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DANISH CITIZENSHIP

Do children born in Denmark automatically get Danish citizenship?

A Danish passport comes with many benefits, and the country allows dual citizenship. But what are the rules for the children of foreign nationals born in Denmark?

Published: 15 September 2022 13:00 CEST
Newborn baby in mother's arms
Not all newborn babies in Denmark are eligible for Danish citizenship upon birth. Photo: Linda Kastrup/Ritzau Scanpix

Denmark allows dual citizenship, meaning it is possible for foreign residents to gain Danish citizenship without giving up their old citizenship, if their country of origin also permits dual citizenship. There are a few benefits that only Danish citizens have, such as an absolute right to live and work in the country and the right to vote in Danish parliamentary elections.

Some jobs are only open to Danish citizens as well: you must be a Danish citizen if you wish to be elected to parliament or join the police.

In addition to this, Danish nationals hold EU citizenship, which gives them the right to free movement in EU member states, making it easier for them to live and work in other parts of the bloc.

Danish at birth

Unlike in other countries such as the United States, people born in Denmark do not automatically gain Danish citizenship.

Danish citizenship is granted at birth to children who have at least one Danish parent, regardless of whether the child is born in Denmark or not. For children born before July 1st 2014, this depends on the law in force when the child was born and other requirements may need to be fulfilled.

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Dual citizenship

On the September 1st 2015, a new Nationality Act meant foreign residents could gain Danish citizenship without giving up their old citizenship.

It also meant that former Danish citizens who lost their Danish nationality by acquiring a foreign nationality could become Danish citizens again by making a declaration to the Ministry of Immigration and Integration. The new timetable to make this declaration is between July 1st 2021 and June 30th 2026.

Children born abroad: The 22-Year Rule 

Children born abroad to a Danish parent but who have never lived in Denmark, or visited for a lengthy period of time (adding up to at least a year which has to be documented) lose their Danish citizenship at the age of 22, unless it means the person becomes stateless.

Danish children born abroad must therefore apply to retain their Danish citizenship before the age of 22. If they are still living abroad at the time, their connection to Denmark will be assessed. This takes into account the number of visits to Denmark and level of Danish.

The Princess Rule

Children born in marriage to a Danish mother and a father of foreign nationality during the period of January 1st 1961 to  December 31st 1978 did not obtain Danish nationality by birth. As an alternative, Danish mothers had the option to make a declaration by which their child obtained Danish nationality.

Children born during this period whose mother did not make a declaration to this effect may apply for Danish nationality by naturalisation according to the “Princess Rule”.

Does a child born to foreigners need a residence permit?

If you are a child born in Denmark by foreign national parents, you need to apply for a residence permit.

The requirements for qualifying for a residence permit are more relaxed than for children born abroad. The child needs to either be registered as a family member to an EU citizen if under the age of 21, or registered under family reunification if the parents are not EU citizens.

The child’s residence permit will expire when the parent’s residence permit expires and can also be extended with the parent’s permit. It may also be possible for the child to obtain a permanent residence permit aged 18 by meeting more lenient requirements.

READ ALSO: What’s the difference between temporary and permanent residency in Denmark?

When can my child gain Danish citizenship?

If your child is born in Denmark but neither parent is Danish, they have to wait until one parent is granted citizenship.

Danish requirements for citizenship are some of the toughest in the world and you must meet a number of closely-defined criteria in order to be eligible for citizenship by naturalisation.

The wish to include a child in the application has to be stated and they must be under the age of 18, have Danish residency, not have committed any crime and be unmarried. No fee is payable for minors. Children aged 12 or over must give their consent to becoming Danish.

READ ALSO: How to apply for citizenship in Denmark

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DANISH CITIZENSHIP

How many Danish citizenship applications are rejected each year?

This week the Danish government announced it would ask those people applying for citizenship for the third or subsequent time after previous rejections, to pay additional fees. We take a look at just how many citizenship applications are rejected each year.

Published: 24 March 2023 18:21 CET
How many Danish citizenship applications are rejected each year?

Under Danish law, citizenship can only be granted to foreign nationals by legal nationalisation, so applications must be voted for by a parliamentary majority.

Accepted applications are processed by bills put in front of parliament twice a year, in April and in October.

Since updated citizenship rules introduced in 2021, the bills are now organised according to the nationality of applicants, rather than the previous practice of listing them alphabetically.

Therefore, the figures from the Ministry of Immigration and Integration below, show rejected citizenship applications, divided into the country categories: “Menap’ countries [Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan ed.] plus Turkey; stateless;  other non-Western countries; Western countries.

There are a number of reasons a Danish citizenship application can be rejected, including criteria related to residency, language, criminal records and financial self-sufficiency. A Danish citizenship test must also be passed before applying.

These figures were last updated on 14th March 2023.

Source: Ministry of Immigration and Integration

The number of rejected applications has noticeably decreased over the last two years and peaked between 2017 and 2020.

The highest amount of rejections came in 2018 when 62 percent of applications were rejected. The lowest amount of applications rejected was last year but it was also the year with the lowest number of applications.

This is when the new citizenship rules had come into affect, which as well as listing applicants according to nationality, also clamped down on those who have broken Danish laws. The new rules included asking applicants about “Danish values” in five extra questions on the citizenship test and the need for applicants to have been in full time work or self-employment for three and a half of the last four years.

The table below is the number of citizenship applications each year, broken into country categories. 

It is those applying for citizenship from the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey that face the most rejections each year. 

The fee for applying for citizenship is currently 4,000 kroner. When a person submits an application, they can apply again at no extra cost should their application not be successful under the existing rules.

Now a third or subsequent application by the same person will incur an additional fee, the immigration ministry said in a statement.

The objective of this is to “prevent applicants who receive a rejection from uncritically reapplying in cases with no outlook towards a different result, thereby risking increased processing times for naturalisation cases”, the immigration ministry statement reads.

A law change would be required to implement the new fee for repeated citizenship applications. The government said it expects to table a bill in the next parliamentary year, which commences in October.

Because the coalition government has a parliamentary majority, any bill it tables has a high chance of being adopted.

No decision has yet been made on either the amount of the additional fee, or on the reduction for young people who were born or grew up in Denmark.

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