Humanitarian Residence Permit in Denmark

last update: January 2012


A humanitarian residence permit is a temporary residence permit you can obtain if you can document that you suffer from serious physical or psychological illness. It is an exception from the rule and decisions are made directly by the ministry of justice. The ministry has a very strict practice, which means that only few applicants get a residence permit on humanitarian grounds, and that you have to prepare your application very well if you do apply. A humanitarian residence permit is temporary and will have to be renewed, often every half - two years. Before it runs out you will need to apply for an extension.


There are three overall criteria that the ministry takes into consideration. The ministry will look at whether your illness is well documented, that your illness is currently under treatment, and whether you can receive the necessary treatment in your country of origin.

Here are some examples on serious illnesses that can allow a temporary humanitarian residence permit: Schizophrenia, psychosis, serious heart disease, cancer in the terminal stage, kidney and intestinal diseases.


Documentation

Documenting your illness is very important for your application. If your illness is not documented the ministry will reject your application no matter your situation. If you suffer from a mental disorder your illness should be documented by a psyciatrist (a psyciatrist is a specialized doctor), not a psychologist.

Absence of treatment in the country of origin

It is required that you receive treatment for your illness. Also if treatment is available in your country of origin your application can be rejected no matter if you can afford or have access to treatment or not. Therefore it can be important that you are treated with medicine that you can't get in the country of origin.

Procedure

You can apply for a humanitarian residence permit when you have been registered as an asylum seeker in Denmark, and if the Immigration Service knows your place of
residence in Denmark. Therefore you can't apply if you are underground.


If you apply for a humanitarian residence permit within 15 days after your registration as an asylum seeker in Denmark, you will automatically be entitled to stay in Denmark during the Ministry's processing of your application for a humanitarian residence permit (procedural residence).

If you do not apply within 15 days after your registration - which most people does not, you have to apply for procedural residency together with your application for humanitarian residence permit. It is possible to obtain a humanitarian residence permit without a procedural residence permit, but by principle you can be deported while your case is being treated.

If you think about applying for a humanitarian residence permit it is a good idea to look at the links below or seek advice on the contact list.

Relevant links:


On this official page you can find more information about applying for a humanitarian residence permit: 
http://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us/coming_to_dk/asylum/humanitarian_residence_permit/
 
On this site on the right, you will find a link to a more thoroughly description of the criteria. It is in danish:
http://www.nyidanmark.dk/da-dk/Ophold/asyl/humanitaer_opholdstilladelse/

In October 2011 the government has talked about changing the rules to make residence permit on humanitarian grounds more accessible. This page will be updated when there are any news.