Understand the housing requirement in minutes

[Kim P. Nyberg]

The housing requirement is a requirement that is not so easy to figure out, so I'll briefly go through it here.

Firstly, it must be a self-contained unit. What does that mean? It means that it can either be a rental property, a cooperative home, a commune, or an owner-occupied property. It can also be a student residence or dormitory. There must be an independent entrance, meaning you must be able to close and lock your own door. Especially in older buildings and communes there may be shared rooms, such as a bathroom and/or kitchen, and this is acceptable. However, a rented room in a private villa or renting all or part of your parents' house will not be accepted.

Secondly, there is the size of the home. There are two options here, and you only need to fulfil one of them to be in the clear. There must EITHER be maximum 2 persons per room - i.e., living rooms, bedrooms, children's rooms, guest rooms, offices - OR at least 20 square meters of living space per person. The latter is calculated on basis of the entire home.

There are several things to keep in mind here: Firstly, the housing requirement is generally considered to be met if you have an owner-occupied home, regardless of its size and regardless of the number of living rooms. Secondly, the Immigration Service always asks for a floor plan where the measures of all rooms are recorded. However, there is no requirement in the Immigration Act that each individual room must be measured, so you are not obliged to provide them with that information. Instead, you can attach the contract or deed to the property and a printout from the BBR register of the property. This contains the information they need.

If you are a tenant, and your lease is a fixed term lease, it must be valid for at least 18 months going forward (from the time you submit your application for family reunification), or you mut must have a lease with no end date.

Finally, the property must not be located in a “vulnerable neighbourhood”, as it is called. In other words, the neighbourhood must not be on the “housing requirement list”, popularly known as the “ghetto list”.

Frequently asked questions about the housing requirement:

If my home is in a neighbourhood on the ghetto list, can my spouse be granted family reunification with me in that home? No, you must move.

What if the neighbourhood is not on the ghetto list when we apply, but it is put on the list after we have applied? Then you may stay in your home, or you may move. It's up to you. The same applies if you need to extend your residence permit and the neighbourhood has been added to the list while you have been living there together.

If we move, does the new home also have to fulfil the housing requirement? Yes, and this applies regardless of how far along you are in the process.

However, you can choose whether you want to inform the Danish Immigration Service of the new address in connection with the move itself, or whether you want to wait until your residence permit is due for renewal. It just needs to be done at the latest when the residence permit is due for renewal.

We have a new addition to the family, i.e., a child, so we are now too many people per room, or have too little space according to the housing requirement. How do we stand here? You don't have to do anything unless you feel that the space is too small. There is no requirement that you move to a larger apartment.

NOTE: This requirement does NOT apply to you, if you submit an AO1 application.

[Kim P. Nyberg]

EXCEPTIONS TO THE REQUIREMENT:

You do not have to fulfil the housing requirement if you have special children - i.e. minor children from a previous relationship - and where the child or children have regular access to both parents, for example in a 7-7 or a 4-3 arrangement or equivalent.

Similarly, the requirement does not need to be met if your sexual or religious orientation is an obstacle to exercising family life in your spouse's home country.

[Kim P. Nyberg]

The first post has been edited by today's date.