The Danish asylum procedure

If you are in need of asylum and want to apply for a residence permit as a refugee in Denmark, you must contact the Danish immigration authorities. For example, it could be the police at the Danish border, at an airport, at a police station, or at Reception Center Sandholm.  

It is the Danish Immigration Service that registers all new asylum seekers. Asylum seekers must state their name, date of birth, and nationality as well as have their photographs and fingerprints taken (biometrics). The Danish Immigration Service then issues an ID card so that you have proof that you are an asylum seeker in Denmark. The police use fingerprints to check whether you are registered in or have been granted a visa to other European countries (EU countries as well as Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein, and Switzerland).  

As an asylum seeker, you have the right to an interpreter while you are being interviewed by the Danish immigration authorities. The interpreter can either be present during the interview or translate over the phone. During the initial registration, you do not have to inform the authorities about all the reasons why you need asylum; it suffices to say that you are afraid to return to your home country. 

After you have been registered as an asylum seeker, you will normally be called for an interview with the Danish Immigration Service to fill out a form about why you are applying for asylum. The form contains a lot of questions that allows you to explain why you are applying for asylum. 

Before you fill in the form, you will receive guidance from a caseworker from the Danish Immigration Service. This often happens together with other asylum seekers, who also must fill in the form on the same day. Hereafter you enter another room. You sit by yourself while filling out the form. 

If you can't read and write, you do not have to fill out a form. 

The Danish Immigration Service then calls you for an initial interview, the so-called “introductory asylum interview”, which usually takes less time than the later asylum interviews. 

The purpose of the introductory asylum interview is for the Danish Immigration Service to get an overview of the asylum case and decide whether the asylum case should be processed in Denmark or in another European country, the so-called Dublin or admissibility procedures. 

If the Danish Immigration Service decides to process the asylum case in Denmark, you will in most cases be invited to an interview where you can tell in more detail about the reasons for applying for asylum, the so-called “asylum interview”. 

The EU countries and Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland have common rules on where an asylum application should be examined (the Dublin Regulation). The purpose of the Dublin Regulation is to ensure that all asylum seekers can have their asylum case processed in one European country. 

The Dublin Regulation contains several criteria to decide which European country is responsible for the examination of an asylum application. For example, as an asylum seeker, you may have family who has also applied for asylum or been granted a residence permit as refugees in a country, or you have given fingerprints or been issued a visa to a country. 

In the first instance, the Danish Immigration Service decides whether you should have the asylum case processed in Denmark or whether you must be transferred to another European country to have the asylum case examined there. 

If the Danish Immigration Service decides that you must go to another European country, you can appeal to the Refugee Appeals Board. The deadline for lodging an appeal is seven days. You also have the right to ask DRC to represent you during the appeal proceedings. 

When DRC represents an asylum seeker during the appeal proceedings, it means that we have a meeting with the asylum seeker and write a complaint that we send to the Refugee Appeals Board. DRC also makes sure to keep the asylum seeker informed of the outcome of the case. 

You have the right to stay in Denmark while the Refugee Appeals Board examines the appeal, provided that the deadline for lodging the appeal has been met. 

If you apply for asylum in Denmark and already have a residence permit as a refugee in another European country (the EU countries plus Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), the Danish Immigration Service may decide to reject the asylum application as non-admissible. It follows from section 29 b of the Danish Aliens Act that authorities may reject asylum seekers who have already obtained a residence permit as refugees in another country. 

You have the right to appeal to the Refugee Appeals Board about the admissibility decision. The deadline for lodging an appeal is seven days, and you also have the right to ask DRC to represent you during the appeal process. 

When DRC represents an asylum seeker during the appeal proceedings, it means that we have a meeting with the asylum seeker and write a complaint, which we send to the Refugee Appeals Board. DRC also makes sure to keep the asylum seeker informed of the outcome of the case. 

Unlike the Dublin procedure, you do not automatically have the right to stay in Denmark while the Refugee Appeals Board examines the appeal. 

If the Danish immigration authorities decide that the asylum case should be processed in another European country (the Dublin procedure) or find the asylum application inadmissible because you have a residence permit as a refugee in another European country, you must leave Denmark. The asylum case is transferred to the Danish Return Agency, which will ensure that you are transferred to the European country responsible for examining your asylum case. 

In Dublin cases, the Danish immigration authorities have six months to transfer the asylum seeker to the other European country from the day of the final decision of the Refugee Appeals Board. In some cases, the deadline can be extended for up to 18 months. 

