Several groups exempted from residence and work requirements

Children born abroad to surrogate mothers, children born during short stays abroad, and individuals dispatched by the Danish state are now exempted from the tightened residence and work requirements in the new cash benefit system. The parties behind the agreements on tightened qualifying rules and work obligations have reached a consensus.

The new exceptions are to be added as an amendment to the existing bill on internationally adopted children, which is currently being considered in the Danish Parliament. The legislative changes are expected to come into effect on July 1, 2025, alongside the new cash benefit system.

Minister of Employment Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen stated:

“It has been important that we have collectively looked at which groups of citizens should be exempted from the new rules. As I have mentioned before, in the political negotiations on work obligations, we did not pay enough attention to the target group for the new rules, as in the agreements, we simply built upon the existing requirements. We are now correcting this, and it is good that we have reached an agreement together while maintaining the work obligation.”

The agreement is supported by the Social Democrats, Venstre, the Moderates, the Danish Democrats, Liberal Alliance, the Conservative People’s Party, and the Danish People’s Party. The parties emphasize that the exceptions are based on legal assessments and do not undermine the basis of the work obligation.

The new exemptions are estimated to cost the state approximately 2.2 million Danish kroner in 2025 and 3.3 million kroner annually from 2026 onwards.

The Ministry of Employment is also working on changing the registration practices in the Civil Registration System, so internationally adopted individuals can avoid separate documentation of their status in the future.

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