Citizenship in the Faroe Islands

There is no Faroese citizenship. Most inhabitants of the Faroe Islands are Danish citizens.

Danish citizenship may be obtained in the Faroe Islands by making a declaration to the High Commissioner, or through naturalisation.

A number of categories of persons can acquire Danish citizenship by submitting a declaration to the High Commissioner.

Dual citizenship

The rules governing dual citizenship were altered by Executive Order no. 761 of 30 June 2019 amending the Danish Nationality Act, which entered into force for the Faroe Islands on 3 august 2019.

The Executive Order means that Danish citizens who wish to acquire foreign citizenship can do so without losing their Danish citizenship. In this connection they do not need to undertake any action in relation to the Danish authorities.

However, this will depend on the legislation in the country in which they wish to acquire citizenship, whether dual citizenship is accepted there, and whether there may be a requirement in that country for the applicant to give up their Danish citizenship. On application to the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration, Danish citizens may still be released from their Danish citizenship under certain conditions.

The Executive Order also means that foreign citizens who wish to acquire Danish citizenship will no longer be required by Denmark to give up their previous citizenships. This will however depend on the legislation in the country in which they already have citizenship, whether dual citizenship is accepted there, and whether they will lose their citizenship of that country upon acquiring Danish citizenship.

The Executive Order also contains two transitional arrangements for acquiring Danish citizenship by submitting a declaration. Please refer to the section on citizenship by declaration. It is therefore the Danish rules that apply.