On 18 December 2014 the Danish Parliament passed a bill amending the Nationality Act to allow for full access to multiple nationality.
The Act will come into force on 01 September 2015 when Denmark’s denunciation of an international convention from 1963 has taken effect. Until the Act’s entry into force the existing rules continue to apply.
Danish citizens who acquire foreign nationality
Until 01 September 2015 a Danish citizen who acquires foreign nationality upon application or consent still loses his/her Danish nationality.
Former Danish citizens, who have lost their Danish nationality by acquiring a foreign nationality will be able to reacquire their nationality by making a declaration to The State Administration (Statsforvaltningen), provided they fulfil certain requirements. The declaration must be made between 01 September 2015 and 31 August 2020.
It is a requirement for reacquisition that the individual has not been sentenced to imprisonment in the period between loosing and reacquiring Danish nationality. Information regarding such imprisonment may appear in The Criminal Register and should be given by the individual reacquiring Danish nationality.
It is further a requirement for previously Danish citizens born in a foreign country that the requirements in Section 8 of the Danish Nationality Act are met. Section 8 provides that Danish nationality is lost on attaining the age of 22 by a Danish citizen born abroad, who has never lived in Denmark nor been staying in Denmark under circumstances indicating some association with Denmark.
Foreign citizens applying for Danish nationality
The time of entry into force of the new rules also imply that foreign citizens who are included in the bill on naturalisation which is expected to be presented in April 2015 may – as has previously been the case – be met with a requirement to obtain renunciation of their previous nationality.
Foreign citizens, who are included in a bill on naturalisation which is expected to be passed at a later date, will be included with no such requirement. Applications for naturalisation which are made now will be processed without a requirement to obtain renunciation.
Foreign citizens, who have been included with a condition of obtaining renunciation in an Act on naturalisation passed in December 2012 or later will be able to become Danish citizens without obtaining renunciation of their previous nationality by making a declaration to The State Administration (Statsforvaltningen). The declaration must be made between 01 September 2015 and 31 August 2017.
Application
A fee of DKK 1,100 must be paid when filing a declaration to The State Administration (Statsforvaltningen). Forms for declarations to The State Administration will be made available prior to the entry into force of the rules. Applications for naturalisation may be made on the forms already available on the Ministry of Justice’s website.
Access to multiple nationality is not decided by Danish law alone. For a person to acquire multiple nationality this must be allowed in the nationality laws of each of the states in which the person wishes to hold nationality.
Further information on the Act and its genesis is available at the website of the Danish Parliament.
Link to the official website of the Ministry of Justice: http://www.justitsministeriet.dk/arbejdsomr%C3%A5der/statsborgerskab/dobbelt-statsborgerskab/english/multiple-nationality
