Biometrics deadline remain the same while SIRI offices are closed until 10th of May. Photo: freeeducator
After the Prime Minister press conference on Monday 6th April, it was announced that Denmark will gradually be re-opened. In the first phrase, day care and schools kids under grade 5 will re-open Denmark. The rest of Denmark will continue to be closed until 10th of May.
SIRI has updated their website on 8th of April and issued a statement that it will remain closed until and including 10th of May, 2020. SIRI offices in Copenhagen, Odense, Aarhus, Aalborg and Aabenraa has been closed from 12th March (day included) which will make closure for 2 months on 10th of May.
On 2nd of April, SIRI announced that biometrics features can be recorded up to 2 months which in normal circumstances is 14 days. After the new closure dates, the 2 months extension will still not work. Many immigrants will still be unable to record their biometrics features within 2 months. There are many immigrants who have applied for visa extension before 10th of March which will make them unable to record biometrics features within 2 months as SIRI will remain close until 10th of May.
The School and Parents Organisation encourages nervous parents to wait for further guidelines regarding the reopening plans. Photo: mgorthand / istock
Denmark was locked down amid the COVID-19 outbreak on 13th March. Though the lock down has flattened the curve of corona infected figures but it has already made substantial impact on the economy with businesses shot downed and unemployment rates at highest. The govt announced a generous package but economy can only be recovered if it starts kicking.
Considering various aspect, the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen announced that Denmark will be re-opened gradually right after Easter holidays from 15th April. Contrary to the popular thoughts, she declared that kindergarten and up to 5th grade school kids will open Denmark. The announcement received criticism from public and some authorities while some experts say it makes sense to let kids be first to open Denmark. But do parents agree and will they send their children to the kindergarten and school? Will children be as safe in their institutions as they used to be less than a month ago? The list of bewilderment goes on.
Simply said, the PM and her cabinet seem to be very confident on children being the least vulnerable group from the pandemic Covid-19. As of now there has been no fatality recorded for the children below the age of 10 while the fatality rate of children between the age of 10-19 years has been merely 0.2 percentage globally.
Talking about Denmark, until 6th of April some 47,240 people have been tested and nearly 10 per cent i.e. 4,681 have been positive while 4 percent of the infected have been reported dead according to the data provided by the health ministry. Digging deep into the data shows that there has been a significant fall in the number of people tested positive. The percentage of positive cases was 11.3% of the total tested between 27th of January and 22nd of march while it was 16.5% on 28th of March. Since then there has been constant decrease on the cases tested positive dropping the figure to 7.8% on the 5th of April. It is also worth noting that except in the last two days, the number of tests conducted was in increasing order, resulting in the increased number of infected cases.
Now the question is, can we rely on the data and announce the reopening of Denmark? Has the curve really flattened and can the couple of days’ decreasing number of positive cases be enough evidence to support the decision? What if the case gets worse during the Easter holiday and the number rises again in a couple of weeks? The evident fact is that the person infected may take up to two weeks, in some cases even more, for any symptoms. And the number of infected persons this single person may transmit the virus to may go up while those newly transmitted may transmit to innumerable other new ones, which can be horrifying. The government until now has been pleading the public to maintain the social distance during the shutdown. By and large, the public had avoided the congregation of more than ten people as per the government’s urge. This must have been the reason, among few others, why the number of positive cases seems to be under control.
However, with the possible mobility after the kindergarten and primary school opens, the parents will come in contact with each other unintentionally and the school staff will see each other resulting in larger gatherings. This will make the kindergarten and the school a likely prone zone if even a single person is infected and then the multiplying number will outwit the decision of re-opening such institutions. With the opening of kindergartens and schools, the mobility is obvious to go higher in supermarkets and other groceries, which are going to be other risk-involved places. Not to forget, the Easter holiday may witness some secret assemblies and gatherings with increased risk.
Considering public outrage and continuous worldwide outbreak, the Danish authorities has to take the decision back since the virus will still play its role for a little while longer and there still prevails the risk of transmission. But the situation after a couple of more weeks is definitely going to be different from what it is now. More importantly, the initial signs of flattening curves in the hard-hit countries like Italy, Spain, Germany and France will mature, giving enough of hint, if not concrete evidence, which direction the Corona crisis is heading to. Based on these data, a relatively easy, yet convincing decision could be taken. Not only the people of Denmark but from most of the countries around the world have been admiring the decision of Danish government in early sealing of its borders and detachment of its sky route with the other parts of the world. The result has paid with the cases being limited to less than 5000 infected ones until now while many countries have been hit worse.