If the Danish Immigration Service decides that the asylum case should be examined in Denmark, it is called “normal asylum procedure”. You will usually be invited for an interview with the Danish Immigration Service. The interview is called an asylum interview, and the interviews are normally longer than the first introductory asylum interview. During the interview, an interpreter will be present. The interpreter is bound by the duty of confidentiality. 

If you do not understand the interpreter, you must tell the caseworker so the Danish Immigration Service can call for another interpreter that you can understand. The Danish Immigration Service's caseworker must also note in the case that there have been problems with the interpretation. If you prefer a female interpreter, you can also inform the Danish Immigration Service of this in advance. 

During the asylum interview, the Danish Immigration Service's caseworker will ask you to explain in as much detail and accurately as possible why you need a residence permit as a refugee. 

To guide the asylum interview, the caseworker will use the information from the form that you have filled in (if you can write) and the information from the first introductory asylum interview. 

An asylum interview can take many hours. You must inform the authorities about all the reasons you have for applying for asylum, even if it may feel very private or uncomfortable to talk about. 

During the interview, the Danish Immigration Service's caseworker writes a summary of what is explained. At the end of the conversation, the interpreter translates the summary for you to ensure that the information written down by the caseworker matches what you have explained. 

During the translation, it is important that you listen carefully and make sure that any errors or misunderstandings are corrected. The caseworker will make notes of any comments you might have in the summary. Then you must sign each page of the summary to confirm that it is an accurate description of what you have explained. 

As an asylum seeker, you can find good advice for preparing for the interview here.

After the asylum interview, the Danish Immigration Service will examine your explanation and the relevant background information that can be found about the home country. Sometimes you can be called for more interviews if the Danish Immigration Service needs more information to decide the asylum case. 

You will receive a letter from the Danish Immigration Service with their decision on your asylum case. It can either be a residence permit as a refugee under section 7 (1), (2), or (3) of the Aliens Act, or a rejection of asylum. 

If the Danish Immigration Service decides to grant you a residence permit as a refugee, it means that the authorities recognize that you are a refugee and have the right to asylum in Denmark. The Danish Immigration Service also decides where you should live in Denmark by allocating you to a specific municipality, so-called “housing placement”. 

At the asylum interview, the caseworker asks where you could imagine living in Denmark if you are granted a residence permit and why you would like to live there. Subsequently, the Danish Immigration Service uses the information from the interview as well as the annual allocation quotas for the number of refugees each Danish municipality should receive to decide on housing placement. 

DRC's Voluntary Advisory Services has offices around Denmark and provides free, impartial, and wide-ranging advice to refugees on, among other things, the Danish Aliens Act, the Integration Act, social rules, and psychosocial conditions. They can therefore, among other things, answer questions about permanent residence or family reunification. 

Read more about DRC's Voluntary Advisory Services here

If your application for asylum and thus a residence permit as a refugee is rejected, the asylum case is automatically appealed to the Refugee Appeals Board after 14 days. 

In the short period immediately after you have been refused asylum, all applicants are invited to an interview with the Danish Return Agency, where they talk about how many people from the country of origin that are rejected and ask if you want to cancel your complaint. The Danish Return Agency does not know the content of the individual cases, and this happens in all cases. If you do not want to cancel your complaint, you can either say no or just not take any action. 

If no action is taken, the case will automatically be appealed to the Refugee Appeals Board after 14 days. The Refugee Appeals Board is a quasi-legal, independent administrative body that acts as an appeal body in asylum cases. If you are rejected, you are entitled to free representation by a lawyer who can assist you during the Refugee Appeals Board's processing of the appeal. 

Subsequently, the Refugee Appeals Board convenes a meeting where you, together with your lawyer, present the asylum case.  

An interpreter is present who is bound by the duty of confidentiality. If you have problems understanding the interpreter, it is important to immediately let the Refugee Appeals Board know. 

The Refugee Appeals Board consists of three members, and the chairperson of the meeting is a judge. At the meeting with the Refugee Appeals Board, there will also be a secretary from the Refugee Appeals Board present, who will write a summary of the board meeting, and a representative from the Danish Immigration Service, who will present the reasons why the Danish Immigration Service has rejected the application for a residence permit as a refugee. 

The Refugee Appeals Board can either decide that you should be recognized as a refugee and granted a residence permit as a refugee, thereby reversing the decision of the Danish Immigration Service, or reject the asylum application. 

If the Refugee Appeals Board upholds the decision of the Danish Immigration Service to reject an application for residence permit as a refugee, the decision is final, and no further appeal can be made. Nor can the refusal be challenged before the ordinary courts. 

If the Refugee Appeals Board decides that you must have a residence permit as a refugee in Denmark, the Danish Immigration Service will subsequently issue a residence permit and decide where you should live in Denmark (housing placement). 

