Adopted Child, Foster Child or Close Family Member

If you are under 18, you can be granted a residence permit in Denmark under the rules for family reunification if the residence permit is granted for the purpose of: Adoption Residence as part of a foster-family relationship, or Residence with a close family member

A ‘close family member’ can be your biological parent (if he/she is not your custody parent), your siblings, your grandparents and your parents’ siblings.

You can only be granted a residence permit as a foster child if very special conditions apply.

Family reunification as a close family member can only be granted if very special reasons apply.

The person whom you want to be reunified with must be a Danish resident and may not have parental custody of you.

be a citizen of Denmark or another Nordic country

hold a permanent residence permit for reasons other than asylum, or

hold a Danish residence permit that allows you to apply for a permanent residence permit.

the person applying to adopt you has been approved as an adoptive parent,

The application for residence permit is normally submitted by the adoption agency DIA, which is Denmark’s only approved international adoption facilitator.

How closely attached you are to the person you are applying to live with in Denmark (your foster parent)

What other caretakers you have

Whether your foster parent has supported you financially in your home country

The municipality where your foster parent lives must approve of your foster-family relationship.

Your foster parent in Denmark must be self-supporting. This means that your foster parent may not have received social benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act (lov om aktiv socialpolitik) or the Integration Act (integrationsloven) prior to you being granted a permanent residence permit.

Your foster parent in Denmark must assume responsibility for supporting you financially until you turn 18.

Your close family member in Denmark must be self-supporting. Being self-supporting means that your close family member may not have received social benefits under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act (lov om aktiv socialpolitik) or the Integration Act (integrationsloven) prior to you being granted a permanent residence permit.

Your close family member in Denmark must assume responsibility for supporting you financially until you turn 18.

Your close family member in Denmark must have an independent, reasonably sized residence at his/her disposal. This is known as the housing requirement.

the number of people living in the residence may not be more than double the number of rooms, or

there must be at least 20 sq. metres of living space for each person living there.

Residence permit to the adopted child is granted by the Immigration Service based on an application.

The application for residence permit is normally submitted by the adoption agency DIA, which is Denmark’s only approved international adoption facilitator.

The fee is DKK 8,490,-

If your application for family reunification is approved, you will initially be granted a temporary residence permit, typically valid for one year. If you and the person in Denmark still meet the requirements for residency, your residence permit can be extended.

When you turn 18 years, it may be possible for you to obtain a permanent residence permit by meeting relaxed requirements.