VisaGreenland family applications use GL2, with separate renewal deadlines for accompanying relatives
Current procedural guidance explains Greenland’s digital family application introduced in May, the distinction from an employee’s application, and the documents and expiry dates families must coordinate.
Official source date: 2026-05-11
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
A digital family route introduced in May, not a new November announcement
SIRI, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration, introduced the digital GL2 application on 11 May 2026 for accompanying family members moving to Greenland. This current procedural guide concerns that existing service rather than a new November immigration concession. The launch notice covers relatives accompanying a worker or student who has temporary residence or has held permanent residence for less than three years. It also covers extensions of an accompanying relative’s existing permission.
The practical change was the ability to complete and submit the family application directly through the official website. SIRI’s GL2 launch notice is the resource for understanding that change and reaching technical support. It also identifies GL1/5 as the separate digital application for the person undertaking paid employment. A family should therefore distinguish the employee’s case from the accompanying relative’s case before choosing a form; completing one does not mean both have been submitted.
Identify the family relationship and assemble the evidence
SIRI’s accompanying-family guidance identifies spouses, registered or cohabiting partners and children under 18 as eligible relationship categories. It states that Greenland and Denmark are separate travel areas: Danish residence permission does not itself authorise residence in Greenland. For families already living in Denmark, this distinction matters before organising a permanent move rather than merely considering the flight itinerary.
The same guidance supplies the relationship-specific checklist. Partners provide evidence of marriage, registered partnership or cohabitation, alongside copies of every passport page, including blank pages and covers. A child’s file requires the child’s passport pages and a birth certificate naming the parents. Where only one parent will reside in Greenland with the child, the checklist requires evidence of full custody or the other parent’s consent, together with that parent’s passport data page. Applicants without MitID can use the signed sworn declaration specified in the digital instructions.
Coordinate the worker’s permission and the family’s expiry dates
The separate Work in Greenland guide explains the principal employee’s position. Nordic citizens do not require a residence or work permit, while EU free-movement rules do not operate in Greenland. Other applicants must identify the relevant permission or exemption before starting employment. The ordinary employment route generally involves a municipal authorisation for the employer and an assessment of Greenlandic salary and employment standards; not every position requires that municipal document.
That work guide also warns that permission is tied to the approved job and company. A new position, including one with the same company, requires a new permit before the employee starts it. This creates a practical coordination task for a relocating household: check the employee’s actual authorisation and proposed start date separately from the accompanying relative’s application. The employer’s offer is evidence for the employment process, not a substitute for the permission SIRI must grant.
Renew within the permitted window and budget for processing
For an existing accompanying relative, SIRI’s Greenland family-extension page is the action resource. It allows submission from two months before expiry through the last day of validity. An application after expiry can be refused. The sponsor must hold valid permission and a permanent Greenlandic address, or have extended permission as an employee or student. Applicants should therefore record both family members’ expiry dates and begin collecting the renewal evidence before the submission window opens.
The extension page lists no processing fee and a normal processing time of four months, potentially six where further information is needed. These are published administrative periods, not a promised decision date for an individual household. It also explains that passport expiry can shorten residence permission to two months before the passport expires. Renewing a passport may therefore be necessary before seeking the intended residence period. The page permits the applicant to remain in Greenland while the extension is processed; that statement concerns the extension procedure and should not be treated as permission for a first-time applicant to relocate before approval.