If your application for a residence permit as a refugee is finally rejected, you are often referred to as a “rejected asylum seeker”. If, as a rejected asylum seeker, you do not have a residence permit on another basis in Denmark, e.g., family reunification or work, you must leave Denmark. 

The Refugee Appeals Board normally sets an exit deadline of seven days, but it can also be immediately, which means that you must leave Denmark immediately. If you are refused asylum as an asylum seeker in the manifestly unfounded procedure, the Immigration Service sets the deadline for leaving Denmark as immediately. 

DRC offers free and impartial counseling to rejected asylum seekers; both in relation to the legal parts of the asylum case, and the possibilities of getting support to return to your country of origin. Advisors from DRC visit all of the departure and return centers.  

The legal advisers can help explain the detailed reasons for a refusal of asylum, and in special cases can help to reopen the case with the Refugee Appeals Board or investigate whether there are other options for obtaining a residence permit in Denmark. 

Counselors interview rejected asylum seekers, where you get the opportunity to talk about your situation, including the difficult decisions and considerations that you may have about the refusal of a residence permit as a refugee and returning home. 

Depending on which country you are going back to, reintegration support may be available. The support can help you reestablish yourself after you return.  

Read more about the possibilities for reintegration support here. 

If, as a rejected asylum seeker, you receive some new and important information about the asylum case after you have been rejected by the Refugee Appeals Board, you can ask the Refugee Appeals Board to reopen your asylum case. 

The information may concern a change in your personal circumstances or changes in the situation in your home country. In addition, you can of course apply to have the case reopened if the practice of the Refugee Appeals Board in similar cases has changed. 

DRC's legal advisers can help assess whether there are grounds for seeking a case to be reopened. We follow developments in the Refugee Appeals Board's practice and the situation in many of the countries from which asylum seekers come. 

An application for reopening of the asylum case does not automatically give you the right to remain in Denmark. The Danish Return Agency will therefore continue to plan your return to your home country. But the Refugee Appeals Board can decide that a rejected asylum seeker should be allowed to stay in Denmark while the request for reopening is examined.  

Even if you apply for a reopening of the asylum case, it is not certain that the Refugee Appeals Board will reopen the case. It is also not certain that the Refugee Appeals Board will make a positive decision even if they do reopen it. 

As a rejected asylum seeker, you can leave Denmark yourself. If you do not have the means to arrange a trip to your home country, the Danish Return Agency can help with this. 

If you have not left Denmark within the deadline set by the Refugee Appeals Board or the Immigration Service, the Danish Return Agency will call you to an interview about your departure. The Danish Return Agency will ask if you want to leave voluntarily and cooperate about the return.  

If you as a rejected asylum seeker wish to leave voluntarily, the Danish Return Agency will ask that you sign a confirmation form. Then, together with the Danish Return Agency, you will review the practical parts of the outbound flight, e.g., talk about which airport and city you would like to fly to, as well as help if you need personal documents for the trip. 

If you have handed in your personal papers, e.g., passports, to the Danish authorities, you will only receive them after you have arrived at your home country. 

If you do not want to leave voluntarily, the case will be transferred to the police, who can deport rejected asylum seekers by force. 

If, as a rejected asylum seeker, you do not want to leave Denmark voluntarily, the immigration authorities can use various methods to "motivate" you to accept the refusal and cooperate about leaving (so-called motivational measures). The Danish Return Agency takes care of voluntary repatriations, while the police can deport rejected asylum seekers by force. 

It is common for rejected asylum seekers to be accommodated at a return center, typically at Kærshovedgård, and not to be paid pocket money or cash for food, but instead to be relegated to eating in the canteen. Families with children are accommodated at the return center Avnstrup. 

It is the immigration authorities who assess whether you as a rejected asylum seeker cooperate regarding departure, or not. The immigration authorities may, for example, assess that you do not cooperate regarding departure if you do not want to sign the form stating that you will depart voluntarily. The same applies if, for example, you do not want to help establish your identity, do not want to show up at the embassy, or do not otherwise try to obtain the documents requested by the immigration authorities. 

The immigration authorities may also decide that, as a rejected asylum seeker, you must be detained in a prison for a period until you either decide to cooperate or until the police can carry out a removal by force. 

If you are detained, you will be appointed a lawyer to represent you. It is always a court that decides whether the requirements for detention are met, e.g., there is a requirement that the authorities actively work on the return and that the possibility of return is realistic in the near future. 

Sometimes the Danish Return Agency and the police cannot return a rejected asylum seeker, even though the person cooperates with the authorities about the return. In such situations, it is possible to apply for a residence permit in Denmark on the ground that removal cannot take place. This follows from section 9(c)(2) of the Danish Aliens Act. 

As a rejected asylum seeker, you can in exceptional situations be granted a temporary residence permit in Denmark based on barriers to removal if all the following conditions are met: 

• It has not been possible to return the rejected asylum seeker for at least 18 months since the decision of the Refugee Appeals Board;  
• The rejected asylum seeker has actively cooperated with the authorities in the return efforts for the whole period, including confirming in writing that he or she has cooperated on the return process and actively tried to ensure the return by e.g., contacting the embassy; and 
• The removal of the rejected asylum seeker to the home country is not considered futile. 

It is the immigration authorities that decide whether the rejected asylum seeker has cooperated on the return and whether the removal is futile. 

The Danish Immigration Service may decide that an asylum case should be processed in a special procedure if they find that the asylum claim is manifestly unfounded. This follows from section 53 b of the Danish Aliens Act. 

If the Danish Immigration Service decides that the asylum case should be processed in the manifestly unfounded procedure, the Danish Immigration Service will refer the case to DRC Danish Refugee Council. DRC calls the asylum seeker for an interview, where he or she can explain the reasons for applying for asylum. There will be an interpreter present. 

DRC has veto rights in the manifestly unfounded procedure. Therefore, after the interview, DRC, decides – based on the information in the case as well as knowledge of rules and practice – whether the asylum case is suitable for examination in the manifestly unfounded procedure. 

If DRC agrees that the asylum case is manifestly unfounded, a refusal from the Danish Immigration Service (first instance) will be final, and you cannot lodge an appeal to the Refugee Appeals Board (second instance in the regular asylum procedure). 

If DRC decides that the asylum case does not belong in the manifestly unfounded procedure, you will have the right to appeal to the Refugee Appeals Board if the Danish Immigration Service rejects the application for asylum.  

As a main rule, the Refugee Appeals Board examines cases that have been reviewed in the manifestly unfounded procedure on a written basis. You will therefore not meet the Refugee Appeals Board. You will still be represented by a lawyer. 

An asylum claim can be considered manifestly unfounded if it concerns issues that are usually not relevant in relation to being granted refugee status, if your explanation is considered not credible, or if, in the light of the Refugee Board's practice, the case is without merit.  

For asylum seekers from specific countries, such as EU countries, the asylum case can be processed in an accelerated procedure for manifestly unfounded asylum claims (so-called ÅGH-procedure). 

If an asylum case is examined in the accelerated manifestly unfounded procedure, you will usually not have to fill in the asylum form. 

However, the Danish Immigration Service may, depending on the circumstances, choose to examine an asylum case in the normal procedure, regardless of whether the person comes from one of the countries usually examined in the accelerated manifestly unfounded procedure. 

The list of nationalities that can be processed in the accelerated manifestly unfounded procedure is regularly reviewed by the Danish immigration authorities and DRC. 

The processing deadlines are shorter for cases in the accelerated procedure for manifestly unfounded asylum claims, but DRC examines the cases in the same way as the ‘ordinary’ manifestly unfounded cases. 

If you as an asylum seeker or refugee commit a crime in Denmark, you risk being sentenced to deportation from Denmark. Before you can be deported from Denmark because of a deportation order, the Danish immigration authorities must investigate whether you risk persecution if you are sent back to your home country. 

Denmark is – like all other countries – obliged to comply with the principle of non-refoulement, which means that a country may not transfer a person to another country where he or she could be at risk of persecution or violation of fundamental human rights. 

Thus the Danish authorities cannot transfer a person to a country where he or she may risk torture or other forms of serious human rights violations. 

The Refugee Appeals Board is the highest authority to assess whether a person sentenced to deportation can be deported to his or her home country, or whether he or she would risk persecution or abuse. 

If, as a deported person, you are at risk of persecution in your home country, you cannot be deported, but instead end up on so-called “tolerated stay” in Denmark. 

Furthermore, you can have tolerated stay in Denmark if you have committed a crime in your home country or abroad that is so serious that you are excluded from protection and thus lose the right to be recognized as a refugee, but where you still risk persecution in your home country and therefore cannot be returned. 

A person who, on the one hand, cannot be granted asylum in Denmark because of such a crime, but on the other hand cannot be deported from Denmark because of the risk of persecution in his or her home country, is on so-called tolerated stay.  

Persons on tolerated stay do not receive a residence permit, are not free to choose where they want to live and do not have the right to work. They will receive benefits from the Danish Immigration Service and are usually required to stay at Departure Center Kærshovedgård, where they have to report daily or weekly to the police.