Danish citizenship
Danish citizenship by birth
The citizenship that a child receives at birth is determined by the parents’ citizenships and by which Danish legislation on citizenship was in force at the time of birth.
In the case of children born 1 July 2014 or later, the child automatically becomes a Danish citizen if the mother, father or co-mother is a Danish citizen. This applies regardless of where the child was born, and irrespective of whether the parents are married. This also applies to adopted children under 12 years of age who have been adopted under a Danish adoption order, or where the child has been adopted by a foreign decision recognised under section 28 (2) of the Danish Adoption Act.
On the website of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, you can read about the rules that apply to Danish citizenship by birth. Here you can also find the rules that apply to children born before 1 July 2014.
If you are a citizen of a Nordic country and wish to apply for Danish citizenship
As a citizen of Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden, you can become a Danish citizen under two different sets of rules: by declaration or by naturalisation.
If you are a citizen of a Nordic country, you may, under certain conditions, become a Danish citizen by making a declaration to the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.
This applies in situations if you have become a citizen of Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden by birth or adoption, or through the marriage of your parents, but not if you have acquired citizenship of a Nordic country by naturalisation (that is, by application or by admission under law). To become a Danish citizen by declaration, you must also:
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Be currently resident in Denmark, and have been resident in Denmark for the past seven years, and
- Not during this time been sentenced to imprisonment or other measures equivalent to imprisonment.
You can read more about citizenship by declaration on the website of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.
If, as a Nordic citizen, you do not meet the conditions for making a declaration of Danish citizenship, you can apply for Danish citizenship by naturalisation. Applications for Danish citizenship are processed by the Ministry of Immigration and Integration. If you meet the conditions for acquiring Danish citizenship, you will be included in a parliamentary bill called the Act of Notification of Naturalisation, which will subsequently be submitted to the Danish Parliament.
You must fulfil the following conditions to be admitted to citizenship as a Nordic citizen under the Act of Notification of Naturalisation. You can find more information on the requirements on the website of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, and in Executive Circular Letter no. 9461 of 17 June 2021.
- You must make a declaration of fidelity and loyalty.
- You must currently be resident in Denmark, and you must have been resident in Denmark for an uninterrupted period of at least two years.
- You must not be charged with or have been punished for a criminal offence.
- You must not have an overdue debt to the state.
- You must not have received assistance under the Active Social Policy Act or the Integration Act in the last two years. You must furthermore not have received assistance under the Active Social Policy Act or the Integration Act for a total period of more than four months in the last five years.
- You must have been in ordinary full-time employment for at least three years and six months, or have been self-employed to a corresponding extent, for the past four years.
- You must document your Danish language skills with a certificate from one of several specified tests. Swedish and Norwegian-speaking applicants may document their knowledge of Danish with a certificate of a pass grade from a Swedish-language or Norwegian-language primary school.
- You must document your knowledge of Danish society, culture and history with a certificate from a special citizenship test. Swedish and Norwegian-speaking applicants who can present a certificate of a pass grade from a Swedish-language or Norwegian-language primary school are exempt from this test.
- You must take part in a municipal constitution ceremony.
If you wish to apply for Danish citizenship, but you are not a citizen of a Nordic country
If you wish to become a Danish citizen, but you are not a citizen of a Nordic country, you can read about the conditions for becoming a Danish citizen on the website of Ministry of Immigration and Integration.
Dual citizenship
Danish citizens are allowed to retain their Danish citizenship if they become nationals of other countries after 1 September 2015 via application or declaration.
Correspondingly, foreign nationals can retain their citizenship if they become citizens of Denmark.
However, you should note that some countries outside the Nordic region may require you to renounce your citizenship in order to obtain citizenship there.
If you were born abroad and are a citizen of Denmark and at least one other country.
If you were born abroad and have never lived in Denmark or resided in Denmark under conditions that indicate cohesion with Denmark, you will lose your Danish citizenship when you turn 22, unless you thereby become stateless.
If you have not retained your Danish citizenship through domicile or residence, the Ministry Immigration and Integration may, on the basis of an overall specific assessment, grant a dispensation for you to retain your Danish citizenship. However, the Ministry does not have the option of granting a dispensation for you to retain your Danish citizenship if you apply for it after you have reached the age of 22.
The Ministry of Immigration and Integration therefore recommends that you apply to retain your Danish citizenship before the age of 22.
You can read the further conditions and see how to apply at the website of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.
Reacquisition of Danish citizenship
If you have previously been a Danish citizen, you can, under certain conditions, reacquire your Danish citizenship. As a general rule, you must meet certain residence conditions. Special rules apply if you have been a citizen of Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden since you lost your Danish citizenship. You can read about the possibilities of reacquiring your Danish citizenship if you meet the residence conditions on the website of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.
If you do not meet the residence requirements, you may still be able to reacquire your Danish citizenship. This requires that you have lost your Danish citizenship in connection with becoming a citizen of another country, and that you have not been sentenced to an unconditional prison term since losing your Danish citizenship. This is a transitional arrangement that will apply from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2026. You can read more about the conditions in the transitional rules on the website of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.
More information
All the necessary information about Danish citizenship can be found in Danish on the websites of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.
For more information in English, visit lifeindenmark.dk.
Please fill in our contact form if you have any questions or if you have encountered an obstacle in another Nordic country.
NB! If you have questions regarding the processing of a specific case or application, or other personal matters, please contact the relevant authority directly.
