A new Epinion poll for DR finds that 74 percent of respondents want citizenship applicants assessed on their views and statements, not only on formal requirements.
The poll, commissioned by DR and carried out by Epinion, was published on September 27, 2026. DR reports that 74 percent of those asked either fully or broadly agree that applicants should also be judged on whether their opinions conflict with democratic values.
Danish citizenship is granted by the Folketing, and every applicant must be named in a bill passed by parliament. According to DR, no new citizenships are being granted at present while a new naturalization agreement is negotiated at Christiansborg.
A working group is examining whether interviews about applicants’ convictions and reviews of their social media accounts would be lawful. Immigration Minister Morten Bødskov has said the group will deliver a report before the end of 2026, DR reports. Its findings are meant to form the basis of a new agreement on naturalization.
The debate escalated in 2024, when three citizenship applicants were called to interviews in the Folketing’s naturalization committee. Several politicians argued that statements the applicants had made on social media were incompatible with Danish citizenship.
Parties split over the screening idea
The interviews were first proposed by Mikkel Bjørn, immigration and naturalization spokesperson for the Danish People’s Party. He told DR that the poll shows Danes side with his party and with what he described as a growing majority in parliament. Katrine Evelyn Jensen, naturalization spokesperson for the Social Democrats, said many Danes share her party’s concern that new citizens carry Danish and democratic values.
Peder Hvelplund of the Red-Green Alliance called the public support deeply worrying and described the proposal as a control of people’s convictions. Per DR, he said such practices belong to other types of states than a democratic country governed by law.
The Alternative rejects the interviews outright. Group chair Anna Bjerre said politicians should not assess individuals on gut feeling, and argued that media coverage and right-wing parties have fueled the debate.
More than 19,000 applicants are now waiting in the system while grants remain paused, according to DR. Of those, 2,055 applicants had progressed far enough to be named in a bill that received its first reading in the Folketing in February 2026, but their cases were put on hold.
DR reports that the case is splitting the government, with the Social Liberals, the Socialist People’s Party and the Moderates pressing for a solution for that group. Jyllands-Posten reports that the queue for citizenship has reached almost 19,000 people and has examined the political prospects for ending the deadlock.
Jensen said she senses movement among her government colleagues on the question. She added that the poll numbers send a clear signal of a large majority, and that she hopes other parties will listen.
