Accompanying Family — Retired Employee of an International Organisation

You want to apply for a residence permit as the spouse, cohabiting partner or child of a foreign national who has retired from a position in Denmark with an international organisation or the like.

The Immigration Service defines ‘permanent cohabitation’ as living together at the same address for a minimum of 18 months.

of a foreign national who has been granted a residence permit after retiring from a position in Denmark with an international organisation or the like (referred to as ‘sponsor’ below).

You need to have a residence permit granted by the Danish Foreign Ministry under the terms of Aliens Act section 47 (1) (ii) as the accompanying family of the sponsor. You cannot be granted an exemption from this requirement.

If you are married, your marriage needs to be legal under Danish law.

Both you and your spouse need to have been present during the wedding ceremony

Neither you nor your spouse can have been represented by someone else during the wedding ceremony

You and your spouse need to have been over 18 at the time of the wedding

You cannot be granted an exemption from the requirement that your marriage or relationship must be voluntarily.

A marriage or relationship that has the primary goal of qualifying you for a residence permit will be considered a ‘marriage of convenience’.

The sponsor needs to have partial or full custody over you. You cannot be granted an exemption from this requirement.

You may not have started a family of your own.

A residence permit as a spouse or cohabiting partner to a sponsor is conditional upon you and the sponsor not receiving public financial benefits during the period of your residence permit.

You need to have DKK 61,709.34 (2026 level) set aside to repay your municipality should it pay you social benefits.

You need to have passed Prøve i Dansk 1 or another Danish test of an equivalent or higher level.

If you are granted a residence permit as an accompanying spouse or partner, you need to live together with the sponsor at the same address in Denmark. You cannot be granted an exemption from this requirement.

If you are accompanying a spouse or partner, you will be granted a temporary residence permit, valid for 2 years or less. If you still meet the requirements for residency, your residence permit can be extended.

If you are an accompanying child you will be granted a temporary residence permit, typically until you turn 18. If the primary applicant has a temporary residence permit, your residence permit will expire when his/her residence permit expires.

you can apply for permanent residence permit once you have held a temporary residence permit for 8 years, provided you meet certain requirements. In some cases, you can qualify after 4 years.

If you are granted a residence permit in Denmark, you do not need a work permit in order to work.