Guidelines on Danish Permanent Residence

It is no wonder that people who migrate to top immigration destinations end up wishing settling down there on permanent basis. With its welcoming immigration schemes for overseas skilled workers Denmark has emerged as a new immigration hub in recent years. And of course, after living in this peaceful and clean country for a while, every immigrant thinks of becoming a permanent resident of Denmark. While Danish immigration policy is quite immigrant-friendly, there are certain requirements that an applicant must meet to become eligible to apply for its permanent residency.

Here are the requirements that you must meet in order to obtain permanent residency (PR) in Denmark.

• You must be above 18 years of age.
• You must have lived in Denmark for at least 5 years.
• You must have held a regular full-time employment or have been enrolled in an education course for at least 3 of the past five years prior to lodging your PR application. Also you must be working or studying in Denmark when the permanent residence permit is granted.
• You must still be qualified to apply for temporary residence.
• You must not be involved in any criminal activities. If you have been imprisoned for more than 18 months in past, you cannot apply for

Danish permanent residency. In case your imprisonment lasts less than 18 months, even then you remain temporarily disqualified from receiving permanent residency until Danish government ensures your character.

• You must not have received certain public benefits in Denmark for three years prior to lodging your visa application, or while your visa application in being processed. Also, you must not have overdue public debts such as day-care payments, housing benefits payments, taxes, etc.
• You must submit a signed

Declaration of Integration and Active Citizenship in Denmark.

• You must pass the Danish language test 1, which is an oral test, or equivalent test to prove that you have preliminary knowledge of Danish language.

In addition, the Danish government allows foreign nationals under special cases to apply for permanent residency without necessarily meeting the above mentioned requirements. These special cases include:

• You have been an asylee in Denmark for past 8 years and have shown interest to integrate with Danish society.
• You have studied or worked continuously in Denmark after completing your primary education. For this you should be between 18 and 19 years of age.
• You have strong family or community connection in Denmark.
• If you are a pensioner then you are exempt from the minimum 3-year education/employment requirement.

In addition, people who are EU citizens or family members of an EU citizen need to meet some special requirements in order to obtain permanent residency in Denmark. However, they can reside in Denmark on temporary basis without a visa.

The application for Danish permanent residency can be lodged online as well as offline; however, you must make sure that you have all the necessary documents arranged in proper manner in order to avoid any unnecessary delays. Taking assistance of a registered Danish immigration consultant canbe of great help in this context.

Manoj Kumar is Professional Writer presently writing for Go for Visa an Immigration Consultants in Delhi.