Tanzanian Association Oslo

Danish Immigration Service

to reopen old residency cases

 

Some spouses of Danish citizens who have had their application for residence rejected will have their cases reopenedThe Immigration Service is set to reopen 50 applications for residency for spouses of Danish citizens that have been rejected since 2002.

The Immigration Service is set to reopen 50 applications for residency for spouses of Danish citizens that have been rejected since 2002.

Birthe Rønn Hornbech, the integration minister, announced the about face on Wednesday, that the immigration authorities would look into applications whose rejections could be contested using the precedent-setting European Court of Justice decision in the Metock case.

Until now, Hornbech had been unwilling to order reviews of applications that had been rejected. She took the position that the country’s immigration laws took precedence over the 2007 Metock ruling, which states that non-EU spouses of EU citizens may obtain residence permits without having previously lived in an EU country.

As recently as late February Hornbech had indicated that Denmark would continue to fight against any changes to its immigration laws, saying ‘If you ram your head against a wall you may as well keep doing it until there’s a hole’.

Hornbech denied that pressure from the EU had forced her to ordering the reopening.

The decision applies only to applications involving the spouse of a Danish citizen - not those of citizens of other EU countries living in Denmark.

Source: The Copenhagen Post.