The Danish expatriate community in Thailand was on 5 February 2025 invited to an informative evening titled “Global Danes in Thailand” at the Royal Danish Embassy in Bangkok. The event, organized by Danes Worldwide in collaboration with the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce (DTCC) and the Embassy of Denmark, aimed to update attendees on critical topics such as family reunification, citizenship retention, pensions, and the process of returning to Denmark.
The evening was well visited with basically all chairs taken when Marianne Edelmann Krüger, Danes Worldwide’s representative in Bangkok, welcomed all and briefly outlined the meeting.
Ambassador Danny Annan took over and explained about the work at the embassy. He also commented on the ongoing negotiations to conclude a Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and EU, saying that according to the Thai side, the agreement could be ready to sign already this year. He doubted that, since the EU requests were quite ambitious, including equal rights to bid for public contracts.
Following the ambassador’s remarks, Michael Andersen, Executive Director of the DTCC, provided insights into the collaborative efforts between Danes Worldwide, the DTCC and the Embassy to support Danes residing in Thailand.
A significant portion of the event featured an online presentation by Michael Bach Petersen, Secretary General of Danes Worldwide, and Lisbeth Kjersgaard, the organization’s leading legal advisor. They delved into the nuances of family reunification rules, particularly the options available for Danes wishing to return to Denmark with foreign spouses. It turned out to be relatively simple if the foreign spouse was over 24 years old and had been fulltime employed three of the previous five years.
The discussion also covered the rules concerning the retention of Danish citizenship for children born abroad, which had also been relaxed over the past few years, and the eligibility criteria for the Danish national pension (folkepension).
After a break with some more delicacies from Stable Lodge, the event ended with a session where the participants could discuss among eachother and engage directly with the legal experts during the open Q&A session.
The Danish company Pandora had sponsored the event, making it all possible.
For those who could not attend, Danes Worldwide and the DTCC plan to share key takeaways and resources on their respective websites. They also encourage interested individuals to reach out for further information or assistance regarding the topics discussed.
