Denmark’s immigration and integration minister, Morten Bødskov, says his goal is for the first rejected asylum seeker to be sent from Denmark to a return center outside the EU before the end of 2027.
Bødskov (S) set out the ambition ahead of a meeting with European colleagues in Copenhagen on Friday, DR reports. He said the work is closer than ever before, and that it has entered a decisive phase.
The meeting gathers the so-called five-country group of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Greece. The group wants to push the EU toward a stricter line on immigration. It follows an EU return reform adopted earlier this year, intended to make it easier to remove people without legal residence.
According to a press invitation from the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, the ministers met in Proviantsalen at Christiansborg. The ministry described the talks as crucial and focused on concrete steps toward an agreement with a partner country on a return hub outside the EU.
The ministry has also said it is a top priority for the government to have at least one partner country fixed by the end of the year. As reported by The Copenhagen Post, citing Ritzau, the government wants an agreement in place within the next year.
Bødskov would not say which countries the group is talking to. He described the dialogue with partner countries as good and said the work is progressing. Denmark’s initial ambition is that around 100 rejected asylum seekers are sent to a center outside the EU over the next couple of years.
Criticism from two parties
Enhedslisten’s immigration spokesperson, Peder Hvelplund, called the plan hazardous. He said there is a risk that people are deported to states with arbitrary detentions, and where Denmark has no guarantee of how they will be treated.
Dansk Folkeparti’s spokesperson, Mikkel Bjørn, was also critical. He said he is not opening champagne bottles, because the government has launched similar-sounding announcements many times in the past four years without matching substance.
The Ministry of Immigration and Integration told DR that 364 rejected asylum seekers were staying in Denmark as of July 31, 2026. At the Kjærshovedgård departure center in Bording, around 230 residents include rejected asylum seekers, people sentenced to deportation and people on tolerated stay.
Ditte Brasso, deputy director of the think tank Tænketanken Europa, said there is political capital in Denmark positioning itself as a frontrunner. According to her, politicians want to show that Denmark is a hub in the negotiations and supports EU countries facing heavy migration pressure.
Brasso added that immigration policy is a concern among voters, and that the government is signaling it takes that concern seriously. Bødskov did not state how many people Denmark intends to send out in total. Questions about individual cases are typically handled by an immigration lawyer.
