This master thesis examines inmates in Herstedvester Prison in Denmark and their opportunities to create social ties and engage in relations outside of the prison society. The setting of this thesis is partly the Red Cross’ volunteer prison visitation program, and partly the previous master thesis “Sociale bånd der binder” (Social ties that connects) by Graunbøl and Hornnes from 2009, which is a statistical study on how social ties affect inmates. The latter was chosen because visitation in prisons and its consequences are not thoroughly examined. The thesis is practice oriented and focuses on how visits to inmates in Herstedvester Prison are executed. In addition, the thesis will examine how important social relations and personal ties are for the inmates during their incarceration. Furthermore, it will investigate to what extend visits from, and contact to, the surrounding community is beneficial for the inmates. The problem formulation is thus the following: ”Hvordan foregår besøg i Herstedvester Fængsel og hvilken betydning har besøg for de indsatte her?” (How is visitation in Herstedvester Prison executed and what are the effects of visits for the inmates?). It was uncovered that regular contact with the surrounding community, and visits from friends and family, helps inmates cope better with their release and reenter society more proficiently. The primary empirical data is qualitative and consists of interviews with a prisoner, a priest from Herstedvester Prison, and two employees from Herstedvester Prison. In addition, perspectives on visits from the Red Cross’ volunteer prison visitation program have been included. The latter has been through interviews with the visitation manager in Herstedvester Prison, as well as the consultant for the prison visitation program nationally. The approach used to examine the above mentioned data takes basis in structural theories of conditions in prisons. It furthermore incorporates perspectives from Erving Goffman and his study of institutionalization, also, Donald Clemmer’s study of prisonization. The above mentioned theories contribute to an overall understanding of which frame and conditions visits in Herstedvester Prison are implemented. The latter was vital in order to understand the circumstances the inmates are subject to. Moreover, the thesis makes use of Travis Hirschi’s study of delinquency and reasons for further deviant behavior. The latter is used to understand to which extent social ties and attachment - such as visits - are important for the inmates upon release. Finally, Robert Sampson’s and John Laub’s study of life course criminology was used to uncover the importance of social bonds to adult institutions, to investigate which different factors affect recently released inmates to deviate or not. In the analysis, existing research and relevant theories was included which supports the conclusion, that social ties to the society outside of prison is one of the most important factors for a valuable life, both during their incarceration, and upon release e.g. self-confidence, happiness, and further good behavior. The latter moreover has a positive effect on reduced recidivism.