New law for refugees traveling to visit their home country

The amendment concerning the 10-year rule is insignificant, as it merely establishes current practice

On January 1, 2024, a change in the law entered into force which is a complete waste of resources and can cause unnecessary worry for those affected. It is based on the fact that the sitting minister Kaare Dybvad Bek suddenly became personally outraged that, as a refugee, after 10 years in Denmark, you could travel to visit your home country – this typically happens to visit family members and attend funerals, weddings, etc. The minister wanted this to lead to the withdrawal of the residence permit in the future, no matter how long the person had lived in Denmark.
 
Many of the consultation responses (among others from Refugees Welcome) drew attention to the fact that this was only possible for people with permanent residence, and that in the vast majority of cases where a refugee would have his or her permit revoked after 10 years, the decision would be overturned in the Refugee Appeals Board based on judgments from the European Court of Human Rights, and that the new law amendment would thus have no other effect than a large administrative burden and unnecessary stress for the persons concerned.

The wording of the bill led to some confusion about what was actually the applicable practice in the area, and therefore Refugees Welcome turned to Alternativet's spokesperson and helped with clarification. The government amended the bill so that it does not include refugees with permanent residence. But that meant going back to start – because that's how the practice has always been. The bill should therefore have been rejected.

What applies now?

As a refugee (i.e. with a residence permit under section 7 or 8), you can visit your home country without any consequences if you have:
1) 10 years of legal residence in Denmark and
2) permanent residence permit.
If you do so before you have achieved both, you risk losing your residence permit.
 
The vast majority of refugees have a convention or foreigners passport with a travel restriction for exactly the home country. It will be removed if a person has 10 years of legal stay and obtained permanent residence permit.

 
Family members reunited to refugees and foreigners with other forms of residence can travel to their home country or other countries at any time, as long as they are not out of Denmark for more than 6 months at a time, and do not give up their address. Read more about losing your permit.
 
Right now, there is conflicting information on the website of the Danish Immigration Service about their own practice. One page has always said that it will be assumed that a refugee does not need protection if he/she travels back before obtaining permanent residence even if 10 years have passed, but in the page about the new law it says that until now it was possible for refugees without permanent residence to travel back after 10 years. So, either the law has been administered incorrectly or incorrect information has been provided.

Our experience is that refugees have generally waited until they had both 10 years of residence and permanent residence before traveling to their home country, and there have been very few cases concerning this issue over time.