Parties urge citizenship for 487 before new screening

Two Danish parties want 487 applicants to receive citizenship before a planned screening for anti-democratic views is introduced, DR reports.

The applicants were told in a letter from the Ministry of Immigration and Integration that their cases had been processed and they could expect to be included in a bill granting citizenship in October. That will not happen, as many citizenship cases remain on hold pending new rules expected next year.

The Alternative and the Red-Green Alliance say the 487 people should still receive Danish citizenship. The Alternative’s citizenship spokesperson, Elise Sydendal, said the applicants had been told they met all requirements, had waited for years and had done what authorities asked of them.

The Red-Green Alliance says applicants have paid more than 6,000 kroner in fees and passed all required tests. Its citizenship spokesperson, Peder Hvelplund, called the situation untenable and said it was unfair for the state to change course after setting conditions for citizenship.

Senior researcher Eva Ersbøll of the Danish Institute for Human Rights has questioned whether the pause complies with the European Convention on Nationality. She told DR earlier this month that applicants who applied under the existing rules were now being told their cases would be suspended until new rules were in place.

No new applicants have been approved for Danish citizenship by parliament since summer 2025. In early October, the government proposed allowing 2,055 people who had been due to receive citizenship in January to proceed. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the decision was based on fairness because those applicants had followed the rules in force.

The October applicants are not included in that proposal. Immigration and Integration Minister Morten Bødskov is due to face a parliamentary hearing on what should happen to them. The Social Liberals say they recognise there is no majority for the current citizenship law, while the Moderates say they regret that the October cases were put on hold but see it as part of a political compromise.