Denmark to Make It ‘Significantly Harder’ to Get Citizenship

Denmark is to make it significantly harder for migrants to obtain citizenship, the country’s government has announced.

The Local reports that Inger Støjberg, the country’s Integration Minister, said that Danish language requirements would be stricter and that the government would make it more difficult for people with a criminal record to obtain citizenship. New citizens will also have to prove they have been financially self-reliant for at least four and a half of the last five years, and will have to sit a more demanding citizenship exam.

“To me, Danish citizenship is something very special. It’s something you need to earn and be willing to strive after. Therefore we will make it significantly harder to get Danish citizenship,” Støjberg said.

The centre-right government’s plans will dismantle more liberal rules put in place by the previous Social Democrat government, which dropped language requirements from “Level 3” – proficient enough to study for a degree – to “Level 2” and made the citizenship test easier.

Støjberg now plans to take the language requirement back up to Level 3, increasing the length of time applicants will need to have been financially self-sufficient from 2.5 to 4.5 years and increase the number of correct answers required to pass the citizenship test.

Under current rules, applicants with a criminal record have to go through a quarantine of three to 20 years before they receive citizenship, depending on the nature of the crime. Støjberg proposes raising this by 50 per cent.

In a change of heart from their time in government, the Social Democrats now say they will back the proposals, as will the anti-mass immigration Danish People’s Party, meaning the proposals are likely to become law.

In July, Breitbart London reported how Denmark was at “breaking point” over the number of refugees coming to the country, to the point that even considered putting adverts in foreign newspapers telling potential refugees to stay at home.

Støjberg said at the time: “The ads will contain factual information on the halving of benefits as well as other restrictions that we will be enacting. That kind of information spreads very quickly.”