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Private visits and tourist visits Denmark

Countries with a visa requirement to visit Denmark are divided into three national categories - an asylum group, an immigration group and a tourist group.

Different rules for visa issuance apply to the three groups.


Each visa application will be processed individually, so the division into groups is intended as a guideline only. If the applicant has previously held a visa and met the conditions, this may play a part in the processing of a later visa application. Extraordinary circumstances may also be relevant to the case, for example if the family member residing in Denmark suffers from a life-threatening illness or has died.

The Immigration Service may also issue a visa to persons who have not previously held a Schengen visa, even if the applicant does not belong to the group of persons who can normally be issued a visa. This can apply in cases where the Immigration Service assesses that there is no immigration or security risk.

Likewise, it applies to all three groups that the Immigration Service may turn down an application for a visa if it suspects that an applicant intends to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country, or that he or she may pose a security risk.

The asylum group
The following countries currently comprise the asylum group:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and stateless Palestinians. However, special conditions apply to Iraqi and Somali citizens (see below). Stateless persons other than Palestinians will be assessed based on their country of residence.

Citizens from these countries are generally only granted visas if they are spouses/registered partners/cohabiting partners, children under the age of 18 or parents of the person residing in Denmark. Cohabiting partners are defined as persons who can document that they have lived together with the person they wish to visit in Denmark in a permanent relationship at a shared address for at least 18 months.

Iraqi and Somali citizens will normally only be granted a visa in extraordinary situations, e.g. if a family member residing in Denmark suffers from a life-threatening illness or has died.

An agreement reached in May 2009 with the Iraqi authorities on the return of Iraqi refugees has not altered this practice. The Ministry of of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs will assess the effectiveness of the agreement once statistics are available.

In some cases, Iraqi and Somali citizens can be granted a visa in order to visit a spouse or cohabiting partner, but only if the applicant has previously applied for family reunification and has been turned down because he or she did not meet the attachment requirement.

I these cases, a visa can be granted if the spouse/partner residing in Denmark has a considerable attachment to Denmark; if the marriage is legally valid, and if the other conditions for family reunification with a spouse are met (e.g. the housing requirement and the requirement that he/she has not received certain types of public assistance within the past 12 months). However, the spouse/partner residing in Denmark is not required to produce the demand guarantee connected with the collateral requirement at this point. This will only be required in connection with a later application for family reunification.

The immigration group
The immigration group is divided into two sub-groups:

A group whose citizens are required to have a personal or familial relationship with the person residing in Denmark.
A group for which no such relationship is required.
The following countries are currently listed as part of the immigration country category whose applicants are required to have a personal or familial relationship with the person residing in Denmark:

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Cameroon, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, India, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Macedonia (FYROM), Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Russia, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam and Yemen.

Citizens from countries in this group are normally granted visas if they are spouses/registered partners/cohabiting partners, boyfriends/girlfriends and fiancés/fiancées, children irrespective of age, parents, siblings and their spouses.

Visas are also granted to nieces, nephews and grandchildren under the age of 18 who wish to come to Denmark for a temporary holiday visit unaccompanied by their parents or another adult, close acquaintances of previously foreign-stationed Danes, sponsor children and applicants accompanying older, frail family members.

In order to grant visas to boyfriends/girlfriends - including applicants wishing to travel to Denmark for the purpose of marriage - the couple must document that they are in an actual relationship. That is, they must be able to document that they know each other personally, and that they have seen each other in the year leading up to the visa application. It is not enough that the couple only know each other through telephone and/or written contact. If the couple do not have a significant level of mutual personal knowledge, the visa application will be turned down.

For certain countries - Russia, China, Ukraine and India - so-called travel agency arrangements have been established, making it easier for citizens from these countries to visit Denmark as tourists. Read more about travel agency and tourist arrangements.

Currently, citizens from the following countries are not required to have a personal or familial relationship with the person residing in Denmark:

Albania, Benin, Burma (Myanmar), Congo (Brazzaville), Libya, Mongolia, Niger, Peru, Tanzania, Thailand and Tunesia.

Visas are generally granted to applicants from these countries, no matter who they intend to visit, including friends and acquaintances. Applicants from this group are not required to document a personal or familial relationship with the person residing in Denmark.

For applicants from the entire immigration group, immigration authorities have the right to render a visa contingent on an economic guarantee of DKK 58,603 (2010 level). However, no economic guarantee is required with visa applications from spouses/registered partners/cohabiting partners, children under the age of 18 or parents.

Based on an individual assessment, the Immigration Service may chose to demand an economic guarantee from the person that the applicant intends to visit in Denmark. This may be the case in instances where the applicant's connection to his or her country of origin is uncertain, due for example to the applicant's lack of employment or young age. This may also be the case in instances where a visa applicant wishes to visit a boyfriend/girlfriend or fiancé/fiancée in Denmark, and where there is a risk that the applicant intends to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country.

Visa applicants can be rejected in the event that the resident reference cannot or will not submit an economic guarantee.

Read more about processing time.

Read more about how to apply.

The tourist group
The following countries currently comprise the tourist group:

Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Colombia, Comoros, Cuba, the Central African Republic, the Dominican Republic, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Ecuador, Fiji, the United Arab Emirates, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Jamaica, the Cape Verde Islands, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, the Maldives, Mali, the Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Sao Tomé & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, Swaziland, South Africa, Tajikistan, Taiwan, Chad, Trinidad and Tobago, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea and East Timor.

Citizens from these countries are generally eligible for visas for purely tourist-related visits, and even if the applicant has no connection to anyone living in Denmark.

Read more about processing time.

Read more about how to apply.

Cultural visits Denmark

You can be granted a visa in order to take part in cultural or scientific events such as congresses, sporting events, etc.

You must be able to document the purpose of your visit. For example, if you are an athlete planning to participate in a sporting event in Denmark, you must document a connection to the sport in question.

If your company/organisation will be holding a large international event where many of the participants will need visas, the Immigration Service can help you with the preliminary planning. Read more about holding large events.


If the Immigration Service suspects that you intend to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country, your visa application will be turned down.

Time Table Denmark

Table 1: Maximum processing times for first-time applications

Type of application: Maximum processing time fully complete application:
Workers (not including the Job Card Scheme or researcher) 2 months
Au pairs 2 months
The Pay Limit Scheme (the Job Card Scheme)
Read more detailed information about the Pay Limit Scheme 1 month

Family reunification straightforward, fully documented applications
Read more detailed information about Family reunification 3 months
Family reunification Complicated applications
Read more detailed information about Family reunification 7 months
Researchers 1 month
Greencard Scheme
Read more detailed information about the Greencard Scheme 1 month

The Corporate scheme (Jobcard Scheme) 1 month
Positive List (Jobcard Scheme)
Read more detailed information about the Positive List 1 month
Interns 2 months
Religious workers 3 months

Studies 2 months
volunteers 3 months
Working Holiday 3 months


Table 1: Maximum processing times for applications concerning extension of residence permits, residence cards, passports, Visa (short term) and residence permit not to be considered as lapsed
Type of application: Maximum processing time fully complete application:
Residence permit not to be considered as lapsed before departure (Family reunification ) 3 months
Residence permit not to be considered as lapsed aften departure (Family reunification) 4 months
Passport (alien’s passport or convention passport)
Read more detailed information about passport 10 weeks
Extension of residence permit 3 months
Permanent residence permit 6 months
Visa (Danish diplomatic missions - 84 percent of all visa applications)
Read more detailed information about visa (short term) 5-9 days
Visa business visit (Immigration Service)
Read more detailed information about visa (short term) 1 month
Visa family visit, etc. (Immigration Service)
Read more detailed information about visa (short term) 12 weeks

Application processing times – service goals Denmark

For the most common types of applications the Immigration Service has maximum time limits for how long applicants should expect to have to wait for a decision (service goal).


The stated maximum processing time is calculated starting from the date the Immigration Service receives a fully completed application. An application is considered fully completed if it contains all the information requested of the applicant, contains all relevant information, has been signed correctly and includes the necessary documentation.

The Immigration Service determines whether the application is fully completed. The vast majority of applications are fully completed when the Immigration Service receives them and applicants typically will not hear from us until the decision is sent. If the application is not fully completed we will inform the applicant as soon as possible. This is often the case for Greencard applicants who have a foreign education.

Maximum processing times
Service goals for first-time stays in Denmark vary from one to seven months, depending on what type of application has been submitted and how complicated it is. The service goal can also vary due to seasonal fluctuations in the volume of applications being processed. See table 1.

For example, if it states that first-time applications for residence permits for researchers take one month to process, then a decision on a fully completed application for a residence permit for a researcher will be made within one month. A fully completed application submitted on 1 September 2009 would be finalised by 1 October 2009.

The Immigration Service’s service goal for processing all types of temporary extensions is three months.

Processing time Denmark

The overwhelming majority of visa applications are processed and decided on by Danish diplomatic missions abroad. These cases will usually be decided within a few days. Some cases, however, may take 10-12 days.


It may take some time to get an appointment to submit an application. You are recommended to contact the diplomatic mission where you are to submit your application, so you can make an appointment well in advance of your scheduled entry into Denmark.

If the diplomatic mission cannot immediately issue a visa, your application will be forwarded to the Immigration Service in Denmark through an electronic case processing system. The Immigration Service will then process your application.

If you submit your application in a country where Denmark is represented by another Nordic country, and if that country's diplomatic mission cannot immediately issue a visa, your application will be forwarded to the Immigration Service in Denmark through diplomatic mail or similar. The other Nordic countries do not have access to Denmark's electronic case processing system, and as a result, this procedure will take longer than the electronic forwarding.

