Many European countries charge a fee to apply for or renew a residence permit, including those issued on humanitarian grounds. Application processes can also include other expenses, such as those for procuring medical statements, official translations, and legal aid. All these costs can act as a hindrance to integration, as people exert huge amounts of time and energy in securing the necessary funds.

Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), published a position paper comparing access to new applications or renewals of permits on humanitarian grounds - with special focus on fees and costs - in 11 European countries: Denmark, Belgium, France, Spain, UK, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Austria and Poland.

The paper singles out Denmark as the only country that does not charge asylum seekers outright fees within humanitarian permit application and renewal processes. The application process does require medical statements and expert legal advice, however - this is not free of charge but is usually offered pro-bono, with lawyers and doctors taking into account the fact that asylum seekers are not permitted to work in Denmark and therefore do not have any form of regular income. Over the last 15 years Denmark has slowed its granting of humanitarian permits, issuing only 6 in 2021. 

Denmark charges high fees for family reunification applications (1 300 EUR at the time of writing), for both EU citizens and third-country nationals. Fees are not charged to recognised refugees. All foreigners - including those who are refugees - must pay between 610 EUR - 990 EUR to apply for permanent stay, or 610 EUR to apply for a special work permit. These permits are usually renewed every 2 years, with the same costs attached.

Denmark has recently re-introduced the practice of requiring that individuals using translation services, including refugees, cover the costs of these services themselves. This applies to everyone who is not fluent in Danish and has been residing legally in Denmark for at least 3 years. A previous EWSI article examined the impact of this. Given the low income of many refugees and third-country migrants, particularly those who are undocumented, disabled, or have difficult physical or psychological health conditions - in Denmark as well as other EU countries - these fees can place barriers in the way of successful integration that are very difficult to overcome.