last update: February 2016
Asylum based on persecution because of gender identity or sexual orientation
(LGBT = Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons)
Denmark recognise persecution because of gender identity and sexual orientation. So if you can prove that you, because of your gender identity or sexual orientation, risk persecution or will be in a concrete risk of death penalty, torture or inhuman and degrading treatment at a return to your country of origin, you are entitled to asylum.
The most important thing is to explain your own experiences living as an LGBT person. What are the risks you face? In what ways have you been persecuted? What do you fear if returned to your home country?
You might be able to underpin your case with background information. The Immigration Service and Refugee Appeals Board have access to great amounts of information about the situation in different countries, and they will use this when considering your case. You may yourself see if you can find reports, articles or testimonies from organizations about the situation for homosexuals, bisexuals or transgender persons. Especially, you might be able to find relevant information in your own language. Give the information to your legal representative if you have one, so she or he can put it together. But remember: You typically don't get asylum because of the general situation in your country, but because of your personal situation in your country.
It is important that you explain about your sexual orientation or gender identity from the beginning of your case, and it is safe to do so. If you wait to later in your case, the Immigration Service or Refugee Appeals board might not believe you. These interviews can be intimidating, and you might be asked very intimate questions, and they might not believe your story or believe that you are LGBT. Remember that you can have a second person with you during the interviews.
If you do not want your family or children to know about some things you have gone through, you can demand to be interviewed separately about your own grounds for asylum.
Family reunification is possible in Denmark with a spouse, registered partner or cohabiting partner regardless of their sex or genderidentification.
In the asylum centres you can tell the staff about your special needs as LGBT. They are bound by a duty of confidentiality meaning that they cannot tell others. The group LGBT Asylum are in contact with Red Cross and others who run many of the centres, and you can contact them if you have specific issues regarding your situation in the center. LGBT Asylum also provide counselling regarding your asylum application.
More information and advice: