Denmark pauses citizenship cases over Criminal Register errors

Denmark’s Ministry of Immigration and Integration has paused certain pending citizenship cases after errors in the Criminal Register, DR reported Monday.

The suspension applies to cases in which deleted or incorrectly retained information could affect the authorities’ assessment, including whether applicants meet the requirement not to have committed crimes in Denmark.

The ministry has not said how many cases are affected and declined to provide further details to Ritzau.

The Danish Parliament was informed last week that the National Police had discovered that some information had been wrongly deleted from the Central Criminal Register. The error was identified in June, and the police are investigating its cause, scope and consequences.

National Police Commissioner Lasse Boje called the error very serious, saying the Criminal Register is central to handling offences and criminal cases in Denmark.

The error has also led authorities to pause the issuing of child safety certificates and weapons permits. The ministry has asked immigration authorities to suspend processing in any cases where the error could be relevant.

The authorities under the ministry include the Danish Immigration Service, the Homecoming Agency and the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration.