The Danish Immigration Service has announced the extension of residence permits granted under the Special Act of Ukraine, which will remain valid until March 17, 2025.
The decision was initially taken on November 3, 2023, by the Ministry of Immigration and Integration based on the Temporary Residence Act granted to individuals displaced from Ukraine, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
The Immigration Service has thoroughly reviewed all residence permits issued under the Special Act until November 3, 2023, which were set to expire on March 17, 2024. As the authority points out, if the criteria were met, these permits would be automatically extended until March 17, 2025.
In addition, residence permits issued under the Special Act between November 3, 2023, and March 17, 2024, have also been extended until March 17, 2025.
In a small number of cases, the Danish Immigration Service attempted, without success, to contact individuals who were granted a residence permit under the Special Act before November 3 2023. In these cases, the Danish Immigration Service was unable to extend the residence permits because necessary information was not available. As a result, these permits will expire on March 17 2024.
In some cases, the Danish Immigration Service tried to contact persons who received a residence permit under the Special Act before November 3 2023, but they could not be contacted. Because of this, they cannot extend these permits due to lack of information. So, these permits will expire on March 17, 2024.
Following the Special Act, if someone cannot be contacted and their permit has yet to be extended, it is necessary to apply again if you want to stay in Denmark.
The other two European Union countries that have taken similar steps as Denmark are Portugal and Czechia. Thus, in October 2023, Portugal extended the validity of temporary protection permits for Ukrainian individuals resettled in Portugal until March 2024. Similarly, in September 2023, the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic extended temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees until March 2025.
Over 41,000 Ukrainians Granted Residence Permits in Denmark
According to the report from the Danish Refugee Cohort (DARECO), from the beginning of the war in Ukraine on February 22, 2022, until December 2023, a total of 41,119 Ukrainians were granted residence permits in Denmark under the special act for displaced Ukrainians.
Among them, 27,502 were adults aged 18 and over, while the rest were children. Initial data collection revealed that participants faced various everyday challenges, including concerns about family well-being and access to health care in Denmark. However, there was a high level of trust in Danish society and institutions. In addition, 49.5 per cent of participants expressed a desire to stay in Denmark even after the threat of war in their home countries subsided.