Unfortunately, the Immigration Service has an extraordinarily high number of pending visa applications at present, and this could result in a longer period than normal before you receive your decision.

Applications for visas for visiting family and friends have a processing time of up to 12 weeks. The processing time is calculated from the time the Immigration Service receives a correctly completed questionnaire from your host/contact person in Denmark, and to the time the decision is sent to the diplomatic mission. The Immigration Service sends out questionnaires to the host/contact person in Denmark regularly. Questionnaires are normally sent out in the order that cases are received. The processing time is also affected by which type of processing the Immigration Service deems necessary in individual applications, and can result in a longer processing period.

The average processing time for other types of visas, e.g. business visas and visas for cultural visits, is currently 4-6 weeks. The processing time is calculated from the time the Immigration Service receives the application, and to the time the decision is sent to the diplomatic mission.

The average processing time for extension of visa permits is currently 1-2 weeks.

Service goal for business visas
The Immigration Service has determined a service goal for individual applications for business visas of one month. The service goal indicates the maximum processing time for a case to be processed by the Immigration Service. In cases concerning applications for business visas, the Immigration Service normally send a questionnaire out to the Danish business contact. The service goal of one month applies only for those cases which are fully completed, and is calculated from the time the Immigration Service has received the returned, completed questionnaire from the Danish business contact.

Business visits Denmark

You can be issued a visa in connection with a business visit if there is an actual commercial relationship between your own company/organisation and the company/organisation in Denmark which you wish to visit.

The relationship with the company/organisation in Denmark must have been established prior to your entering Denmark, and the purpose of your visit must be related to your line of business in your country of origin. However, special rules apply for applicants from Somalia and Iraq.

An agreement reached in May 2009 with the Iraqi authorities on the return of Iraqi refugees has not altered this practice. The Ministry of of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs will assess the effectiveness of the agreement once statistics are available.


If you are subject to work permit regulations, you will not be granted a business visa. This can be the case if you are a trainee receiving pay while in Denmark, or if you are employed by a Danish company's foreign sister company or subsiduary, and you are in Denmark in order to work for the Danish company. If this applies to you, you should not apply for a business visa but for a work permit. Read more about work.

However, during visits of less than three months you may carry out certain work-related activities without holding a work permit. Read more about visa and work permit.

If your company/organisation will be holding a large international event where many of the participants will need visas, the Immigration Service can help you with the preliminary planning. Read more about holding large events.

If the Immigration Service suspects that you intend to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country, your visa application will be turned down. In the past, there have been cases of individuals misusing a business visa. This has resulted in measures to prevent misuse of business visas issued to Chinese citizens.

Who processes the application?
The Danish authorities process approximately 80,000 visa applications annually. In more than 60,000 cases, a visa is granted by a Danish diplomatic mission in the applicant's country of origin. The rest, just under 20,000 cases, are processed in Denmark by the Immigration Service. In many instances, visas for business visits are issued directly by the Danish diplomatic mission without the involvement of the Immigration Service. These cases are known as bona fide cases.

Applications processed by the Immigration Service
If the Danish diplomatic mission in your country of origin is unable to issue a visa, your application will be transferred to the Immigration Service, which will rule on the case. Your case may be transferred to the Immigration Service if the diplomatic mission suspects that you intend to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country, or if there are circumstances which the Immigration Service can more easily assess, e.g. circumstances relating to the company/organisation you wish to visit in Denmark.

In general, the Immigration Service will issue a visa if you can document that you are commercially active and wish to come to Denmark as part of these activities, e.g. to trade, make an business deal or inspect machines or products prior to purchasing them from the Danish company/organisation.

When processing your visa application, the Immigration Service takes into consideration the purpose of your visit as well as your background, and it assesses whether there is reason to suspect that you intend to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country.

The company/organisation in Denmark will normally have access to information about your visa application, and the Immigration Service will automatically send a copy of the ruling to the company/organisation.

Documentation
The Immigration Service processes your visa application based on both the information sent by the diplomatic mission which initially received your application, as well as information about the visit that the Immigration Service receives from the company/organisation in Denmark.

You must be able to document your line of business by providing, for example, a business permit or a proof of registration issued by the relevant authorities in your country of origin.

Further documentation of your background can include proof of your education, proof of previous business dealings within the same field, or proof of the financial resources of your company.

If you apply to visit a company/organisation a part of a group, the application must include a description of each applicant's role during the visit.

The company/organisation in Denmark must confirm your visit. The Immigration Service will normally send a questionnaire to the company/organisation in Denmark when processing your application.

The company/organisation will be asked to provide further information about the visit, including information about any previous commercial relations with you, how contact with you was established, as well as documentation that the company/organisation in Denmark is commercially active.

