This is what the asylum procedure in Denmark looks like.

Where do you apply for asylum?
In the majority of cases, the police are the first authority an asylum seeker comes into contact with upon arrival in Denmark. This could be at Copenhagen Airport, at the Danish border in Kruså, at a police station somewhere in the country or at Sandholm asylum centre. The asylum seeker is registered with the police and is accommodated at the asylum centre in Sandholm.

Registration with the police, identity and travel route are investigated
An asylum seeker, asking to have his or her case tried in Denmark, is registered with the police at the centre in Sandholm. Here, the applicant must inform about his or her name, address, date of birth, family relations, if there are relatives in Denmark and other relevant information. It is the police’s responsibility to clarify the identity of the applicant and the travel route to Denmark. This is done to determine whether the application for asylum should be tried in Denmark or in another country.

Will your case be tried in Denmark or in another country?
Following the international conventions signed by Denmark, everybody has the right to apply for asylum and have their case tried in this country. However, there are exceptions if the travels to Denmark have taken the applicant through a secure third country or if another European country is obliged to try the case according to the Dublin regulation. In such cases, the applicant will be sent to the country responsible for processing the asylum application. A safe country in this respect is a country which has signed and complies with the UN Refugee Convention. Examples of safe third-countries are Switzerland, Canada and the USA. The asylum seeker cannot be returned to a country where he or she risks persecution or risks being sent to another unsafe country.

It is the Danish Immigration Service who determines whether an asylum seeker will be sent to another country. This decision is based on the travel route and a possible registration in another country. The asylum seeker can complain about the decision made by the Immigration Service, but does not have the right to stay in Denmark while the complaint is heard.

The Dublin regulation
The EU countries have entered into an agreement, the Dublin regulation, which means that only one country is responsible for trying an application for asylum. According to the Dublin regulation, it is the first EU country, into which the asylum seeker has travelled, which is responsible for trying the case. If the asylum seeker receives a rejection there or travels on without having his or her case tried, he or she will be returned to the country in question. If the asylum seeker has travelled, say, from Iran and has stopped in Germany along the way, the German authorities will be contacted and will be obliged to receive the asylum seeker.

Trying of the asylum case in Denmark - application form
If the application for asylum will be tried in Denmark, the asylum seeker must fill in an application form, addressing the motive for the application. Here, a number of questions about the applicant’s conflicts in the country of origin must be answered. Illiterate applicants will not have to fill in a written application. This is also the case for applicants from countries where the Immigration Service considers it unlikely that they are subjected to persecution.

The written application form the basis for the case handling
It is important to describe all the reasons for the fleeing the home country in as much detail as possible in the application form. You have the right to spend as much time as you wish filling in the application form and you should not let yourself be pressured into hurrying just because other applicants are faster. If you are not very good at expressing yourself in writing, it can be a good idea to tell this in the application form, so that, later on, it doesn’t look like you are adding to your explanation when in fact you are just clarifying the written explanation. As the answers in the written application form the base for the rest of the case handling, it is very important to give all information, including information it can be difficult to share with others. Everybody involved in handling asylum cases have taken a vow of confidentiality; this goes for authorities, interpreters, NGOs, lawyers and others.

Interview with the Danish Immigration Service
When the application form has been filled in the applicant is summoned to an interview with the Danish Immigration Service. During this interview the questions from the application form are elaborated. This is a thorough interview, lasting in some cases a whole day, and it is a good idea to prepare very carefully for it.

The Refugee Appeals Board secures fair treatment
The purpose of letting an independent board try the decisions of the Immigration Service is to ensure fair treatment. The Refugee Appeals Board consists of a judge, a representative from the Danish Bar and Law Society, and a representative from the Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs. Furthermore, a representative from the Danish Immigration Service and the applicant with his/her appointed lawyer are present if a case is tried before the Refugee Appeals Board. In approx. 2-3 of every 10 cases, the Refugee Appeals Board overturns a decision made by the Immigration Service.

