Can you lose your Danish nationality automatically?
If you are a Danish national and acquire the nationality of another country upon application or by express consent, you will automatically lose your Danish nationality.
The same applies if you acquire a foreign nationality by entering the public service of another country.
You will not lose your Danish nationality if you acquire a foreign nationality automatically, for example by marriage.
An unmarried child under 18 years of age will also lose his or her nationality if the child becomes a national of a foreign country because one of its parents with full or shared custody of the child acquires the nationality of another country in one of the 2 ways mentioned above. This does not apply if the other parent is still a Danish national and also has shared custody of the child.
If you acquired Danish nationality at birth, you also risk forfeiting your Danish nationality if you:
- have attained 22 years of age;
- were born abroad;
- have never lived in Denmark; and
- have never stayed in Denmark under circumstances which indicate any association with Denmark.
Association with Denmark could be military service, a long-term folk high school course or other educational course, or repeated long holidays.
In practice, stays totalling at least 1 year will always be deemed to be sufficient for the retention of Danish nationality.
Upon application, the Minister for Integration may permit the retention of your Danish nationality if the application was submitted before your 22nd birthday.
You can download the application form here (PDF) or collect it from a Danish mission abroad.
It is essential to carefully fill in the application form and also describe where, when and how long you have stayed in Denmark as well as your relatives and friends in Denmark.
You do not risk forfeiting your Danish nationality if that would make you stateless.
For further details see section 8 of the Nationality Act (PDF).