New proposed law on Danes reacquiring Danish citizenship is submitted for consultation

Since 1 September 2015, Denmark has allowed dual citizenship. As a result of the law amentment, a 5-year transactional scheme was introduced where people who had previously lost their Danish citizenship by acquiring foreign citizenship were given the opportunity to reacquire their Danish citizenship by submitting a written statement to the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.

Following the expiry of the transactional scheme on 1 September 2020, the Ministry of Integration and Immigration has submitted a proposed law for consultation that will reimpose the possibility of acquiring Danish citizenship for a 5-year period under the same conditions as in the former scheme.

REACQUIRING DANISH CITIZENSHIP

As the rules on reacquiring Danish citizenship do not have binding effect on other countries, the applicant will only be able to keep his or her current citizenship if the country in which the applicant has previously been a citizen allows dual citizenship.

It is an overall condition that the applicant can reacquire Danish citizenship by stating that the applicant has previously been a Danish citizen and that he or she has lost the Danish citizenship due to prohibition of dual citizenship in the former scheme. This means that it is only Danes who has lost their Danish citizenship because they acquired another citizenship who are able to reacquire Danish citizenship.

Danes that are born abroad and who lost their citizenship at the year of 22 due to lack of connection to Denmark, are basically still not covered by the scheme.

There are few other conditions connected to the possibility of reacquiring Danish citizenship, which are all set out in the proposed law which are similar to the previous conditions.

IF THE APPLICANT FULFILLS THE CONDITIONS OF RESIDENCE

Applicants that resides in Denmark may reacquire Danish citizenship by making a written statement if the following conditions of residence are met:

First, it is required that the applicant acquired Danish citizenship at birth. Additionally, the applicant must have resided in Denmark until he or she turned 18 years old. If the applicant has resided in another Nordic country until the age of 12, it is considered equal with having resided in Denmark. Finally, when acquiring Danish citizenship, it is a condition that the applicant has lived in the country continuously for the past two years.

Moreover, it is possible to reacquire Danish citizenship if the applicant, after losing his or her Danish citizenship, has remained a citizen in another Nordic country and that the applicant has resided in Denmark at the time of submitting the application.

IF THE APPLICANT DOES NOT MEET CONDITIONS OF RESIDENCE

In cases where the applicant does not meet the condition of residence, the applicant has, during the transition period, had the opportunity to reacquire Danish citizenship under special conditions.

According to the proposed law, the acquisition of Danish citizenship for people born abroad will continue to be possible, given that the applicant fulfils the requirements of having lived or resided in Denmark under conditions that indicate connection to Denmark.

In situations where former Danish citizens who has already turned 22 years old, who were born abroad and who has not applied for keeping their Danish citizenship before they turned 22, the person in question must have resided in Denmark for at least one year.

Former Danish citizens over the age of 22 who were born abroad and have been refused to acquire Danish citizenship will not be covered by the proposed law, as the citizenship has not been lost due to them acquiring foreign citizenship pursuant to the former section 7.

Former Danish citizens born abroad, who have acquired Danish citizenship from the Ministry of Immigration and Integration by the age of 22, will not have to meet the additional requirements for residence in Denmark or elsewhere.

DO YOU NEED HELP TO REACQUIRE DANISH CITIZENSHIP?

At Lund Elmer Sandager we help many people reacquire their Danish citizenship and we advise on the different possibilities for reacquiring citizenship. We regularly assist Danish people living abroad on complicated legal matters concerning Danish citizenship.

If you have any questions or considerations about the rules on acquiring Danish citizenship, or if you are a Dane living abroad that have questions about obtaining proof that you are still a Danish citizen, please do not hesitate to contact Lund Elmer Sandager’s specialists Partner, Attorney Michael Møller Nielsen or Associate Attorney Anna Lindencrone Lundin.