Visa

Denmark is part of the Schengen area, so a visa for Denmark normally gives the right to stay in the whole Schengen area. A visa issued by another Schengen country is usually valid in Denmark too.

Where do you apply?

As a starting point, your partner must apply at a Danish embassy, a Danish consulate general or an outsourcing office (usually a VFS Global visa application centre) in the country where they have legal residence. Your partner can also apply in another country where they are legally staying, but must then be able to explain why the application is not being submitted in the country where they live.

If Denmark has no mission of its own in the country, there is often an agreement with another Schengen country that processes visa applications on Denmark's behalf. In that case, that country's rules apply to the case, and an appeal against a refusal must be sent to that country's authorities. See the overview of where you can apply.

Citizens of a number of countries do not need a visa and can stay in Denmark for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. See which countries require a visa.

90 days in any 180 days

A person without a residence permit may stay in the Schengen area for no more than 90 days within 180 days. Both the day of arrival and the day of departure count. The calculation is rolling: for each day of the stay, you look back at the previous 180 days. The stay may never be more than 90 days in a row, but the days can be spread over several entries. Use the calculator below to count the days. The EU also has an official calculator, and the Danish Immigration Service (Udlændingestyrelsen) has a guide to it.

Do you want to apply for family reunification during the visit?

A visa is only for short visits. If the authorities get the slightest hint that the visa will be used to apply for family reunification, you have in practice written your own refusal. This applies not only to what is written in the application, but also to what your partner says, for example at an interview at the embassy or at border control, and to how they come across in general. The purpose is to visit their boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse, and that is what should be written and said. You can always get married and apply for family reunification afterwards.

It is legal to apply for family reunification of spouses in Denmark while on a valid visa. If your partner is staying here legally, for example on a visa, the application can normally be submitted and processed in Denmark, and your partner can stay in the country while the case is processed (procedural residence). This does not apply, however, if it is clear that you do not meet the conditions. If your partner has previously been refused family reunification because you did not meet the conditions, they cannot as a rule enter on a visa and apply again from Denmark, unless your circumstances have changed. While the case is being processed, your partner may not work, not even as a volunteer or unpaid.

ÆUG advises against mentioning family reunification in connection with the visa at all, whether in writing or orally, because the embassy has to follow the EU's Schengen rules, while the rules on family reunification are passed by the Danish Parliament (Folketinget), and the two sets of rules are not coordinated. So even if you plan to apply for family reunification, your partner must enter with a return ticket to their home country. Otherwise they may be held at immigration control on suspicion that they will not leave when the visa runs out.

For guidance on the visa practice of other European embassies, try the forum, the Facebook groups or our advice service.

Country groups

Countries whose citizens need a visa are divided into 5 main groups according to how great the risk is judged to be that a person from that country will use a visa for illegal immigration to Denmark or the other Schengen countries. It is citizenship that decides the group, not the country where you live. The groups are used for applications for private visits and tourist visits. See which group your partner's home country belongs to.

• Main group 1: countries whose citizens are judged to pose a very limited risk. As a starting point, citizens can get a visa for a tourist visit, even without a host in Denmark.
• Main group 2: countries with some risk. As a starting point, citizens must have a host in Denmark, but can get a visa whoever they are visiting.
• Main group 3: countries with a significant risk. As a starting point, citizens must have some connection to the host, for example as a spouse, cohabiting partner or boyfriend/girlfriend.
• Main group 4: countries with a high degree of risk. As a starting point, citizens can only get a visa if they are the host's spouse or cohabiting partner, child under 18 or parent. You only count as cohabiting partners if you have lived together at a shared address for at least 1 year and 6 months. So, as a starting point, boyfriends, girlfriends and fiancé(e)s cannot get a visa.
• Main group 5: countries whose citizens are judged to pose a particularly high risk of illegal immigration. A particularly restrictive practice applies, and as a starting point a visa is only issued in exceptional situations, for example if a family member in Denmark is critically ill or has died. You can also get a visa to visit a spouse or cohabiting partner in Denmark if you have previously been refused family reunification of spouses because you have never been to Denmark (the visitation requirement). This requires that the other conditions for family reunification of spouses are met. The collateral (financial guarantee), however, only has to be documented when you apply for family reunification of spouses again.

For main groups 2 and 3, you can also get a visa even if the authorities judge that there is a risk that the visa will be used to apply for a longer stay, provided the residence permit you can apply for is exempt from the waiting period (quarantine) rules. This applies, for example, to family reunification of spouses.