Having said that, one cannot disregard the economic loss the country has faced in the past three weeks or so. On top of that is the approximately DKK 2.5 trillion’s help package, the government has announced to compensate the companies hit by the crisis, is an added burden on the government. Additionally, the increasing discourse of ‘a great recession, if not a great depression, is another factor which the government might have taken into consideration while deciding the re-opening of Denmark. Besides, a higher unemployment, increased level of stress among the public, debt, and many more awaiting crisis could have also been taken into consideration by the government.
However, the key concern is who would benefit ultimately if an extra prolonged week of closure is announced? The answer is obvious, the citizens of Denmark. This extra week of added lock down could be the time when the public make up their mind that the re-opening is right at our doorstep. Besides, the public will feel relatively safer to send their children to schools and they could resume their work with relative ease and less worry which would ultimately become the key for the government to win both the heart and trust of its people.
By: Roshan K. Khatiwada Master’s student International Development and Global Studies Roskilde University
Around noon today Copenhageners saw a heart in the sky. That was the effort of 4 Pilots including Per Andersen who flow 4 planes and make a heart to thank health professionals.
We think the health care staff is making a huge effort throughout Denmark and they deserve a thank you which we planned to give in this way.
It takes a lot of experience with such a flight. We also had to do it a couple of times before we made a better heart, says Per Andersen.
Minister of Children and Education Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil in the Parliament. Photo: Peter Hove Olesen
After the two days of hassle between parents and the authorities, it is now announced that schools and institutions will not reopen until they show that all guidelines are met. Minister of Children and Education Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil (S) said at a press conference on Wednesday that if day care and schools are not ready until April 15 they should not reopen.
Like the rest of the government and health authorities, Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil has been criticised after it was announced that children from the 5th grade and below should return to schools and day care centres immediately after Easter.
Several mayors have been, among others, saying that there are a lot of challenges that need to be resolved before the reopening – and that it cannot be achieved.
But Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil assured at a press conference that schools and institutions should not open until all health guidelines are met.
The guidelines for the schools and institutions mean, among other things, that there must be two meters between the tables in the classrooms and that there must be a very large focus on hand hygiene. There are also specific recommendations for dining. If schools and institutions can not meet these guidelines than we will present another solution instead of reopening.
Denmark Education Minister Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil has a clear message for parents, you are registered as absent from school if you do not show up. If you keep your child at home, the full education obligation applies. Then, as a parent, you have to take care of the full education yourself.
This comes after there have been a divided opinion regarding the opening of Denmark by the youngest kids. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced on Monday 6th April that kids of day care and 0-5 school graders will open Denmark from 15th April. The nervous parents stormed to social media and lined up in various social media groups to call upon Prime Minister to take the call back.
In PM dependence, Education Minister clearly send a message that parents must send children school or be responsible for their full education. Talking to DR she said I can easily understand the anxiety among parents. The Danes have been good at worrying and thinking. This is exactly why we have succeeded in keeping the infection pressure down. She assured that one will solve the challenges by dividing children into smaller groups.
On the other side Rasmus Edelberg, The country chairperson for School and Parents organisation has called up parents to wait for further details and guidelines from their local school before they become nervous or decide to keep the children at home. Once the guidelines are up then municipalities and schools can jointly discuss if they can live up to the guidelines. Then the local schools will inform under which framework can the local school reopen.
Deadline for recording biometrics is extended Phone: biometricupdate
After the current corona luck down citizen centres of both the Danish Immigration Service and SIRI are closed. Therefore, SIRI and Danish Immigration Services around the world have extended the deadline for recording biometrics features up to 2 months which in normal circumstances is 14 days.
Your submitted application will still be processed but decision will only be taken when biometrics features are recorded.
The SIRI website still states that it will be closed until and including the 13 April 2020 but it might have updates for which you need to keep an eye on the SIRI website.
Teachers at day care and schools while keeping a distance. Image: Rasmus Sand Høyer
In a press conference yesterday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that Denmark will open gradually after Easter. Kids will be first to open Denmark as all the day care institutions, kindergartens and 0 to 5 graders will start going from April 15 while other school graders will remain home. Higher education institutions, churches, museums, cinema houses, shopping and fitness centres etc will remain closed.
There are various opinions regarding the announcement. Experts say that the youngest children are at a negligible risk of becoming critically ill, and their parents are so young that they generally do not belong to high-risk age groups, professor calls the government’s plan to open day-care centres and partial schools a points that “makes sense.” On the other side there are Danes who think it will be risky to let kids go to schools as they might get infected and later infect their parents. There are now various groups on social media calling that my child should not be a test rabbit for COVID-19.
The announcement also compel teachers to make sure that children keep the distance. They are also told to clean toys twice a day. Some urge that day care centres and schools do have the capability to handle children amid the COVID-19 continuous outbreak. Pernille Skipper, spokesperson of Enhedslisten party has posted that I understand that no extra money has been set off immediately for more extra temps, more helpers, more cleaning staff, etc., when schools and day care institutions are going to open in a week. That’s not fair! She has called for pay raise, more staff and better conditions for schools and day care institutions.
All big event will be banned until August. Borders and gathering of more than 10 persons will be banned until 10th May.
School exams
Students from 6th to 10th grades must still attend school from home. That goes until May 10th.
This applies to after-school and free vocational schools. And there will be no final exams in primary school this year.
Students who are about to finish secondary education, the proposal is that you will take the exam in a different and limited way, says Mette Frederiksen.
Higher education institutions will remain closed until May 10.
Denmark has one of the strict immigration rules where Immigrants are required to show an annual income and number of hours of work each month (120 hours at least) to extend their visa, apply for Permanent Residency Permit (PR) or Family reunification. One should have earned an annual income of 320,000 kr (Green card Scheme) or 436,000 kr (Pay Limit Scheme) to be eligible for visa extension while should have work full time continuously for 4 years to apply for PR.
In the current global corona pandemic and economic lockdown where thousands of immigrants have lost their jobs, it is now impossible to fulfil these requirements.
Recommendation: We demand to waive the income and work requirements for at least 3 months for visa extension, PR and family reunification applicants otherwise there will be humanitarian crisis as thousands of immigrants might lose the right to stay in Denmark without the fault of their own.
These immigrants otherwise have been working full time and are highly integrated in the Danish society. They will surely be required to boost up the economy once situation gets normal with COVID-19.
While the public and some political parties in Denmark support these demands, we request the Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Danish Govt, Danish Parliament and EU to intervene before immigrants face another crisis amid COVID-19.
Immigrants are requesting everyone to sign the petition so it reaches to authorities. You can sign the petition here.
Katie Larsen while presenting her seaweed project at KEA Denmark
A Biobased Designer and Architectural Technologist, graduate of KEA Denmark, Katie Larsen came to Denmark in 2015 from the States. She is now married to a Dane and living in Slagelse, a town outside Copenhagen. She has represented Denmark at Dutch Design Week 2019, with a project rooted in Danish history and culture, at a conference for the world’s best design graduates. Katia Larsen has been active and campaigned for rational and humane immigration laws and met parliament members. She has campaigned to make Danish language classes affordable and count education as full time work.
She lost her job after corona crisis hit Denmark. Since she is under family reunification law in Denmark, she is not allowed to take any social benefits rather provide a security for DKK 100,000 as a financial collateral.
I was two months away from completing my mandatory integration contract with Slagelse Kommune, a contract that required me to work for at least a year to prove my “self-sufficiency”. But then I lost my job due to corona crisis and now my any hope of applying for permanent residence in the next 4 years has also been ruined, as the “fast-track scheme” requires 4 year uninterrupted work, says Katie.
Katia Larsen (2nd from left) with Danish Parliament Member Rosa Lund (in the middle) and Naqeeb Khan (2nd from right) at Danish Parliament.
Katie did not signed up for A-Kasse, an unemployment insurance because of the law passed in 2019 which required workers to have lived in Denmark for last 7 out of 12 years. Katie says, I expected I would be ineligible for A-kasse until at least 2025 so I never signed up for it. Though this law was abolished in January 2020, but now under the current corona crisis, one can only claim unemployment as a foreign worker if you terminated your previous membership due to the law change.
Katia will be unemployed from April end, without real source of income and an uncertain future. As she could not continue to fulfil income and work requirements after the corona crisis means that she has to wait for at least another 4 years to apply for Permanent Residency in Denmark. Thus she along her Dane husband has finally reached to a decision to leave Denmark. She has decided to return to Denmark after few years under the EU Laws.
When I come back, I’ll be able to live with my Danish husband under EU family reunification, rather than relive the humiliating, invasive, and expensive life under Danish family reunification laws. I’ll be eligible for permanent residence after five years in Denmark even if I lose my job or study, Katia says. I am lucky that I managed to get acceptance into Delft University of Technology Holland architecture master program and moving there along my husband, otherwise there are hundreds who have lost their jobs in current crisis but still have no other option but to live up tight under the strict rules in Denmark.