Recognised as refugee
If the Immigration Service or the Refugee Appeals Board decides that the applicant meet the criteria to be granted asylum, he or she will be granted a residence permit for Denmark. Hence, it is the responsibility of the municipality to help the new citizen to become integrated and learn the Danish language and culture through a three-year integration programme. On Integrationsnet, which is a part of the Danish Refugee Councils Services, you can read more about the three-year integration programme in danish.

Case handling without application form
Applicants from e.g. Western Europe, most Eastern European countries and some African states do not need to fill in an application form. These are applicants who the Danish Immigration Service is almost certain will not be granted asylum. These applications are handled under a special fast track procedure in which no application form is needed. Read more under the heading “manifestly unfounded procedure”.

The manifestly unfounded procedure
Cases, where the applicant comes from a country, where persecution is unlikely to occur the case will be tried in the “manifestly unfounded procedure”. The cases are processed quickly. Before the Immigration Service rejects the application, the case must be considered by the Danish Refugee Council who also interviews the applicant. If the Danish Refugee Council agrees that the case is manifestly unfounded or futile based on the outcome of previous cases, the applicant receives a final rejection without the possibility of appeal. If, however, the Danish Refugee Council does not find the case manifestly unfounded, the case will be appealed to the Refugee Appeals Board in case of a rejection from the Danish Immigration Service.

Final rejection
An applicant who has received a final rejection must leave Denmark. The rejected asylum seeker will be called in for an interview with the police to decide on the deportation. If the rejected asylum seeker does not have money to pay for the return ticket, the Danish National Police will pay for it. Generally, the rejected asylum seeker should return to his or her country of origin. But in some cases, the rejected asylum seeker wishes to travel to another country than his or her country of origin. In rare cases, this is allowed on the condition that the necessary travel documents can be procured in such a timely manner that the departure from Denmark can happen without delay and that the person in question can enter the chosen country legally.

Hindrances to the deportation
It may occur that a rejected asylum seeker cannot be sent back to his or her country of origin due to disturbances there, or because the authorities in the country of origin refuse to accept the asylum seeker. If you can not be deported to your country of origin you can get a temporary residence permit, if you meet these requirements: 1) At least 18 months have passed where it has not been possible to send you back, 2) You have cooperated with the Danish National Police during this time and signed a document saying that you will cooperate to the deportation each time you are asked to do so, and 3) The Danish National Police assess that efforts to deport you to the country of origin remain improbable.

It also happens that an asylum seeker goes underground, for instance, if they are afraid to go back to their country of origin, or because they want to apply for asylum in another country. If there is a risk that the asylum seeker will go underground, the police can impose compulsory reporting on this person or put him or her in the special prison for detained asylum seekers in Ellebæk. This usually happens to asylum seekers who have attempted to hinder the trying of their case, or who have been away without leave from the asylum centre. Another way of working against the authorities could be refusing to sign documents needed for permission to enter the country of origin.

Cooperation with the authorities - duty of information
For the Danish authorities to be able to assess the application for asylum, it is important that the asylum seeker is cooperating; Meaning that they turn up for interviews and disclose identity, motive for applying and travel route to Denmark. Nevertheless, there are still applicants who will not cooperate with the authorities. This is often because distrust in authorities and police is rife in their home country or because the traffickers who brought them here have threatened or advised them to silence. To get an unwilling asylum seeker to cooperate, the authorities have different sanctions they can use to pressure them, and as a last resort they can imprison them in Ellebæk. Although you, as an asylum seeker, may harbour a deep distrust in the authorities, it is very important that you account truthfully and in detail for your motive for seeking asylum right from the beginning, because a change of explanation later in the course of the case will generally harm it.

Use of interpreters
During the trying of the asylum application, interpreters are often used. This happens at the interview with the Immigration Service, with the Danish Refugee Council and in the Refugee Appeals Board. If problems with the interpreters occur, be it because of language problems between the asylum seeker and the interpreter, or because the asylum seeker lacks confidence in the interpreter and thus distrusts the interpretation, it is important to make this known immediately.