I got rejected / I am asylum seeker in phase 3...

To reopen your case at the Refugee Appeals Board (takes 12 months, average) you need:
1) New important information, not available at the time of the rejection and not previously presented to the board
2) Proof of something that the Board did not believe
3) Radical change of the situation in your home country
or
4) Change of practice in the Board for cases similar to yours.
Very few cases are reopened.

International/European complaint (takes up to 2 years):
Could be a second chance, if a lawyer/Danish Refugee Council/Refugees Welcome agree that the case is a wrong decision and it has a chance in one of these systems. But it's a long and heavy process, and the lawyer must do it for free as there is no support for it.

If none of this is possible, your best option is to sign the form for voluntary return, and make a plan B for your return. If not, you will be sent to a deportation camp, you risk being sent to prison and deported.

NB: If you are rejected after having had a permit revoked, you can apply for repatriation and get money for that. But you must apply before the final rejection. Read more here.

As a rule, it is not possible to seek asylum in another EU member state, when you already have a negative decision. Normally you will be sent back to Denmark as according to the Dublin Regulation. A few cases have been opened again in other countries, but they are rare.

Maybe you consider going to another country outside of the EU, but this is usually not possible, as that country must accept to receive you. For example, you are a citizen from DR Congo and you are afraid that you will be arrested at the airport in DR Congo. You have a brother in Uganda where you could stay – but if the Danish authorities ask Uganda to accept you, the Ugandan embassy will say no because you are not their citizen.

A few countries have sponsorship programs, but they normally only include refugees with higher education and close contacts in that country – and often a valid passport.

After the final rejection, you will be moved to the return center Avnstrup, and the Return Agency will call you in and ask you to sign a contract: accepting that you will return to your home country voluntarily and will help actively to make this happen. The contract is in Danish but will normally be translated by an interpreter at the meeting. If there is a discussion about which country you could be sent to, make sure it is noted in the report which country you accept returning to.

The contract is not legally binding – if you change your mind, you can just stop cooperating anytime. The authorities will not send you out without a warning.

Signing the contract and collaborating with the authorities will give you a number of benefits, such as being allowed continue studies or jobs, receiving pocket money and planning the return. Another advantage is that you might be allowed to go on a plane to your destination alone, whereas if they deport you, they will escort you and hand you over to the authorities at the airport. This puts more attention on you when you arrive, and could make it more dangerous for you.

Signing the contract is not enough, though. The Return Agency must also believe that you tell the truth about your identity and work actively to return – for instance you might contact your embassy or family to get travel documents.

If you don't sign and collaborate actively, you will get a 2 years ban on entry to the Schengen area. You will be moved to Kærshovedgård deportation camp if you don't have children with you. If you have children, you stay at Avnstrup but under tough restrictions. You have a duty to report and to spend every night there, and you will not receive pocket money. The police and the Return Agency might come and take you to prison or deport you without warning.

Signing the contract is also a requirement if you want to work while you are still in phase 2. Again; it is not legally binding so you can do it and maybe stop the cooperation later.

Only if you sign the contract, and if the Return Agency believe that you are really doing your best to make the return happen. See the former text. If you have a job which meets the criteria on Beløbsordningen (Pay Limit scheme) or Positivlisten (Positive list), you can apply for a permit to stay for that reason – but it must be done while your asylum case is still pending.

Normally, no. As a rule, you can only get married if you have a passport and a valid visa. But you can ask for dispensation if you have been in Denmark for more than 3 years and had a relationship to the person for more than 18 months – or if you are expecting a child together. In that case, ask the marriage office in the kommune where the person with residence permit is living. Read more here (in Danish).

But getting a residence permit on family reunification is even harder than getting married, because you normally have to apply from your home country. And if it's a Danish person you marry, there are a lot of criteria to meet. Some couples have been able to use the EU-rules for family reunification, going to Sweden and get registered there as a couple first. But this is not an easy option. If you consider this, ask Refugees Welcome for personal counseling.

We don't recommend living underground, as it often has negative effects on your case and your mental health. You will not be allowed to have your case reopened as long as you are underground, and when you show up and ask to get back in the system, you will be taken to prison for some time, depending on how long you were out of the system.

Many shelters will not accept you when you don't have a Danish social security card/CPR number.

You don't get any kind of allowances, and only access to hospitals and doctors in emergency cases. You can, however, get access to doctors and midwives in one of the clinics for undocumented, run by Red Cross in Copenhagen and Århus. To get the address to the clinic: contact us in RW, or the clinic directly: sundhedsklinikken@rodekors.dk or phone 3171 6164.

No, after a final rejection on asylum, you must apply for any work or study permit from your home country, or come back on a visa and do it. The two special job options Pay Limit Scheme and Positive List can only be applied while your asylum case is still pending. Read more here.

However, if you lost your permit because your asylum permit was revoked, you might get a work permit instead if you have been working full-time for the same employer for at least 2 years. If you loose your permit while studying for a job on the Positive Lists, you can be allowed to finish your education and stay for 6 months afterwards while searching for a job.