I hope that the government will wake up soon, and provide some form of relief for these people that have chosen to call this country home at least during this worldwide pandemic. So for me it’s Holland now and I’m working on wrapping up my activities in Denmark for the next four months- and moving all my seaweed research says Katie Larsen.
Danish migrant workers face another battle amid COVID-19 with compulsory work despite the economic lockdown. Photo: Niels Christian Vilmann/Ritzau Scanpix
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has currently effected 204 countries and territories around the world. The world is almost on a standstill position and face an economic recession that has not been seen over decades. UN has named it global pandemic and called for humanity and ceasefire around the world.
Denmark registered its first corona case on February 27 and announced a complete lockdown from 13th March, 2020. Since then the country has seen an unprecedented economic recession and the highest unemployment rate in decades. The Govt announced historic Corona Help Package where businesses gets incentives to keep their employees. The package would cover 75% of the employees salary while businesses would have to pay the remaining 25%. Despite the generous corona package almost 43,000 people have registered as unemployed from 9th March to 24th March, 2020 and the numbers are increasing. This is because of the fact that many businesses are left behind counting costs and loses and could not even cover the 25% of the employees salaries.
A Dane worker might stay home and get social benefits but an immigrant is not allowed to get social benefits. A Dane needs not to worry about fulfilling any income or work requirement while immigrants have to earn required income and continue work to stay in Denmark even if in the current corona crisis they have to risk their life.
Immigrants in Denmark face one of the world most strict immigration rules. Though these rules need to be changed but one might justify these rules in normal circumstances. In the current global pandemic and economic lockdown, on one side Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen request people to stay home, on the other side immigrants are told to continue work and show the required income else leave Denmark.
The Govt support parties like Radikale venstre and Enhedslisten agree to accommodate immigrants during the corona crisis. The recommendations send to parliament by various groups includes that income and work requirements should either be suspended or an exemption of 3 months should be granted during the corona crisis. Radikale Venstre MP Andreas Steenberg and Enhedslisten MP Rosa Lund in their statements to minister of Immigration have said that it would only be fair if an exemption of these rules are granted during the corona crisis. The Social Democrats Minister of Immigration Mattias Tesfaye stands with the extreme far right Danish Peoples’ party and argue that there is no need to relax the rules. In a written response to DR, Mattias Tesfaye writes that “he has a hard time seeing the argument that the corona should also make us relax the rules to get a permanent residence permit”. While immigrants and activists demand to suspend the rules for the time being during this crisis, Minister manipulate the situation by arguing that rules will not be changed.
Now there is a battle for Immigrants in Denmark along COVID-19 and that is, they have to work and show required income despite the economic lockdown and fear of coronavirus infection. For some immigrants, it is a battle to fight every month by working at least 120 hours each month to apply for Permanent residency while for others it is a matter of total annual income of 320,000 kr (greencard scheme) or 436,000 kr (pay limit scheme) that they have to show to Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) to stay in Denmark. In the recent press conference Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was optimist and said that if Danes stay at home and continued social distancing, Denmark will open gradually after Easter. It will be indeed a win situation for everyone but immigrants battle to combat the income and work requirements will continue and get worse. Many immigrants will lose the right to stay in Denmark and might be forced to leave as thousands have lost jobs and will not be able to fulfil the income and work requirements. Thousands will have to wait for years to apply for Permanent residency while some might lose the right to apply for Danish passport for at least 4 years if they get social benefits to feed their family during these crisis.
A just scenario would be to exempt (not change as minister Mattias Tesfaye emphasis to divert the issues) these requirements during the current crisis and give a fair chance to immigrants who are laid off from work after the corona crisis. This is what is meant by UN when it calls for humanity and support during these crisis.
Naqeeb Khan is a research graduate of the University of Glasgow, Scotland and currently resides in Denmark. He is president of Green Human Resources and an executive member with the Danish Green Card Association (DGCA). He can be contacted via email.
Despite the lockdown and economic crisis amend corona crisis, Danish Govt continue to demand immigrants to show annual income or be ready for deportation. Photo: Christoffer Laursen Hald / TV 2 NYHEDERNE
Corona Crisis has lockdown the whole world and businesses are falling apart. Thousands of employees have lost their jobs over night and hundreds of companies have filed bankruptcy. Denmark is no different and businesses are going down while employees are fired. Danish govt announced a much needed package but immigrants will continue to suffer as there is no relief for migrant workers. They rather face deportation despite the current global pandemic.
In a new move, Ministry of Integration has announced through the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) that there will be no mercy on those who lost their jobs because of the corona crisis. If immigrants want to stay in Denmark they have to show the required annual income.
It is obvious that these immigrants can not find jobs during these crisis and will not be able to fulfil income and work requirement. Thus they will be deported and punished for something that has nothing to do with them. On one side Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen request people to stay home and lock their business while on the other side demand from immigrants to show income otherwise face deportation. It is a clear sign of injustice and no mercy especially in the midst of this global pandemic.
One of the immigrants who got an email on 30th March from his company that the company has filled bankruptcy and he will not be getting even the March salary for which he has worked. His visa extension is due in June. In current crisis, it will be almost impossible for him to find a new job and fulfil income requirement. His request from govt is to waive the income and work requirement for at least 3 months so that at least he can extend his stay in Denmark where he has been living for over 5 years along his 2 daughters.
Naqeeb Khan is a research graduate of the University of Glasgow, Scotland and currently resides in Denmark. He is president of Green Human Resources and an executive member with the Danish Green Card Association (DGCA). He can be contacted via email.
Unemployment Rates have raised three time and Immigrants may face deportations if income and work requirements are not waived during these crisis. Photos: TV 2 Grafik / Christoffer Laursen Hald,
Corona virus COVID-19 crisis is deepening as the death toll is rising along the economic recession. Unemployment rates are increasing around the world. Denmark is no different as the new figures shows three times higher unemployment rates compare to last years. Despite the Govt package companies opt to shutdown and send their employees home.
A total of 42,847 people have registered as unemployed in the period from 9th to 24th March, according to a statement from the National Board of Labor and Employment. Only on Tuesday 24th March, 3,096 people registered as unemployed.
Govt still demand income from immigrants despite losing of jobs due to corona crisis. DR- Source-Styrelsen for Arbejdsmarked og Rekruttering
Hundreds of immigrants in Denmark are among those who have lost their jobs while thousands are staying home. According to an online survey, out of 623 immigrant participants 63 have stated that they have been fired from their jobs after the corona crisis. Similarly, 315 immigrants out of 623 participants of survey are told by employers to stay home until further notice. These Immigrants e.g. green card holders are required to show an annual income of DKK 317,681 (Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration SIRI calculation) to extend their visa. Similarly, those who have to apply for Permanent Residency (PR) permit has to show an annual income of DKK 292,256 (SIRI Calculation 2020 level) and should have a continuous work from last 4 years with 120 hours per month. Under current circumstances, fulfilling the income and work requirement is almost impossible.
Though the Govt has announced a generous package for employers and employees but that still does not address the immigrants concerns. Immigrants stay in Denmark will still be at risk as their annual income will still be way less than required for visa extension, PR and Family reunification applications.
The reasons why Govt package will not help these immigrants are;
1. Two jobs: Income requirement for visa extension, PR and family reunification is too high that many immigrants have been doing two jobs. In most cases one job is usually a part time job or two jobs with part time contract. In current crisis most of these part time jobs have vanished and these employees are straight away fired. This means that they will not be able to benefit from Govt package which will leave them with zero income. One of immigrants (who remains anonymous) has been doing two part-time jobs for over two and half years in a bid to eventually apply for PR. But she was fired from both of these jobs last week. Despite having two children, she is not eligible to any compensation from Govt. This will not only affect her family financial situation but she will also not be able to apply for PR in next few years. Immigrants who are going to apply for visa extension may risk their stay in Denmark under current situation as they will not be able to fulfill income and work requirements despite many of them have lived here for years and fulfilled all other requirements.
2. Companies can not pay 25%: The current crisis are so deep that many companies are not even able to pay the 25% of employees salary and have thus already fired their employees. Immigrants fired from these firms neither can get Govt package nor can find another job during these crisis. They will thus not be able to fulfil income and work requirements and might be deported to their home countries.
3. Most effected Industries: Tourism, resturants and hotel industries are few which are most effected by the corona crisis. Many of the immigrants who have been working in restaurants, tourism or hotel industry have been already fired and told that they will not receive govt compensations. A green card holder (who do not want to be named) have been working in tourism industry from last 5 years, is told on Monday 16th March to stay home until further notice from employer as there is no work. It will be hard for him to find another job in the current crisis. His visa extension is due in December this year for which he has to show last 12 months’ income. It will be unfair to ask him to show DKK 317,681 annual income.
