A shortcut to Danish citizenship for nationals of Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Finland is set to be tightened, the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration said on Friday, citing recent cross-border crime from Sweden as a factor.
This declaration – which can be submitted to the immigration ministry or to equivalent powers in Greenland or the Faroe Islands – allows the Nordic person to become a Danish citizen if they are over the age of 18, have lived in Denmark for seven years, and have not been given a custodial sentence or equivalent criminal punishment during that time.
To take advantage of the rule, the Nordic citizen must be a citizen of that country by birth (and not have become a citizen by naturalisation in the other Nordic country before applying in Denmark).
The proposed rule change, announced by the immigration ministry in a statement on Friday, will mean that to qualify for the declaration route, the person must have completed any criminal sentence prior to the seven-year period. Current rules state that they must not be convicted during the seven years. As such, they could (theoretically) complete a prison sentence during the seven years for an offence committed before it.
“But we must make sure that we don’t get unwanted situations in which people can get Danish citizenship during their prison sentences,” he continued.
“That’s why it makes sense for the Danish rules to be as strict as possible within the confines of the agreement,” he added.
“That is no less important in view of the cross-border crime we’ve seen from Sweden in recent times. Crime must have consequences, and we can turn the screw a bit here,” he said.
This year has seen a series of gang-related violent crimes in Denmark which have been linked by police to Swedish youths. Police say the youths are recruited by Danish underworld bosses to carry out attempted hits or violent attacks.
The citizenship rule change will need to be adopted by parliament, with a bill expected in spring 2025, the ministry said.
It is expected to only affect a “small number” of cases, according to the statement.
Source: https://www.thelocal.dk/20241004/danish-government-to-tighten-citizenship-shortcut-for-nordic-nationals
