Danish nationality law is governed by the Constitutional Act and the Consolidated Act of Danish Nationality.
Danishnationality can be acquired in one of the following ways:[1]
Automatically at birth if either parent is a Danish citizen, regardless of birthplace, if the child was born on or after 1 July 2014.[2]
Automatically if a person is adopted as a child under 12 years of age
By declaration for natural-born nationals of another Nordic country who have resided in Denmark for at least 7 years
By naturalisation, via the Folketing passing a law declaring a person to be a Citizen (which is the only legal way to naturalise a foreigner according to Article 44 of the Constitution)
In December 2018, the law on Danish citizenship was changed so that a handshake was mandatory during the ceremony. The regulation was made in an attempt to target members of the Islamist groupHizb ut-Tahrir from receiving Danish citizenship, since many of them refuse to shake hands with individuals of the opposite sex.[3]
Loss of Danish Nationality
Automatically at age 22 if a person acquired Danish nationality by birth, but was not born in the Kingdom of Denmark unless:[4][5]
the person visited Denmark for a total length of approximately 1 year under circumstances indicating some association with Denmark and the person has a working knowledge of the Danish language
an individual review of effects in relation to EU law of a loss of EU citizenship as a result of losing Danish nationality outweighs the reasons to remove Danish nationality[6]
By court order if a person is convicted of violation of one or more provisions of Parts 12 and 13 of the Danish Criminal Code (crimes against national security), unless this would render the person stateless[citation needed]
The Folketing decides who is naturalised and passes a law naming those people. The general guidelines as agreed between the political parties are:[7]
Applicants must have been continuously resident in Denmark for at least 9 years, of which at least the last 2 years must have been as a Permanent Resident.
Nordic citizens of Sweden, Norway, Finland or Iceland require 2 years of continuous residence instead of 9, and do not need to be Permanent Residents.
There is an exception for interrupted residence of up to 2 years in special circumstances (education, family illness).
Persons who are stateless or who have refugee status require 8 years of continuous residence instead of 9
Persons who received a substantial part of their general or professional education in Denmark require 5 years of continuous residence instead of 9
Each year of marriage to a Danish citizen reduces the continuous residence requirement by one year, up to a maximum reduction of 3 years.
Absences from the Kingdom of Denmark of longer than 2 years are permitted for applicants married to a Danish citizen subject to the following special criteria:
The applicants total period of continuous residence should be at least 3 years
The applicants total period of continuous residence must exceed the total periods of absence
The applicants period of marriage must be at least 2 years, or the applicants total period of residence in the Kingdom of Denmark must be at least 10 years, minus the period of marriage and further minus up to 1 extra year if the applicant and their Danish spouse lived together before marriage.
An applicant married to a Dane working 'for Danish interests' in a foreign country can have their period of absence while living in another country with their Spouse under these circumstances counted as if they were resident in Denmark.
Applicants may be exempted from some, or all of these requirements by the Folketing Naturalization Committee.[8] Decisions on exemptions are considered political questions.
Immigrants who have committed crimes may be denied Danish citizenship. For instance, immigrants who have received a prison sentence of one year or more, or at least three months for crimes against a person cannot receive citizenship. Convictions which have resulted in a fine also carries with it a time period for immigrants, where citizenship applications are rejected up to 4.5 years after the fine. Upon several offences, the period is extended by 3 years.[10]
In April 2021, the Mette Frederiksen Cabinet approved regulation which stops awarding citizenship to foreigners who had received a prison sentence in court which also encompassed suspended prison sentences. Previously, awarding citizenship was possible for foreigners with a prison sentence of less than a year.[11]
Dual citizenship
In October 2011, the newly elected centre-left coalition government indicated its intention to permit dual citizenship.[12][13]
On 18 December 2014, Parliament passed a bill to allow Danish citizens to become foreign nationals without losing their Danish citizenship, and to allow foreign nationals to acquire Danish citizenship without renouncing their prior citizenship. A provision in the bill also allows former Danish nationals who lost their citizenship as a result of accepting another to reobtain Danish citizenship. This provision expired in 2020. A separate provision, lasting until 2017, allowed current applicants for Danish citizenship who have been approved under the condition they renounce their prior citizenship to retain their prior nationality as they become Danish citizens. The law came into force on 1 September 2015.[14]
In 1992 Danish voters rejected the Maastricht Treaty. In 1993 Danish voters approved the four opt-outs as stipulated in the Edinburgh agreement including the opt-out for citizenship of the European Union.
Greenland joined the European Economic Community along with Denmark proper in 1973 but left in 1985. Although Greenland is not part of the European Union, but remains associated with the EU through its OCT-status. Since Greenlanders hold Danish citizenship they enjoy the same rights as other Danish citizens regarding freedom of movement in the EU. This allows Greenlanders to move and reside freely within the EU.
The Faroe Islands have never been part of the EU or its predecessors, and EU treaties do not apply to the islands. Consequently, Danish citizens residing in the Faroe Islands are not EU citizens within the meaning of the treaties. However, they can choose between a non-EU Danish-Faroese passport (which is green and modelled on pre-EU Danish passport) or a regular Danish EU passport. Some EU member states may treat Danish citizens residing in the Faroe Islands the same as other Danish citizens and thus as EU citizens.
Concerning citizenship of the European Union as established in the Maastricht Treaty, Denmark proper obtained an opt-out in the Edinburgh Agreement, in which EU citizenship does not replace national citizenship and each member state is free to determine its nationals according to its own nationality law. The Amsterdam Treaty extends this to all EU member states, which renders the Danish opt-out de facto meaningless.
Visa requirements for Danish citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the Kingdom of Denmark. In May 2018, Danish citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 185 countries and territories, ranking the Danish passport 5th in the world according to the Henley visa restrictions index.
The Danish nationality is ranked fourth in The Quality of Nationality Index (QNI). This index differs from the Henley Passport Index, which focuses on external factors including travel freedom. The QNI considers, besides travel freedom, internal factors such as peace & stability, economic strength, and human development as well.
^Regeringen (October 2011). "regeringsgrundlag (oct. 2011)"(PDF) (in Danish). Denmark. pp. 54–55. Archived from the original(PDF) on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012. Danmark er et moderne samfund i en international verden. Derfor skal det være muligt at have dobbelt statsborgerskab.
