Danish policy change 2012; on family reunification with spouse
In 2002, the Government at that time introduced the so-called 24 years age requirement and the requirement on aggravated ties, including the rights of Danish citizens to reunification with a foreign spouse.
A majority of the Danish Parliament passed the new legislation and it was argued that such rules would benefit young woman, who were in danger of forced marriage.
From a human rights perspective, however, this policy was questioned. By way of example, the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination commented on the matter in Concluding Observations on Denmark; CERD/C/60/CO/5 21 May 2002: "The Committee is concerned about the impact of the recent amendments to the Aliens Act, particularly as they abolish the statutory right to reunification of spouses under the age of 25 years. The Committee encourages the State party to take effective measures to ensure that the right to family life is guaranteed to all persons in Denmark without distinction."
Also the Woman's Committee found the rules discriminatory CEDAW A/57/38 2002:
"341. The Committee is concerned that the Aliens Act, which although gender neutral, indirectly discriminates against women.
342. The Committee recommends that the State party review the Aliens Act and revoke those provisions that are incompatible with the provisions of the Convention, particularly article 2, which prohibits direct and indirect discrimination."
Other UN Committees have followed up on this in Concluding Observations on Denmark:
"29. The Committee calls upon the State party to take appropriate measures to either repeal or amend the so-called 24-year rule of the 2002 Aliens Act, in line with its obligation to guarantee the enjoyment of the right to family life to all persons in Denmark, without distinction. In this connection, the Committee encourages the State party to consider alternative means of combating the phenomenon of forced marriage involving immigrant women."
(E/C.12/1/Add.102, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on 14 December 2004). This was followed by criticism from a row of other international and European institutions.
The number of permissions for spouse reunification thus decreased and many Danish citizens moved with a foreign spouse to other European Countries (especially Sweden) according to the EU law of freedom of movement.
Since 2002, the rules on reunification were theightened several times. However, in 2010 the Government at that time made some exceptions to the age requirement, in order to allow reunification by "earning point" due to occupational and educational requirements etc. At the same time making it even more difficult to be granted residence permit, if the applicant did not fulfil these new requirements.
Due to a general election a new center-left Government came into power in the fall of 2011, and in January 2012 a bill has been introduced for comments amongst NGO's and others which will again make the 24 years requirement mandatory (with no possibility of exemptions due to qualifications), but also ease some of the other stricter requirements on the right to family reunification.
All in all, it may be concluded that if the bill is going to be passed in the Danish Parliament in the spring of 2012, the rules of the Danish Aliens Act will be less strict compared to the existing legislation, but still stricter than the rules invoked in 2002. Consequently, the legal "battle" and the level of national and international courts will continue challenging the rules, as well as the Danish Citizens use of the right to freedom of movement with their spouses to other European countries.
