Residence permit as a retired employee of an international organisation
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Pensionist fra international organisation as of 2026-08-22[7] Heading of the Danish-language edition of this route's own page on nyidanmark.dk, transcribed as published. The Aliens Act enumerates the grounds by section number and gives the permits no names of their own, so the authority's published Danish heading is the local name. |
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| Official name (English) | Residence permit as a retired employee of an international organisation as of 2025-10-03[7] |
| Legal basis | Udlaendingeloven (Aliens Act), LBK nr 1183 of 25 September 2025, section 9 q(1) as of 2026-08-22[2][4][7] Section 9 q(1) allows a permit for a foreign national who has reached 60, has retired at the employer's set retirement age and is no longer economically active, and who has lived lawfully and continuously in Denmark for the last 12 years, throughout that period holding a permit under section 47(1), first sentence, as an employee of an international organisation, EU institution or similar. The ministry's annual amount notice places the guarantee sum for this route under section 9 q(6). Danish text: “§ 9 q. Der kan efter ansøgning gives opholdstilladelse til en udlænding, som er fyldt 60 år, som er gået på pension som følge af ansættelsesstedets fastsatte pensionsalder og ikke længere er erhvervsaktiv, og som uafbrudt har boet lovligt her i landet i de sidste 12 år og i hele denne periode har haft opholdstilladelse efter § 47, stk. 1, 1. pkt., som ansat ved en herværende international organisation, EU-institution el.lign.” |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2025-10-03[7] |
Who can apply
| Minimum age | 60 as of 2025-10-03[4][7] The applicant must be over 60 and must additionally have reached the pensionable age set by the organisation they worked for, which may differ from the Danish state pension age. An application may be lodged six months before turning 60. No exemption is available from either limb. The Immigration Service also states that an application is liable to be rejected as obviously unqualifying if made at age 50. |
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Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 2 years as of 2025-10-03[7] 'Valid for up to two years', extendable while the requirements continue to be met. |
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| Renewable | Yes as of 2025-10-03[7] |
| Work rights | none as of 2025-10-03[7] No paid work of any kind. Unpaid voluntary work is permitted. Paid work is a ground for revoking the permit. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-07-07[6][7] The Immigration Service states that a holder of this permit can qualify for permanent residence after five years, on a separate application route and subject to its own requirements – shorter than the general eight-year rule. |
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| Years to permanent residence on this route | 5 as of 2025-10-03[7] |
Requirements
| Minimum income | Not applicable[3][7] |
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| Qualifying income types | Not applicable[7] No qualifying income types are defined, because there is no income test. The substantive gate is retirement from a named class of employer plus 12 years' prior residence, not the composition of the applicant's income. |
| Work prohibited | Yes as of 2025-10-03[4][7] Once retired, the holder may only perform unpaid voluntary work; paid work is a ground for revocation. The retirement itself must have followed reaching the pensionable age set by the organisation. |
Process
| Where to apply from | in-country only as of 2025-10-03[7] The application can normally only be submitted in Denmark, and only by a holder of a residence permit issued by the Danish Foreign Ministry under Aliens Act section 47(1), which is why it is normally lodged before that permit expires. It is filed on paper – form IP1 – at the Immigration Service's Citizen Service by appointment, or by post. |
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| Fees |
Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2025-10-03[7] The Immigration Service's route page states no day count and no absence limit for this permit. What it does state as continuing conditions is that the holder and any accompanying family must not receive public financial benefits, and that the holder must not perform paid work; either breaks the permit. The general lapse rules on giving up a Danish address were not restated on this page and were not separately researched for this route. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2025-10-03[7] |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, unmarried partner, minor child as of 2025-10-03[4][7] Spouse, registered or cohabiting partner, and children under 18 living at home. A cohabiting partner normally needs 18 months of documented cohabitation. Accompanying family apply on form IP2. |
| Family members' work rights | Not established from a qualifying source |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 7 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 7 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2018-05-01 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-22 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-22 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Fee – overview of fee rates
The Danish Immigration Service and SIRI · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Published 2026-01-01 · Accessed 2026-08-19 - [2] Bekendtgoerelse af udlaendingeloven (Aliens Act, consolidated), LBK nr 1183 af 25/09/2025
Udlaendinge- og Integrationsministeriet / Retsinformation · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2025-09-25 · Accessed 2026-08-22 - [3] Vejledning om regulering pr. 1. januar 2026 af beloebssatser efter udlaendingeloven m.v., VEJ nr 10218 af 07/12/2025
Udlaendinge- og Integrationsministeriet · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-07 · Accessed 2026-08-19 - [4] Application form IP1 – Application for residence permit as a retired employee of an international organisation
The Danish Immigration Service · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2021-07-26 · Accessed 2026-08-19 - [5] New residence scheme for retired foreigners
The Danish Immigration Service · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2018-05-01 · Accessed 2026-08-19 - [6] Apply for a permanent residence permit
The Danish Immigration Service · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-07 · Accessed 2026-08-19 - [7] Retired employee of an international organisation
The Danish Immigration Service · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-10-03 · Accessed 2026-08-19