If a concrete offer to buy or sell machines or products has been made, a copy of the offer should be included in the application. In certain cases, a detailed itinerary for the visit will be required.

It is a good idea for the company/organisation in Denmark to include with the questionnaire other relevant information regarding the company itself, the relationship between the company/organisation and you, as well as the specific purpose of your visit. The more supplementary information is included, the less further information the Immigration Service will need to gather, and the faster the case will be processed.

If the Immigration Service requires more information about you, it will contact the diplomatic mission where you submitted your application.

After processing your application, the Immigration Service will send its ruling to the diplomatic mission where you submitted your application. A copy of the ruling will be sent to the company/organisation in Denmark.

General conditions for granting a visa Denmark

You must normally meet the following basic conditions in order to be granted a visa:


Your national passport must be valid for three months past the visa expiration date. If you do not hold a national passport, you must hold a return permit to the country which issued your travel documents. The return permit must be valid for six months past the visa expiration date.
You must have the necessary funds to pay for your stay and return trip. What will be considered as necessary funds will be determined by the Danish diplomatic mission and depends on the length of your stay, and whether you will stay at a hotel or with friends or family.
Normally, you must hold a travel insurance policy to cover possible expenses in connection with a return for health reasons, indispensable medical treatment or acute hospitalisation during your stay. The insurance policy must cover all Schengen countries, and the minimum policy coverage is €30,000. The insurance policy must be valid for the same period as the visa. The validity of the visa may be shortened if the insurance policy does not cover the entire period.
You may not be registered as an undesirable in the Schengen Information System (SIS).
You may not be listed on the Danish entry ban list. In other words, you cannot be granted a visa if you have previously been deported from Denmark and given an entry ban.
These conditions apply at the time your visa is issued, as well as when you enter and stay in the Schengen region. It is therefore important that you are able to document at all times that you have the necessary funds to pay for your stay and return trip, and that you hold a valid travel insurance policy. If you do not meet these conditions, your visa can be confiscated and revoked, in which case you will be required to leave the Schengen region immediately.

If the Immigration Service suspects that you intend to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country, or that you may pose threat to national security or public safety, your visa application will be turned down.

If you remain in Denmark after your visa expires or if you attempt to use your visa stay to obtain permanent or long-term residency in Denmark, you can be barred from obtaining a Danish visa for a period of three to five years. Read more about misuse of a visa.

Read more about the specific rules for business visits, private visits and tourist visits as well as cultural visits.

Visa (short term) DenMark

Visa (short term)
If you wish to visit Denmark for a short period of time, you must obtain a visa prior to entry if you come from a country with a visa requirement for entering Denmark.

See the list of countries whose citizens need a visa to enter Denmark.


The purpose of applying a visa requirement to citizens of certain countries is to control who can enter and visit Denmark and the other Schengen countries. The Schengen countries normally decide cooperatively which nationalities the visa requirement will be applied to. The countries are selected with consideration to immigration and security issues, as well as political concerns.

A visa is only intended to allow a foreign national to visit Denmark and/or the other Schengen countries for a limited period of time. If you wish to reside in Denmark for an extended period of time, you need to apply for a residence permit. If the immigration authorities suspect that you intend to seek permanent or long-term residency in Denmark or another Schengen country, your visa application will be turned down.

If you have been granted certain types of residence or re-entry permits in another Schengen country, you do not need a visa to enter Denmark. Read more about residence permits issued by another Schengen country.

If you hold certain types of residence permits issued by Switzerland or Liechtenstein, you may pass through Denmark. Your journey through Denmark may last no longer than five days.

If you hold a residence card issued under the EU regulations on free movement, you do not need a visa to enter Denmark. This applies to both residence cards issued in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC and residence cards issued before this directive took effect. You will receive your residence card in the form of a plastic card the size of a credit card or a residence sticker placed in your passport.

Family members of an EU/EEA citizen or Swiss citizen who is exercising his/her right to free movement in Denmark, as well as family members of a Danish citizen who is exercising or who has exercised his/her right to free movement to relocate to another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, have the right to have a visa application processed in accordance with EU regulations. Read more about visas issued under EU regulations.

What does a visa entitle you to?
A visa normally grants you the right to stay in the entire Schengen region. The Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

A visa grants you the right to spend a maximum of 90 days per 6 months in the Schengen region.

If you remain in Denmark after your visa expires or if you attempt to use your visa stay to obtain permanent or long-term residency in Denmark, you can be barred from obtaining a Danish visa for a period of three to five years. Read more about misuse of a visa.

A visa does not allow you to work in Denmark unless the Immigration Service has explicitly granted you this right.

However, during visits of less than three months you may carry out certain work-related activities without holding a work permit. Read more about visa and work permit.

Read more about the general conditions for granting a visa.
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