For most Danes settled on the Costa, no. Moving away from Denmark ends the right to vote in Danish elections and referendums unless you apply to stay on the roll and fit a listed exception: an expected return within two years, a Danish state posting, or a temporary stay abroad for study, health, a Danish employer or similar ties, where the ministry says settled practice means the stay must neither be expected to become permanent nor have exceeded eight years.
The European vote stays open. Any Dane living in another EU country can apply for the Copenhagen list and vote in Danish European Parliament elections, however long ago the move. As an EU citizen resident in Spain you can also vote in Spanish municipal elections.
Last verified: 28 September 2026.
Who keeps the Folketing vote, and who does not
Admission to the folketingsvalglisten — Folketing electoral list is by application to your last municipality of residence, and brings the Folketing, referendums and the European Parliament, never municipal or regional elections. Who can be admitted, per the ministry: people expecting to return within two years; Danish state employees posted abroad; and, if the stay is temporary in the sense above, people sent out by Danish public bodies, companies or associations, staff of international organisations Denmark belongs to, aid workers, students, people abroad for health reasons, and anyone with comparable ties, plus their spouses and partners.
Normally refused: anyone abroad more than eight years or planning to stay permanently; anyone abroad for housing, job-hunting, a partner or other family or personal reasons; anyone locally employed by a foreign company, self-employed or freelance abroad. Working in Denmark, paying Danish tax or owning Danish property makes no difference. If you qualify, apply through Borger.dk or on the ministry’s form; admission lasts two years, renewable, and must be fully processed at least seven days before election day.
🧭 Stuck on something a guide cannot finish?
We keep a short list of bilingual navigators on the Costa who do this for a living. Tell us what you are stuck on and we will point you at the right one.
The Copenhagen list: open to every Dane in an EU country
The københavnervalglisten — Copenhagen electoral list is the route that works from Spain. Danish citizens aged 18 or over living in another EU country may, on application, vote in European Parliament elections in Denmark, with no requirement as to why you live there or for how long. Apply on the ministry’s form to Københavns Kommune. Admission lasts two years, so an application filed now would lapse before the 2029 election; file it in 2027 or later. It must be processed at least fifteen days before Danish polling day. Your Europe, the EU’s guidance site, adds: you can only vote once in the European elections, through Denmark or through Spain.
How advance voting from Spain works
Danes on either list cast a brevstemme — advance vote in person at any Danish embassy or consulate abroad. Denmark has an embassy in Madrid, ten honorary consulates and a vice-consulate in Spain, listed on the embassy’s website; which consulates take votes is not confirmed here, so ask before travelling. Votes cast more than three months before election day are not counted, and the vote must reach your former municipality (or Københavns Kommune, for the Copenhagen list) before polling opens. Bring a passport, driving licence or health card.
The next dates that matter
- 24 March 2026: the last Folketing election. The next must be held by 23 March 2030 and can be called earlier, in practice on 20 to 21 days’ notice.
- 2029: the next European Parliament election. Copenhagen list admissions lapse after two years.
What this does not cover
Danes in the Faroe Islands or Greenland, who have their own list. Whether your own stay counts as temporary, which is the municipality’s and the Election Board’s call. Spain’s regional and national elections; the Spanish municipal and European votes open to an EU resident are in the guides below.
The five-minute version
- Moving abroad ends the Danish vote unless you apply and fit an exception: return within two years, a state posting, or a temporary stay under eight years not expected to become permanent.
- Moving for housing, a partner or a job with a local employer: the ministry’s own examples of what is normally refused.
- Any Dane in an EU country can join the Copenhagen list for Danish European Parliament elections: apply to Københavns Kommune, valid two years, processed fifteen days before polling.
- Voting is in person at a Danish embassy or consulate, no earlier than three months before election day, with ID.
- Next Folketing election by 23 March 2030; next European election in 2029.
Related guides
- Can You Still Vote in Your Home Country While Living in Spain?
- How to Register to Vote in Spanish Municipal Elections as a Foreign Resident
- Can Foreigners Vote in Elections in Spain?
- How to Vote in Swedish Elections From Spain
General information, not legal advice, current as of 28 September 2026. Primary sources: the Danish Ministry of Economic and Interior Affairs (valg.im.dk and elections.im.dk), Statsministeriet, the Danish embassy in Spain (um.dk), and Your Europe (europa.eu).
Add WaypointSur as a preferred source in Google Search: