More than 2,000 people waiting for Danish citizenship remain in limbo, and three government parties are now pressing the Social Democrats for a faster solution. The 2,055 applicants had come far enough in the process that their names appeared on a citizenship bill. That bill had its first reading in the Folketing on February 5, but the cases are now frozen, DR reports. In Denmark, the Folketing grants citizenship by law, so every applicant must be listed in a bill. According to DR, processing has come to a complete standstill for both the 2,055 applicants and more than 14,000 people who applied later. Three of the government parties, Moderaterne, Radikale Venstre and SF, describe the situation as unreasonable. Magnus Georg Jensen, citizenship spokesperson for Radikale Venstre, says the applicants met the criteria in the previous naturalization agreement and have been left in a vacuum, per DR. Moderaternes group chairman, Morten E. G. Brautsch, says the parties are impatient and have a responsibility to move quickly. SF’s political spokesperson, Sigurd Agersnap, says people have been caught in the middle and that the matter must be solved politically. He notes there is no majority in the Folketing behind the old naturalization agreement, so a new and broadly based deal is needed. The Social Democrats reject that framing. Citizenship spokesperson Katrine Evelyn Jensen tells DR it is fair to wait until it is clear whether a screening model can be introduced before more citizenships are granted. She adds that her party believes obtaining Danish citizenship should be difficult. 
Screening interviews behind the standstill
The dispute goes back to December 2024, when three applicants who met the formal criteria were summoned to so-called sindelagssamtaler in the Folketing’s Naturalisation Committee. As DR notes, several politicians considered their social media posts incompatible with Danish citizenship. A working group has since been asked to clarify whether such screening of applicants’ attitudes can be implemented. Immigration and Integration Minister Morten Bødskov of the Social Democrats expects the group to deliver its report before the end of 2026, according to DR. The result is meant to form the basis for a new naturalization agreement. The Ministry of Immigration and Integration stated in March 2026 that processing of certain naturalization cases was suspended after the dissolution of the Folketing. It said processing would resume once the future conditions are clear, while cases concerning stateless children and certain children born out of wedlock continue. A legal summary of the lapsed bill, L 98, published by Lovguiden in January 2026, states that it covered 2,055 people plus about 1,120 children as accompanying family members. The bill was intended to take effect on April 1, 2026. The association Fair Statsborgerskab! reported in May 2026 that municipalities had cancelled planned citizenship ceremonies because of the halt. 
