Historical note: this article covers Denmark’s April 2021 citizenship agreement, which the Ministry of Immigration and Integration (uim.dk) still lists as the latest agreement.
On Tuesday, 20 April 2021, after an agreement between the government (the Social Democrat government of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen) and three opposition parties, Denmark tightened the citizenship laws. However, the new rules will not affect victims of crime. One of the major changes imposed is employment requirements, hurdles for criminals, and citizenship interviews.
Morten Dahlin, the Danish politician from the Venstre party, said: “Strong agreement on new rules for granting citizenship. Clear imprints from @venstredk – For example, we are now cracking down harder on criminal foreigners AND we get a greater focus on Danish values. All in all, a good day”.
On the other hand, the Minister for Immigration and Integration Mattias Tesfaye stated, “Today we have agreed on a number of tightening of the rules for obtaining Danish citizenship”.
Denmark has a large foreign-born population. In 2020, more than half of foreign nationals in Denmark were Europeans, and approximately 7,000 people became Danish citizens. Around 11% of Denmark’s 5.8 million residents were either born abroad or had parents born abroad. Of these, about 58% were citizens of a country classified as “non-Western”.
Major changes to the citizenship law
The parties agreed to the following tightened rules:
New employment requirements
When applicants apply for Danish citizenship, they must document at least 3 years and 6 months of full-time employment within the last 4 years.
No citizenship for offenders and criminals
Stricter rules have been introduced for applicants convicted of crimes.
- Persons sentenced to conditional or unconditional imprisonment are excluded from Danish citizenship, though dispensation may be possible in certain cases.
- The waiting period for fines has been tightened: a fine of DKK 3,000 or more triggers a 4-year-and-6-month waiting period, while parking fines under DKK 3,000 are exempt.
- The application for citizenship is rejected in the event of overdue debt to the public authorities. The list of disqualifying debt types is expanded to include overdue SU (student loan) debt, police fines and victim contributions, court fees, fees and costs in lawsuits and bailiff cases, and certain control fees charged by transport companies.
More test questions on Danish values for the citizenship test
Under the April 2021 agreement, the citizenship test (now the “Indfødsretsprøven af 2021”) was to include additional questions about “Danish values”. Five additional questions were reported in the text of the agreement. The agreement states that the new questions about Danish values in the citizenship test “may cover, for example, freedom of expression, equality, the relation between religion and legislation, etc.”
Citizenship interviews in Denmark
- The Ministry of Immigration and Integration Affairs was to prepare, within one year and within the framework of the Constitution, a report on whether individual interviews could be held and conducted.
- Individual processing of applications in the Folketing’s citizenship committee when a person applies for Danish citizenship. This will be done with inspiration from Austria and Switzerland, according to the agreement.