Alternativet and Enhedslisten are pressing the government to grant Danish citizenship to 487 applicants who were told they qualified, before a new screening law for anti-democratic views is in place.
The 487 people received letters in e-Boks from the Ministry of Immigration and Integration stating that they could expect to become Danish citizens. According to DR, the ministry wrote that they were expected to appear on a citizenship bill in October 2026. Their cases were then paused instead.
Citizenship in Denmark is granted by law, and most pending cases are on hold until a new screening model arrives. The government and large parts of the opposition want citizenship reserved for applicants who are loyal to Denmark and hold values such as freedom, equality and tolerance. Immigration and Integration Minister Morten Bødskov of the Social Democrats is being questioned in a parliamentary consultation about the group on Wednesday.
Why 2,055 applicants moved forward and these 487 did not
All new citizenship approvals in the Folketinget had been halted since the summer of 2025. DR reported on 5 October 2026 that the government would reintroduce a bill covering 2,055 people after internal disagreement in the coalition and criticism that Denmark was breaching international conventions. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on the television program “Mød Statsministeren” that the decision rested on fairness, because that group had played by the existing rules.
The opening does not extend to the 487 applicants who were lined up for October. Elise Sydendal, citizenship spokesperson for Alternativet, called it completely unreasonable that people told by the authorities that they met every requirement are now left without clarity. Enhedslisten’s spokesperson Peder Hvelplund noted that applicants have paid over 6,000 kroner in case processing fees, and argued the situation conflicts with rule of law principles.
Radikale Venstre’s immigration spokesperson Magnus Georg Jensen said the party must accept that there is no majority for the current citizenship law. Mohammed Rona, citizenship spokesperson for Moderaterne, said his party would have preferred the October group not to be paused, describing the outcome as the art of compromise. The newspaper Information reported on 27 October that an expert has described the different treatment of the two groups as potentially arbitrary and unlawful.
Screening recommendations pushed to March 2027
An expert group is examining how new applicants can be screened for anti-democratic views. DR reports that the group’s work is due in March, after which politicians will try to agree on a new citizenship law. Berlingske reported on 23 October 2026 that the recommendations were delayed from around the end of 2026 to mid-March 2027.
What the citizenship freeze means for foreign residents
Danish citizenship, indfødsret, is not granted by an agency decision alone. The Ministry of Immigration and Integration processes the application, but the Folketinget must pass a naturalization bill naming each person before citizenship takes effect. That is why a ministry letter in e-Boks saying an applicant can expect citizenship does not by itself confer it, as the case of the 487 shows. Our guide to immigration and labour law in Denmark explains the wider framework.
For applicants on a foreign passport, the practical effect is that passing the Indfødsretsprøven, meeting the residence and self-support conditions and paying the fee no longer determines the timeline. Rona said he does not consider it reasonable that people wait three, four or five years for a Danish passport, and wants a broad, lasting agreement. What the new screening will require, and whether the 487 will be assessed under current or future rules, is not yet decided. The parallel case of the 2,055 applicants shows the question is being settled politically rather than administratively.