4. Retail and Commission based businesses: In many of the retail and commission based businesses, employees salaries are made up of their basic salary plus commission on sale. For example one of the immigrant who works at a clothing store in a shopping centre in Copenhagen have been fulfilling income requirements after getting her basic salary plus commission on sale. Since businesses are lockdown, she have been told that she will receive the Govt. announced package but will not receive the commission. It will reduce her annual income and her visa extension will be at risk when she applies for extension.
Thousands of immigrants will be at risk of losing their visas or rejection of their PR or family reunification applications if income and work requirements are not relaxed for all those who have been the victim of these crisis. Considering current situation, Govt must come up with a legislations to waive the income and work requirement for visa extension, PR and family reunification applicants during these crisis.
Immigrants will hardly fulfil Income and work requirements after corona virus economic crisis.
The current crisis around Corona virus has on one side caused a huge human and economic lose but on the other side it has united us as human beings as we all are in this together. Denmark surely has suffered a lot but our unity and helping spirit will keep us as a living nation for ever.
Corona virus crisis will affect immigrants even more especially those hourly and salaried employees on temporary visas, green card holders and all those who are going to apply or applied for Permanent Residency (PR) permit. These immigrants has to show a required annual income before they can extend their visas to stay in Denmark or apply for Permanent Residency PR. Considering the current crisis it will be almost impossible for many to earn the required annual income.
Immigrants in Denmark e.g. green card holders are required to show an annual income of DKK 317,681 (Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration SIRI calculation) to extend their visa. Similarly, those who have to apply for Permanent Residency permit has to show an annual income of DKK 292,256 (SIRI Calculation 2020 level) and should have a continuous work from last 4 years with 120 hours per month. After the corona virus crisis thousands of employees are fired, many are told to stay home or called for work less than usual. The current situation might last for months. This will surely impact the annual income of these immigrants which will put them on risk of losing their visas or green cards or rejection of their Permanent Residency Permit applications.
The Danish government must come up with legislations regarding this and here are some recommendations which might help immigrants continue their stay in Denmark after the corona virus crisis.
Income Requirement for Visa Extension: The current rules states that for visa (green card) extension an annual income of DKK 317,681 (SIRI calculation) is required. Considering the current crisis, it is almost impossible for many to fulfil this requirement. It is recommended to exempt at least 3 months’ average income from the required annual income which will make the required annual income DKK 238,260. A green card holder (who do not want to be named) who have been working in tourism industry from last 5 years, is told on Monday 16th March to stay home until further notice from employer as there is no work. It will be hard for him to find another job in the current crisis. His visa extension is due in December this year for which he has to show last 12 months’ income. It will be unfair to ask him to show DKK 317,681 annual income. Therefore, considering his situation and hundreds more, it is recommended that the income requirement for visa extension is reduced to DKK 238,269 for all those who have either been laid off or told to stay home or called to work less than usual.
Income Requirement for Permanent Residency applicants: The current rules states that one should have an annual income of DKK 292,256 in the last 2 years before applying for Permanent Residency permit. Someone might have fulfilled all other requirements of work, language and active citizen exam but because of the current coronavirus crisis he/she will not be able to fulfil the income requirement for which they have to wait for another year before they can apply for PR. Therefore, we would like to recommend that the income requirement of the last one year before applying for PR should be reduced to DKK 219,192 this will give 3 months’ relaxation to all the potential applicants. Work Requirement for Permanent Residency applicants: The current rules states that one has to work at least 120 hours per month for last 4 years before you can apply for PR under 4 years’ rules and 3 and half years work under 8 years’ rules. Considering the current situation, hundreds of immigrants might not fulfil this requirement therefore, it is recommended that at least 3 months starting from March 2020 should be exempt from this rule of 120 hours work per month.
Continuous Work: The current rules also state that if someone has submitted a PR application so he/she should fulfil the continuous work requirement which means one should be working even though if he/she has submitted their PR application. Considering the current situation, many have lost their jobs which will risk their PR application rejection. For example, an immigrant (who do not want to be named) who has been working with an ice cream factory in Denmark from last 4 years lost his job on Monday, 16th March 2020 because of the coronavirus crisis. He has applied for PR 6 months ago. He is expecting his application decision in next 3 months. Under the current rules, his PR application will be rejected only because he would not fulfil the current work requirement despite the fact that he has fulfilled all other requirements from last 4 years. Therefore, if these 3 months are exempted from the work requirement so not only him but hundreds more who have been the victim of corona virus crisis will have a fair chance for a better life.
Naqeeb Khan 