What to do after getting married? (EU law)

[baai]

Hi,

First let me thank you for the good advice that you give on this forum.

I'm EU citizen (Italy), and I've been working in Denmark for about 2 years. My wife is from Thailand. We got married recently, but after her visa expired. Now we're looking into applying for a EU residence card for her, and I would like to be sure that we take the right steps in the right order...

As I understood it, she needs to apply by filling the OD1 form. Can they deny her a residence card given that she will apply from Denmark while not residing here legally anymore?

By the way, I have read somewhere that, according to Directive 2004/38/EC, she can now travel within the EU without visa and stay in an EU country for a short time, as long as she is accompanying me. Is that true?

Thank you very much!

[mh1]

You will find all the necessary information here - Statsforvaltningen is the place to go to:

http://www.statsforvaltningen.dk/site.aspx?p=6028

[baai]

Thanks mh.

Does anybody know whether she is covered (through me) by Danish health system?

If I understand EU rules correctly, she should be. However, since she doesn't have a valid visa at this point, I don't know how these rules must be interpreted. Do all of them apply regardless of her immigration status?

[baai]

Allow me to insist in the "visa expired" thing. I went to citizen service just to get the form in paper and ask a few questions, and I got an "arrival form" to specify where she came from in the EU.

Thanks,

[skaanebo]

Once you send in the papers applying by EU law, you have legal residence in Denmark instantly.

An expired visa has no bearing on this legal residence obtained by submitting the papers.

As for travelling outside Denmark, this is a rather theoretical question. In theory, yes, it's possible, in practise it's not. It will only be possible once the Danish residence card has been issued.

As for health insurance, simply visit Borgerservice and apply to get a Danish personal number and your address registered into the people's registry.

[baai]

Hi again,

Today we went to the International Office and our case worker basically said that the application was perfect, but that she couldn't take it because my wife 's visa has expired. He threatened us to call the police and have her deported. We tried to complain and get the reason for rejecting our papers in writing, but the case worker refused to do so. They instructed us to go to the main offices, but still warning us that they may well call the police.

Thanks very much in advance.

[uidroot]

I had the same question but was told that this shouldnt happen. Let us know how did it go, can you tell what kommune you applied?

[mh1]

What kind of "International Office" did you go to?

You must go to 'Statsforvaltningen' and hand in your papers, as it is the ONLY authority that handles EU-citizen cases. Your wife must register there.

Do it ASAP.

[baai]

We went to:

International Citizen Service East
Gyldenløvesgade 11
1600 København

It's listed here http://www.statsforvaltningen.dk/site.aspx?p=6110:

The application must be submitted to one of The State Administrations departments. You can also apply at International Citizen Service in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense or Aalborg.

They process applications for EU residence, as well as other things (CPR and Tax card). The people working in the EU-residence section are, as far as I know, from Statsforvaltningen.

[skaanebo]

People are only human beings. And in this case it's a clash between Danish laws that require that in order to obtain a residence permit, the person must be in the country legally, and EU laws that have no such requirement.

So the employees you have encountered are not that familiar with EU laws as far as I can tell. For that reason it's probably better to visit Statsforvaltningen to get the residence card.

Still, it is actually International House that should register your spouse into the people's registry. But you should get a receipt from Statsforvaltningen that you have applied for a residence card there and show it to them at the International House. Then, hopefully, they will be more cooperative.

[uidroot]

baai, any updates on your side?

[baai]

Well, it took us two more days, having to discuss EU law with a few case workers, and tons of patience. At the end they allowed us to apply, but they looked at our application very thoroughly. They also "forgot" that we needed a receipt, but finally she got a stamp on her passport, and a receipt.

Thanks for the advice.

[uidroot]

what point convinced them? Sounds like you have to argue and convince them and try your luck.

[uidroot]

baai

Can you please tell me the city halls around malmo that provide witness and has 1 week notice time? Do you think malmo city hall provides witnesses?

[skaanebo]

Try Staffanstorp or Lomma