Stine Bertelsen Head of Section Permanent Residence Ryesgade 53 2100 København Ø Telephone: 35 36 66 00 Web: E-mail: [email protected] How to be granted permanet residence How to apply The process Requirements according to The Danish Immigration Law 1. You must still qualify for temporary residence 2. You must be over the age of 18 3. You must have resided in Denmark legally for at least 5 years 4. You must not have a criminal record 5. You must not have any overdue public debts 6. You must not have received certain types of public benefits for a period of three years 7. You must have submitted a signed declaration of integration and active citizenship in Denmark 8. You must have passed Prøve i Dansk 1 or a Danish language test of an equivalent or higher level 9. You must have held regular employment, or been self-employed, or been enrolled in an educational programme for at least three of the five years prior to qualifying for permanent residence 10. You must currently be working or studying at the time of qualifying for permanent residence Requirements 1. You must be over the age of 18 2. You must not have a criminal record 3. You must have submitted a signed declaration of integration and active citizenship in Denmark 4. You must have passed Prøve i Dansk 1 or a Danish language test of an equivalent or higher level You must have legally resided in Denmark for at least 5 years All types of legal How to calculate residence is included Work or studies Interruption abroad can be included You must still qualify for temporary residence You must still meet the conditions in your latest temporary residence permit A hearing will be sent to The Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment Confirmation of a valid permit, or a decision regarding extension of your residence permit You must not have any overdue public debts Overdue? A debt is considered overdue if the amount has not been repaid by the due date. Reprieve Repayment schedule If you are granted a reprieve, your You cannot obtain a permanent debt will not prevent you from residence permit if you have obtaining permanent residence. overdue public debts, even if you However, your outstanding debt have agreed to a repayment may not exceed DKK 110,077.13 schedule Public debt = • Public benefits according to the Social Service Act or Active Social Policy that you are required by law to repay (e.g. overpaid social benefits) • Child support paid to a former partner • Day-care payments • Overpaid housing benefits • Public housing loans (boligindskudslån) • Taxes and levies, unless the amount in arrears is due to circumstances beyond your control Other debts, such as student loans, bank loans or private housing loans are not considered public debts and will not prevent you from obtaining a permanent residence permit You must not have received certain types of public benefits for a period of three years awarded under The Active Social Policy Act (Aktivloven) The Integration Act (Integrationsloven) Examples of public benefits that will prevent you from obtaining permanent residence: • Social security (kontanthjælp) • rehabilitation (revalidering) • Danish Start Help benefits (starthjælp) Examples of public benefits that will not prevent you from obtaining permanent residence: • Student grants (SU) • Allowances paid during periods of unemployment (arbejdsløshedsdagpenge), • Illness (sygedagpenge) • Paternity leave (barselsdagpenge) • Pension, including early age pensions • Assistance (boligstøtte) • Financial support to an employer upon hiring you in a ‘løntilskud’ or ‘flexjob’ position • Fully subsided childcare (friplads) You must have held (a) regular employment, (b) or been self-employed, (c) or been enrolled in an educational programme for at least three of the five years prior to qualifying for permanent residence. (a) Regular employment Regular employment means, that your salary and working conditions live up to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or standard wage and working conditions. It also means that your employer must not have received public funds to pay all or some of your wages (løntilskud). Absence from your work due to sick leave, holiday, parental leave etc is included in the period of employment. 30+ hours a week = full time employment. Full credit for the entire period of employment. 15-29 hours a week = part time employment. Credit amounting to 60 % of the period of employment. Unemployment You do not need to have been employed for three years straight. You would still meet the requirement if you, within the past five years, have been unemployed for one or more periods, for less than a total of two years. (b) Self-employed Self-employment carries the same weight as regular employment. Working in your spouse’s company can also qualify as regular employment. (c) Education The following educational activities can be included: • Completed upper-secondary and vocational programme • Bachelor´s and/or master’s degree programme • Business academy programme • Professional bachelor’s degree programme • Post-secondary degree programme in the arts • Other type of post-secondary programme If you have been admitted to an officially accredited educational institution, you will receive credit for the full duration of the programme, calculated on the basis of the number of ECTS credits earned. Only coursework completed in the five years prior to qualifying for permanent residence can be included. Work and education abroad Work Education • As part of your employment i • As part of an education in Denmark for Denmark, e. g. – a Danish public institution – Bachelor degree programme – a private company – Master degree programme – a non-government organization – PhD degree programme – a foreign or Danish aid agency One or two years can be included. The full length of time can be included. You must currently be working or studying at the time of qualifying for permanent residence or admitted to a you must be working higher education at at a minimum of 15 an officially hours a week accredited institution • employed in a non-terminated indefinite position, • in another way prove that you expect to be in continuing employment, e.g. if you are employed in a non-terminated temporary position where there is still a part of the period of employment left, or • if you are self-employed. How to apply Fill in the application forms -The application form for permanent residence (TU4) and for extention of your current residence permit Enclose the relevant documents Remember to sign the application forms Pay the fee (5,450 DKK) Hand in your applications Have your biometric features taken within 14 days from applying Re-entry permit If your temporary residence permit has expired and you want to travel during the processing of your case you can apply for a re-entry permit: • Until decision regarding permanent residence -> The Danish Immigration Service • If permanent residence is denied and application for extension is pending -> The Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment Remember to update us if there are any changes in your situation while your application is being processed .