4 New citizen in Denmark

Your new life

Once you have obtained your residence permit you can embark on your new life and get to know Danish society. You can begin meeting your new fellow citizens where you live, in associations, at the library and not least at work when you begin working.

You will be given a civil registration number

Once you have obtained your residence permit you will be registered in the Danish national register. This will be done in the municipal authority where you live. If you have obtained a residence permit as a refugee, the municipal authority or Immigration Service will ensure that you are registered. Once you have been registered, you will automatically be assigned a civil registration number. This consists of your date and year of birth together with four numbers that are unique to each person. A civil registration number can look something like this: 23 (day) 04 (month) 54 (year) - 3476. For women, the last number is always an even number (in this case 6) and for men, an uneven number.

You will need your civil registration number in your contact with civil authorities and institutions.

You will be given a healthcare card

Once you are registered with your municipal authority you will receive a healthcare card. This is a yellow plastic card which you will need to take with you if you visit the doctor or go to the hopsital. Read more about this in Chapter 11, Health and sickness

Interpreter assistance

If you can not yet speak Danish, you may be able to obtain the services of an interpreter in many situations that involve contact with your municipal authority or other civil authority. It is the public authorities that assess whether there is a need for an interpreter. They are also responsible for procuring the services of the interpreter.

The interpreter is neutral

You will be given an interpreter, who will help you. The interpreter is responsible for translating everything that is said as accurately as possible, and the interpreter must not omit anything deliberately. The interpreter has a duty of confidentiality and must be neutral and unbiased. The interpreter may only become involved in the discussion in order to clarify a misunderstanding.

Good advice - about using an interpreter:

• Do not speak to the interpreter but to the person whom you are actually addressing.
• Speak slowly and clearly.
• Only say what you want the interpreter to communicate.

Danish and social studies for adults

If you are over 18, have a residence permit in Denmark and have been assigned a civil registration number, you have the right to receive three years' education in Danish. Danish education includes Danish language tuition and Danish social studies.

Your municipal authority is required to offer you Danish language tuition no later than one month following your application for this. Tuition can take place at a language centre or at an alternative approved Danish education centre.

You have the right to receive Danish language tuition until you have passed a final Danish proficiency test. This must, however, take place within a three-year period.

Can be combined with work

Danish language tuition is there to help you quickly find work if you do not already have a job. You can combine tuition with work, practical training and other education. You can find out more about starting work in Chapter 8, Working life

Three Danish education programmes

There are three types of Danish education programmes. The language centre makes sure that you are enrolled with the programme that best suits your objectives and capabilities.

Danish education programme 1

Danish education programme 1 is for people who have not learned to read and write in their mother tongue. This programme places special emphasis on oral Danish. But you will also learn to read and write simple texts. The aim is to enable you to find unskilled work so that you can provide for yourself as an active citizen in Denmark.

Danish education programme 2

This programme is for people who have spent a short time at school or who have basic training skills from their native country. You will learn to understand, speak and read Danish so you can get by at work and on a daily basis. You will also practise writing simple texts in Danish. The aim is to help you find a job as quickly as possible so you can become an active citizen in Denmark.

After completing the Danish education programme you will have learned sufficient Danish to follow a number of training courses on an equal footing with other Danes.

Danish education programme 3

This programme is for the person who has completed medium to long-term education, for example, business training, upper secondary education or someone with a further education qualification. The speed and level are higher than that of Danish education programme 2. The aim is to help you find a job as quickly as possible or for you to pursue further education so you can become an active citizen in Denmark.

Culture and social conditions

In all three programmes, students receive Danish language tuition as well as instruction in Danish culture and social conditions. Here, for example, you will find subjects like the welfare society, democracy, the labour market and seeking employment.

Ends with test

Danish education programmes 1 and 2 can end with Danish Proficiency Tests 1 and 2. Danish education programme 3 ends with the Danish Proficiency Test 3 or the Studies Test. A passed studies test is a prerequisite for beginning a number of programmes of higher education.

How much does education cost?

Your municipal authority pays for your education in Danish. Your authority may decide to ask for a participant fee. This, however, will not apply if you receive your Danish language tuition as part of your introductory programme. In that case, your authority may not ask for a fee. Read more about the introductory programme and the integration contract in the following section.

Speaking the language opens a lot of doors

Amna Amin came to Denmark from Iraq in 1997 and was granted asylum in 1999. While she waited for asylum she worked as a Red Cross volunteer. Now, she works with women's integration in a municipal authority.

"When you speak Danish, it opens an endless number of doors. You get out and about instead of sitting indoors and feeling that life is passing you by. No one wants to live that kind of life. At the language school, I didn't just learn the language and pass Danish Proficiency Test 3. I also learned a lot about Danish society and went on lots of trips to museums and different places. And I also met one of my very best friends."

Introductory programme and the integration contract

If you are a refugee or have joined your family and are a citizen of a country outside the EU and Nordic region, you will be offered an introductory programme by your municipal authority, and together you will agree on the introductory programme content. This must take the form of an integration contract. The introductory programme includes Danish language tuition - and if required - a number of other things that can help you find work or begin a programme of education that can provide you with the qualifications to enable you to find work.

