Extending your residence permit
In short
The most important thing in this guide is what you do not have to do. Permits under are extended automatically: Udlændingestyrelsen decides on its own, without any application from you.
There is no form, no portal and no appointment for an extension under Særloven. If someone offers to "file your extension" for money, that is not a service — it is an invented one.
no repeat biometrics: the photo and the fingerprints are taken from your previous case
Does this apply to me?
Yes, if you hold a valid permit under Særloven. Children who were under 6 and so did not give fingerprints have them taken when they turn 6.
Steps
Make sure it is not fraudsters "extending" your permit
An extension under Særloven happens without any involvement from you. On nyidanmark.dk, the section about extending permits does not mention Ukraine at all — because it lists the schemes where you really do apply: work, study, family reunification.
So anyone offering to "arrange the extension" is either mistaken or making money out of you.
an application is only needed when you move to a DIFFERENT type of permit — not one under Særloven
Check your address in CPR — that is your only duty
The new card (opholdskort) comes by ordinary post, roughly 4 weeks after the decision. If the address in the register is the old one, the card goes there.
And one more small thing that really does stop cards arriving: your surname has to be on the letterbox. The post office does not leave a letter where there is no name.
Guide: moving to another kommune →Watch Digital Post, not the news
The decision arrives in . That is the only place where it has legal force — posts in Telegram channels do not have that force.
While your case is being handled, you stay in Denmark with the same rights as before, including the right to work. A permit under Særloven is a residence permit and a work permit at the same time.
What this letter looks like — line by line →Do not throw the old card away
Keep your previous opholdskort with you until the new one arrives. While the new card is on its way, the old one is still your proof of status — for an employer, a bank and the kommune.
Know what has changed for new applications
On 1 September 2026 a law was passed restricting new permits for men of conscription age who cannot document an exemption from mobilisation. It took effect on 3 September, applies to applications filed from 25 June 2026, and does not take permits away from those who already hold one.
A separate restriction is under discussion for people from less war-affected regions of Ukraine. At the time of writing this is a draft in public consultation, not a law in force. And the thing people most often get wrong: the draft names the Kyiv region, but not the city of Kyiv — the text spells that out separately.
What has changed in the rules — the log →the list of regions, if it is adopted, will live in a separate statutory instrument and can change
If your permit was not extended
That is a different conversation, and there you really do apply. One route is a permit based on arbejdsmarkedstilknytning, that is, on the basis of work; it is meant specifically for people whose Særloven permit was revoked or not extended. That one does have a form, a fee and compulsory biometrics.
Do not do this on your own and blind: free legal advice first.
Where to go for legal help →What you will need
- Your valid opholdskort — do not throw it away
- MitID for Digital Post
- An up-to-date address in CPR
- Your surname on the letterbox
- Passport
Danish words you will see
- Særloven
- The special act on residence permits for people from Ukraine.
- Opholdstilladelse
- A residence permit. The date it runs to is written in the decision from SIRI.
- SIRI
- The agency that issues and extends residence permits. It writes to you in Digital Post.
- Digital Post
- Official electronic post from the state. Letters in it are legally binding.
- CPR-nummer
- Your personal registration number. You need it for almost everything.
Common mistakes
- Filing an application for an extension. There is no such application. An extension under Særloven happens without you.
- Paying a middleman to "arrange" it. There is nothing to arrange — you are paying for air.
- Taking dates from the nyidanmark pages about Ukraine. They stay out of date for a long time. Go by the date in your own letter and on your own card.
- Not updating your address after moving. The new card goes to the old address — and back to the sender.
- Not reading Digital Post. The decision arrives there. The deadlines in it run whether you opened the letter or not.
Need to talk to a human?
With questions about your permit it is best to go to a lawyer, not to friends: Bevar Ukraine gives free legal advice in Ukrainian by appointment.
Where to turn and what to say →Where this information comes from
- Checked against sources: 21.09.2026
- Sources: nyidanmark.dk — Information til ukrainske statsborgere, nyidanmark.dk — Forlængelse af opholdstilladelse efter Ukraine-særloven, uim.dk — Regeringen vil begrænse visse ukraineres adgang til Danmark, siri.dk — Nyheder
This is an explanation in plain words, not legal advice. The final word always belongs to the authority. How we check
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