Solution needed for my filipino GF to stay in Denmark (or Sweden) with me!

[Dominus]

Hey everyone, I have a filipino gf that is an au pair in Denmark and her visa expires in mid October. We cannot imagine to be separated anymore thus desperately searching for a solution that would let her stay in Denmark with me.
I am 23 years old EU national (not danish) and she is 25. According to the Danish law both of us have to be at least 24 so we could apply for family reunification after getting married (or 23.5 in exceptional cases(?)).

I heard that collateral payment is only required for Danish nationals? or has it changed?

Also how quick after getting married you can apply for family reunification in Denmark?

I will be 23.5 on 7th of October (while her visa expires on 17th October), so it's a very tricky time period and 23.5 might not be enough at all and if we can't manage it in time then everything goes bad and she doesn't have any other choice but to go back to the Philippines as it won't be enough time to find a new host family in other country. But again in other thread i read that if we apply by EU law her visa expiration does not matter anymore?


So is there any other solution that would let her to stay in Denmark ? I heard some countries have fiance visa? Becoming a student is not an option since the tuition fee is insanely high for non eu nationals.

Is marrying and moving to Sweden can be a solution ? I would still work in Copenhagen, but can my gf get residence permit in Sweden once we get married and I have an address in Sweden?

We are so confused among tons of information and different national and EU rules....We have a desperate situation and running out of time, so any help would be highly appreciated. Tusind tak!

[mh1]

If you are not Danish, but live in DK as an EU-citizen, you just need to have a sufficient income for both of you.

EU-rules trump the Danish, so just forget about all that crap, and read this instead:
http://www.statsforvaltningen.dk/site.aspx?p=6028 >
http://www.statsforvaltningen.dk/site.aspx?p=6116

It is not forbidden to get married under 24, there would only be the problem of your gf having to obtain the necessary documentation for application to get married. She needs a CENOMAR and it needs to be legalized both by the local authorities (DFA) and by the Danish embassy, both of which are in Manila. She can either go to Manila herself to get the papers (which she will not have with her, because they need to be less than 6 months old), or ask a family member to get them for her.

[Dominus]

If you are not Danish, but live in DK as an EU-citizen, you just need to have a sufficient income for both of you.

EU-rules trump the Danish, so just forget about all that crap, and read this instead:
http://www.statsforvaltningen.dk/site.aspx?p=6028 >
http://www.statsforvaltningen.dk/site.aspx?p=6116

It is not forbidden to get married under 24, there would only be the problem of your gf having to obtain the necessary documentation for application to get married. She needs a CENOMAR and it needs to be legalized both by the local authorities (DFA) and by the Danish embassy, both of which are in Manila. She can either go to Manila herself to get the papers (which she will not have with her, because they need to be less than 6 months old), or ask a family member to get them for her.

Thanks for a quick reply. what income specifically are we talking about? and is there any other relevant documentation that would take longer time to obtain ?

[mh1]

No specific sum, but since a residence card can be revoked if she 'becomes a burden', that is: if you need to apply for welfare in order to exist, it should be enough for two people to live on.

[Dominus]

No specific sum, but since a residence card can be revoked if she 'becomes a burden', that is: if you need to apply for welfare in order to exist, it should be enough for two people to live on.

thanks... but what about age requirements, 20sq m per person, at least 15 hours per week job for me? I am so confused cos my friend got married under EU rules and they were asked to meet all of my mentioned requirements..

[skaanebo]

You confuse Danish law with EU laws. There are two separate set of laws that govern these issues but in your case, you only need to comply with EU laws as you are not a Danish citizen. So there is no requirement at all about the size of your residence.

[mh1]

Then your friend should shut up - s/he is NOT "married under EU rules".

THIS is official information:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=460&langId=en

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/re ... dex_en.htm

[Dominus]

Then your friend should shut up - s/he is NOT "married under EU rules".

THIS is official information:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=460&langId=en

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/re ... dex_en.htm

thanks again. Is there any place in Copenhagen where we could go and talk with representatives with knowledge of EU rules and application process ?

[skaanebo]

You can go to Statsforvaltningen which will advice you on how to fill out the application and which also handles all applications.

[Dominus]

I will go to stats later this week, but lately i got a lot of info from some of my friends that applied already.... especially about job requirements:

1. they said you must have at least 15 hours per week job and it has to be stated in my contract.
2. It must be not fixed contract (unlimited)

the problem is that I am working as a part timer and even though I usually have way more hours than 15 per week but it is not stated in the contract. Our company is closing in October and if i switch to a full time position, i will get fixed contract which is not good enough (?) for stats... but there will be a new company that will take over and most probably it will take over employees as well. I should find out about this next month, so i thought maybe some kind of confirmation from my employers that my fixed full time contract will be extended to unlimited one once the new company takes us over would be okay for stats?...

everything is so confusing...!

[skaanebo]

Your friends bring hearsay into the picture that has no foundation in the laws whatsoever. Forget about them and listen to the sound advice you get here.

Minimum requirement is 8-12 hours on average per week. It doesn't have to say in the contract. If by showing payslips you can prove you have worked 40 hours for each of the past 3 months, that's fine.

[Dominus]

Your friends bring hearsay into the picture that has no foundation in the laws whatsoever. Forget about them and listen to the sound advice you get here.

Minimum requirement is 8-12 hours on average per week. It doesn't have to say in the contract. If by showing payslips you can prove you have worked 40 hours for each of the past 3 months, that's fine.

Thanks again, you always calm me down with your replies but could you give me any link to this info about 8-12 hours and payslips ? I can't manage to find it online

[Dominus]

So we went to stats last week and they said that the main requirement in our case is my salary (also 10-12 hours per week which is not a problem), which should be at least 13.000 dkk after taxes and i have to provide payslips of previous 3 months... so i encounter a problem again, cos last months i was close to 13k but few thousands short.
Also they said if I have a fixed contract, the EU residence card will be valid only until the termination date of my contract. . For now i have non fixed contract but it is a part time and if switch to a full time position, it's gonna be fixed, until october 31st, so the EU card will be valid until that date as well, unless i get a new contract and then we have to reapply in stats again.
Stats employee mentioned that it depends on a case worker, sometimes they ignore that you are few thousands short in your payslips of previous 3 months, but it's a risk, and my GF's visa expires in october, so we really don't have much time...

Any suggestions?

[mh1]

I am pretty sure there is no minimum sum required for EU-residence, nor do you have to prove that you will be working in the future (which is virtually impossible!).

If you were a Danish citizen who had been residing in Sweden as an employee in Sweden, there would be no such requirement.

I am pretty sure the one you talked to is confused by the fact that you are an EU-citizen, who has made use of your right to free movement as a worker and wants to be reunited (as it would be seen) with your spouse.

[Dominus]

I am pretty sure there is no minimum sum required for EU-residence, nor do you have to prove that you will be working in the future (which is virtually impossible!).

If you were a Danish citizen who had been residing in Sweden as an employee in Sweden, there would be no such requirement.

I am pretty sure the one you talked to is confused by the fact that you are an EU-citizen, who has made use of your right to free movement as a worker and wants to be reunited (as it would be seen) with your spouse.

so how can I know the correct way of applying if even stats employee can't tell all info? should we just apply immediately after getting married despite that my previous payslips were lower than 13k dkk?