A parent who has earned Permanent Residence has proven their commitment to Denmark. But their children, often born here or raised here from infancy, can’t get Permanent Residence at all before they turn 18. Until then, they hold a temporary permit tied to their parent. At 18 they get a single year to apply under eased conditions, and only if they’ve been in education or full-time work without a break since finishing folkeskole. A gap year can mean facing adult requirements, including three and a half years of full-time work.
We believe that a family’s security should not stop at the parent.
Children under 15 of Permanent Residents should be granted Permanent Residence together with their parents.
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Permanent Residence is supposed to bring stability. For many families, that stability only applies to half the household. Children who know no other home than Denmark grow up with a temporary status, and their future depends on a narrow window at 18 that many families don’t know about until it’s too late.
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Family unity: A child’s residence status should follow the family’s. It makes little sense for a parent to be permanent and their child to be temporary.
No cliff at 18: A young person’s right to stay in their own home country shouldn’t depend on whether they took a gap year after gymnasium.
Less bureaucracy: Fewer applications, appeals and cases with only one reasonable outcome.
Security for children: Stability supports schooling, wellbeing and belonging. -
Children should meet their own requirements.
Young children can’t meet employment or language requirements. Their situation depends entirely on parents who have already met Denmark’s strict criteria.
Permanent Residence should be earned individually.
The parent earned it. The child is a dependent living in the same home, and this proposal applies only to children under 15.
The 18–19 rule is already generous.
The rule only works for young people whose path is perfectly uninterrupted. Ordinary life choices shouldn’t decide whether someone raised in Denmark can stay.
It creates an automatic right.
It creates a derived right, limited to children under 15 living with a parent who holds Permanent Residence. Existing rules on revocation and lapse still apply.
Our Proposal
Denmark will be stronger with legislation that grants Permanent Residence to children under 15 living with a parent who holds Permanent Residence.
Granted together with the parent’s Permanent Residence, or later through one simple application.
No temporary permits and no application window at 18.
Subject to the same rules on revocation and residence abroad as any other permanent residence.
We aim for a Denmark where security is granted to the whole family.