Authorities in Denmark have once again unfolded plans to tighten citizenship rules, despite the fact that the European country has among the strictest regulations in the world regarding naturalisation requirements.
Following the new changes, in order to acquire citizenship, persons will be required to reside in this country until it is confirmed through an official ceremony that follows formal approval for citizenship, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
“Not everyone can or should have Danish citizenship. It’s a big deal to get one, and when it happens, it means that you want to live in Denmark. Until you shake hands at the ceremony, you must live in Denmark. This is common sense,” Minister for Immigration and Integration Kaare Dybvad Bek said, according to InfoMigrants report.
In order to acquire citizenship in Denmark, applicants are required to pass a separate language test as well as a citizenship test.
The country’s government previously introduced a new fee to which all applicants for citizenship will be subject. The price for applications for naturalisation is €530, or 4,000 Danish Krone. Prior to this measure, candidates could reapply countless times without being subject to any payments.
Denmark’s requirement to shake hands at the naturalisation ceremony, which was introduced in 2018, also sparked controversies while it continues to be discussed. The rule was considered by lawmakers that were dedicated to Muslims who refused to touch members of the opposite sex on religious grounds.
Among other requirements that offer foreigners a pathway to citizenship in Denmark are also to ensure that applicants have been resident in this Scandinavian country for nine years (for refugees or stateless people, the requirement is eight years) and support themselves financially.
In the past 23 years, Denmark’s population marked a notable increase, according to the figures provided by Statista. This year alone, a total of 620,000 foreign citizens are residing in this country, or twice as many as in 2000. At the begging of this year, a total of 5.31 million people holding Danish citizenship lived in this country.
In 2021, Danish authorities tightened rules for citizenship. The new changes came months after the Danish Institute for Human Rights revealed that only 65 per cent of young people born and raised in the Scandinavian country acquired citizenship, while it said that the number of people being granted citizenship was the lowest in 40 years.
The Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration revealed that in 2021, about 5,814 applications for citizenship were submitted. Of the total, 4,039 were approved, while 1,315 were declined.