The Danish government will grant citizenship to an unspecified number of stateless people and others in addition to the 2,055 applicants announced earlier this week, all before a planned screening model is in place.
Immigration and Integration Minister Morten Bødskov of the Social Democrats said on Monday that the government was ready to grant citizenship to 2,055 applicants. DR reports that the government is now also prepared to grant citizenship to further groups beyond those 2,055.
That detail was not in the press release Bødskov issued on Monday. It appears in a written answer he sent to the Folketing’s Naturalization Committee, the Indfødsretsudvalget. The answer states that a number of stateless persons will also receive citizenship.
The same applies to a number of people born outside marriage to a foreign mother and a Danish father. The answer does not say how many people are involved in either group. DR states it is working to obtain the figure from the ministry.
A long internal dispute inside the government
Citizenship has divided the four government parties for months. The Social Democrats had held the position that no new citizenships should be granted until a new screening model was in place. That model is intended to filter out applicants with anti-democratic views.
On Monday, Bødskov said the government would reintroduce a bill from the former SVM government granting Danish citizenship to 2,055 foreign nationals before any screening model exists. In return, the three other government parties accepted that such a model should be introduced if it proves possible. As DR reported on October 4, three government parties had pushed to proceed with the bill despite Social Democratic resistance.
According to DR’s October 5 report, the 2,055 cases will be reconsidered before parliament processes the bill. The applicants were previously part of a citizenship bill that lapsed after a parliamentary election. The screening model is intended to apply to future applicants.
Criticism from Danmarksdemokraterne, defense from Moderaterne
Danmarksdemokraterne leader Inger Støjberg called the additional citizenships a bomb under Danish immigration policy. She said the government had not spoken openly about it, and described the handling as extremely careless.
Naturalization spokesperson Mohammed Rona of the government party Moderaterne rejected the criticism outright. Per Rona, Denmark is party to the statelessness convention and is obliged to comply with it for people born in the country. He noted that Denmark has been a member of that convention for many years, including when Støjberg herself was immigration minister.
Eva Ersbøll, senior researcher emerita at the Danish Institute for Human Rights, said the ministry is meeting its international obligations by including stateless people now. Enhedslisten’s naturalization spokesperson Peder Hvelplund welcomed the step but called it a minimum implementation of the conventions. He also described the situation of 487 people, who were told they could get citizenship and are now in uncertainty, as a scandal. DR states it is seeking an interview with Bødskov.
What this means for citizenship applicants in Denmark
Danish citizenship is not granted by an authority alone. Applications are reviewed by the Immigration and Integration Ministry, then listed in a naturalization bill, a lovforslag om indfødsrets meddelelse, which the Folketing must pass. Bills that have not been passed lapse when a parliamentary election is called, which is what happened to the group of 2,055.
For foreign residents who have applied, the practical effect is that a new bill must pass before any citizenship takes effect. The ministry has not published how many stateless people and children of unmarried Danish fathers are covered, so the total number is not yet known. Rules on residence, language and other requirements are set out under Danish immigration and naturalization law, and the proposed screening model has not been adopted.