However, not all members of a reunified family are offered an introductory programme and sign an integration contract. If the person you have joined has a residence permit in Denmark in connection with a specific job or, for example, as a researcher, student, an embassy employee or missionary, you will not be offered an introductory programme and an integration contract. But you can take part in Danish language tuition and other ordinary social courses.

It is up to the Immigration Service to decide whether you are covered by the Danish Alien Act and thus eligible for an introductory programme and an integration contract.

The integration contract - a binding agreement

The integration contract is a binding agreement between you and your municipal authority. For this reason you must draw it up together. The contract must contain a plan for your first three years in Denmark. This is why it is so important for you as a new citizen.

Your contract must specify your introductory programme content. For example, this might be the level of your Danish education programme, which activities you need to commence your studies or begin working. The aim of the contract is to make you an active part of Danish society as quickly as possible and ensure that you can provide for yourself.

Before the first month

The contract must be drawn up before the end of the first month from when your municipal authority assumes responsibility for your introductory programme.

Make demands of your contract

Your integration contract is a common tool for you and your municipal authority. This is why it is important that you make demands of your contract. Your contract should contain a list of activities to help you get started, whether you wish to begin an education, start a business or be employed by a company.

If you have a job

If you have a job, the contract must ensure that you can receive Danish language tuition while continuing to hold down your job. Tuition can take place in the afternoon or evening, for example, when you are not at work.

The contract can be changed

Your municipal authority must continually monitor the contract. As you gain new qualifications and experience or new aims for the future, you can suggest making changes to the activities agreed in the contract.

Repatriation

The contract can also make allowances for the fact that you may wish to return to your native country, if and when conditions allow. For example, the contract can stipulate that you acquire skills and qualifications that will prove useful if and when you return to home. Read more in Chapter 13, Repatriation.

Declaration regarding integration and active citizenship

As part of the integration contract, you must sign a declaration regarding integration and active citizenship.

The aim of the declaration is to inform you about a number of values and rules in Danish society. In this way you will know what society expects of you as a new citizen. This handbook is a supplement to and clarifies many of the topics listed in the declaration.

Important to your residence in Denmark

The introductory programme is an optional offer to you but it is important for your future ability to obtain a permanent residence permit that you comply wih the contract.

Maximum of three years

The integration programme, including the Danish education programme, is free but may only run a maximum of three years.

Find out more

You can find out more about the integration contract, the declaration on integration and active citizenship from your municipal authority. You can read more by logging onto www.nyidanmark.dk/integrationskontrakt.

Introductory benefit

If you come under the introductory programme scheme and do not find employment immediately or do not have a spouse who can provide for you, you are entitled to special financial assistance. This is called an introductory benefit. To claim the introductory benefit, you must participate in the introductory programme activities and be available for work. Being available for work means actively seeking employment and accepting a job if you are offered one. Otherwise your municipal authority can cease payment of your introductory benefit.

Danish citizens

Children are automatically granted Danish citizenship at birth if the parents are married and one of them is Danish. The same applies if the parents are not married but the mother is Danish.

If only the father is Danish, the child will only be granted Danish citizenship automatically if it is born in Denmark. Or if the parents marry before the child reaches the age of 18.

Applying for Danish citizenship

Once you are 18, you can apply for Danish citizenship. You must apply to the police in the municipal authority in which you live. The police can tell you how long it normally takes to process an application.

Parliament decides

It is the Danish Parliament that decides whether a person can obtain Danish citizenship. This is done using a special law, which Parliament passes twice a year. In order to obtain Danish citizenship, you must meet with certain conditions established by Parliament.

You must learn Danish and pass a special citizens test.

• You must have obtained a certificate from a language centre or an alternative educational institution proving that you have passed Danish Proficiency Test 3 or an equivalent test. For example, this may be the final primary and lower secondary school exam, an upper secondary school education or a business education. You must learn enough about Danish culture, history and social conditions to pass a special test before obtaining Danish citizenship. This is called the citizen's test.
• If you are stateless or a refugee, you must have resided in Denmark for eight years.
• If you are an immigrant, you must have a permanent residence permit and have resided in the country for nine years.
• You must be able to provide for yourself and prove that you have been able to do so in four out of the past five years. You are allowed to have received smaller payments from the state which are not related to support. This might be special help towards transport costs, treatment of illness, medicine, dental treatment or relocation costs. Receiving a state education grant, early retirement pension, state pension or support from your spouse does not bar you from obtaining Danish citizenship.
• You must not have outstanding debt with the state.
• You must declare that you have not committed crimes against the security of the state.
• If you have committed a crime, you may have to wait before becoming a Danish citizen. This will depend on the nature of the crime.
• If you are guilty of committing a very serious offence you can not become a Danish citizen.

You can read all the conditions by logging onto www.newtodenmark.dk/nationality.

Citizen by declaration

You can become a Danish citizen by declaration if you:

• Are a citizen of one of the Nordic countries.
• Have previously held Danish citizenship.

You can find out more and obtain an application form from the state administration* in the municipality in which you live.

Danish passport

Once you have obtained Danish citizenship, you will be given a Danish passport and you will have the right to vote and stand in parliamentary elections.