Permanent Residence Permit as an 18-Year-Old

When you are between the ages of 18 and 19, and you have worked full-time or studied continuously since completing primary school, you can obtain a permanent residence permit by meeting lenient requirements.

You must have resided in Denmark legally for 8 years or longer.

If you have turned 19, you cannot be granted a permanent residence permit under lenient requirements.

During the entire period, you need to have had a residence permit under terms of the Aliens Act sections 7-9 f, sections 9 i-9 n or section 9 p (residence permit granted on the grounds of family reunification, asylum, studies or work etc.).

You can also meet the requirement if you have had multiple residence permits during your period of residence. This would be the case if you were initially granted a residence permit based on family reunification, and then as a refugee.

It is a maximum of one year of education abroad that can be part of the calculation.

If, since completing primary school, you have had periods when you were neither enrolled in school nor working, unless it is a usual holiday period, you will not qualify for a permanent residence permit under

You must have has a valid residence permit in Denmark in the entire period of staying abroad, or have been granted a dispensation from lapsing of the residence permit in the period of the stay abroad.

You must be aware that normally it is a condition in order to get a permanent residence permit that you reside in Denmark, when the Immigration Service makes a decision in your case.

If you have been sentenced to less than six months of incarceration or a suspended prison sentence, you will be temporarily ineligible for a permanent residence permit. However, if you have been sentenced to more than six months of incarceration, you are permanently ineligible for a permanent residence permit.

You can still be granted a permanent residence permit if you have been granted an extension to repay outstanding debt. However, the amount you owe may not exceed DKK 143,100.98 (2026 level).

In order to qualify for a permanent residence permit you may not have received certain types of social benefits within four years of applying for a permanent residence permit.

The decisive factor when evaluating whether you have received social benefits is whether they have been awarded under the terms of the Active Social Policy Act (lov om aktiv socialpolitik) or the Integration Act (integrationsloven).

You need to accept a declaration of residence and self-support.

You need to pass the Danish language test 2 (Prøve i Dansk 2), or a Danish exam of an equivalent or higher level.

You may not have worked deliberately against the establishment of your identity in connection with your application for a residence permit or extension of your residence permit.