Exceptions

The groups are only a guide, and every application is assessed individually. The authorities can refuse a visa in any group if they judge that there is a risk that the applicant will settle or stay for a longer period in Denmark or the Schengen area. Previous visa stays where the rules were followed can count in favour of a visa. A citizen of group 4 or 5 who has a residence permit and a well-paid job in another country can therefore easily get a visa. On the other hand, a person from group 1 can be refused if there is well-founded suspicion of misuse.

Who should use an invitation?

You, the partner living in Denmark, can invite your partner. For main groups 2 to 5, your partner must as a starting point have a host in Denmark, and the host must confirm that the visit is expected. The Danish Immigration Service recommends that the host fills in the VU2 invitation form, but it is not a requirement.

As the host, you must have a permanent address in Denmark and will normally be a Danish citizen or hold a valid residence permit in Denmark. So once your partner has a residence permit in Denmark, they can also act as host for the rest of their family.

Sufficient funds

Your partner must document that there is enough money for the stay and the journey home. As a starting point, the authorities count on about DKK 3502026 per day, and about DKK 5002026 per day if your partner will be staying in a hotel. Your partner must always be able to document that the money is available. There are no requirements for your income as the host, so you can easily be the host even if you receive cash benefits (kontanthjælp) or the state educational grant (SU).

If you use an invitation, you fill in the VU2 invitation form as the host. If you have MitID and are registered in the CPR register with a Danish address, you can fill it in online. You then get an invitation ID, which you pass on to your partner so it can be used in the application. An online invitation is valid for 6 months.

More lenient visa rules apply to close family members of Union citizens who exercise their right to free movement. This covers, for example, the spouse or cohabiting partner of an EU citizen when the family member accompanies or joins the EU citizen while that person exercises their right to free movement in Denmark. The rules do not apply if the journey is not connected to the Union citizen's exercise of free movement.

If you are a Danish citizen and have lived in Denmark the whole time, the rules do not, as a starting point, apply to your foreign partner (except for Danish citizens who cross a national border between home and work). If, on the other hand, you have had genuine and effective residence in another EU country where you have lived together as a family, and you want to return to Denmark to live here, you may be covered. Nor do the rules apply to more distant family members, such as a spouse's sister.

A visa under the EU rules is free of charge and is processed under an accelerated procedure that may only take longer than 4 weeks in exceptional cases. The visa can only be refused if the applicant is a threat to public order, security or health, or if it has not been documented that the applicant is covered by the EU rules. No documentation of travel medical insurance or money for the stay is required. Your partner must, however, document that the Union citizen has exercised or will exercise their right to free movement, and that you belong to one of the categories of family members covered, for example with a marriage certificate and the Union citizen's registration certificate or civil registration number.

If you travel without a return ticket, problems can arise at check-in and at the border, so bring documentation that you are covered by the EU rules. Some embassies have written a short letter stating that a return ticket is not needed. Otherwise, consider whether it is easiest just to buy one. See the special EU rules on nyidanmark.dk.

How to apply

The application usually starts online in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' system ApplyVisa. Your partner must then hand in the application in person at the Danish mission or at a visa application centre, in most places VFS Global. When submitting the application, your partner will normally have their fingerprints taken. Embassies and visa centres work in different ways, so check the mission's website and book an appointment in good time.

The visa fee is normally EUR 90 (2026), and EUR 45 (2026) for children aged 6 to 11 inclusive. If you apply through a visa application centre, you also pay a service fee to the centre. It varies from country to country.

The mission can make the decision itself or pass the case on to the Danish Immigration Service, and the answer is sent to the mission where your partner applied.

When should you apply?

What do you need to enclose?

As a minimum, your partner must enclose:

• your invitation, either on paper or as an invitation ID if you filled it in online
• travel medical insurance that is valid in the whole Schengen area for the entire visa period and covers at least EUR 30,000 (2026), including repatriation and emergency treatment
• a valid passport that is valid for at least 3 months beyond the visa period, was issued within the last 10 years and has at least 2 blank pages
• a passport photo measuring 35 x 45 mm
• documentation of the purpose of the journey, of where your partner will stay, of money for the stay and the journey home, and that your partner will leave the Schengen area again when the visa expires

Documentation of your relationship

If either of you is registered as married to someone else, a visa will not be issued for a visit to a boyfriend or girlfriend.

If you are refused

If the refusal was due to missing documentation, you can ask for the case to be reopened. If your circumstances have changed since the decision, your partner must apply again instead. See what you can do if you are refused, and feel free to contact our advice service.