on 1 July 2024. It will also be possible to have an application submitted before this time processed under the new rules when they come into force.
However, in specific cases, the Danish Immigration Service will allow the resident spouse to indicate whether the couple wants the case to be further processed pending the expected entry into force of the new rules.
What changes will be a part of the new rules?
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.
Reapply rights to applicants with a negative decision
Applicants who were finally refused spousal reunification before the bill was introduced on 11 April 2024, citing failure to meet the current requirement for financial security or the current language requirement for the resident spouse, have the opportunity to submit a new application for spousal reunification after the bill’s expected entry into force.
Permanent residence rule changes
The bill also addresses the change in permanent residence requirements.
The requirement that an applicant may not have been convicted of certain crimes is tightened, so that also a charge or indictment of certain crimes in the future will prevent them from getting a permanent residence.
The same applies to the transferred requirements for a permanent residence permit, which the applicant must meet when they apply for family reunification of spouses if the spouse in Denmark is a foreigner but not a refugee.
Files from Umer Rasib, NY i Denmark, and schengenvisa.news