Conditions to be satisfied
If you want to apply for Danish nationality, you have to fill in a special application form, which can be printed from this website or collected at your local police station.
For further details about how to apply for Danish nationality, see under Processing of your application.
A number of conditions have to be satisfied to become listed in a naturalisation bill and thereby become a Danish national by naturalisation – in other words, by statute. On this site you can learn about the relevant conditions.
Solemn declarations
You have to sign a declaration in which you swear allegiance and loyalty to Denmark and the Danish society and declare your willingness to observe Danish legislation and respect fundamental Danish principles of law.
You also have to provide information on any criminal offences committed in the form of a solemn declaration.
In that connection you have to solemnly declare that you have not committed any offence comprised by Parts 12 and 13 of the Criminal Code (offences against national independence and security).
If you fail to disclose such offences, you risk being deprived of your Danish nationality pursuant to section 8A of the Nationality Act. For further information on deprivation of nationality see under "Can you be deprived of your Danish nationality?".
You must report all criminal offences that you have been charged with or sentenced for, including suspended sentences and fines. You also have to provide details of criminal offences that you have committed, but not yet received any sanction for.
This means that, regardless of the amount, an old fine for shoplifting or a speeding fine always has to be mentioned in the declaration – even if you have a clean criminal record today.
You also have to state any criminal offences committed abroad.
For further details see section 2 of the Guidelines.
Renunciation of former nationality
To be listed in a naturalisation bill you must agree to renounce your present nationality.
It depends on the nationality legislation of your country of origin whether you will automatically lose your current nationality when you become a Danish national, or whether you have to apply to the authorities of your country of origin to be released from your present nationality.
The Ministry of Justice has details about the nationality legislation in your country of origin. If you are from a country where you will not automatically lose your nationality when you are awarded a foreign nationality and where you can apply to the authorities of your country of origin to be released from your present nationality, the Ministry will make it a condition that you are released from your present nationality.
When Parliament has adopted the naturalisation bill in which you are listed and the act has entered into force, the Ministry of Justice will send you a special notice that you will only be awarded Danish nationality when you have proved that you have been released from your present nationality.
The Ministry will fix a deadline for your release from your present nationality. If you fail to prove before the deadline given that you have been released from your present nationality, you will not become a Danish national on the basis of the bill in which you were listed. Instead you may apply for Danish nationality once again and become listed in a new naturalisation bill if you satisfy the relevant conditions at that time. In that connection you must expect that it will again be made a condition that you are released from your present nationality.
The following persons are not required to be released from their present nationality:
- Applicants who automatically lose their present nationality
- Applicants with refugee status
- Applicants from countries where experience shows that it is impossible or implies extreme difficulties to be released from nationality
- Applicants whose application for release from their present nationality has been refused
- Applicants who have proved that they have made a serious, but unsuccessful attempt to be released from their present nationality
For further details see section 4 of the Guidelines.
For further details see under "Dual nationality".
Residence
To be listed in a naturalisation bill you must have a permanent residence permit for Denmark and live in Denmark.
Special rules apply to applicants whose spouse's work abroad serves Danish interests and to certain (adopted) children as well applicants born in the period from 1 January 1961 to 31 December 1978 by a Danish mother.
For further details see sections 8, 12 and 14 of the Guidelines.
If you do not have a permanent residence permit, you can apply for one with the Danish Immigration Service.
Moreover, it is a general rule that you must have lived in Denmark for a continuous period of at least 9 years. The residence period is reckoned from the date of your first residence permit.
If you are stateless or have refugee status in Denmark, you only need to have lived in Denmark for a continuous period of 8 years from your first residence permit.
Requirements for shorter periods of residence are also made of Nordic nationals, persons married to a Danish national, persons who came to Denmark as children and were given a Danish education, and persons who underwent a substantial part of their general education or vocational training in Denmark.
For further details see sections 5-13 of the Guidelines.
Offences
According to the rules in force, it is not at all possible for you to be listed in a naturalisation bill if:
- You have been sentenced to at least 60 days' imprisonment for violation of Part 12 (offences against national independence and security) and/or Part 13 (offences against the Constitution and the supreme authorities of the State) of the Criminal Code
- You have been sentenced to permanent expulsion
- You have been sentenced to imprisonment for 18 months or more
If you have been sentenced for other offences, the general rule is that you cannot be listed in a naturalisation bill until the expiration of a certain waiting period, cf. Schedule 2 of the Guidelines.
The length of the waiting period normally depends on the length of the sentence.
If you have been convicted several times of offences of a similar nature, the waiting period is prolonged by 3 years for each time.
Offences are of a similar nature if they relate to violations of provisions of the same act unless you have violated the Criminal Code or the Road Traffic Act. In that case the offences are deemed to be of a similar nature if you have been sentenced twice for violation of provisions of the same part of the act. However, violations of the Criminal Code involving violence or threats of violence are always of a similar nature. If you are charged with one or more offences, you cannot be listed in a naturalisation bill. When the criminal proceedings against you have been concluded, the Ministry will assess whether it is possible for you to be listed in a subsequent bill. This depends on the sentence imposed.
For further details see sections 19-21 of the Guidelines.
Overdue debt to public authorities
If you have overdue debt to public authorities, you cannot be listed in a naturalisation bill.
This applies in respect of the following outstanding amounts:
1. Repayable assistance under the Social Service Act or the Act on an Active Social Policy
2. Repayable assistance under the now repealed Social Assistance Act
3. Child support advanced out of public funds pursuant to the Child Allowance Act, and disbursement of child support in advance
4. Day-care centre payment
5. Repayment of housing subsidies disbursed in excess of entitlement, cf. section 47 of the Act on Personal Housing Subsidies
6. Repayment of housing deposit loans
7. Taxes and duties unless the arrears of taxes and duties are caused by circumstances which cannot be held against the applicant
Any outstanding amount of this nature is a bar to listing in a naturalisation bill, even if you have made a repayment arrangement with the relevant public authority.
Only the above mentioned kind of debt will prevent listing in a naturalisation bill.
Private loans, such as bank loans and mortgage loans, do not prevent you from becoming a Danish national. When you have settled your debt to public authorities, it is again possible for you to be listed in a naturalisation bill.
For further details see section 22 of the Guidelines.
Self-support
You must be self-supporting.
'Self-supporting' means that you do not receive and have not received at any time during the past year any public benefits under the Act on an Active Social Policy or the Integration Act.
You are also required to have been self-supporting for four years and six months of the last five years. This means that you may not have received public benefits for an aggregate period of more than six months within the last five years when the naturalisation bill is introduced.
It also implies that you cannot be listed if you have received cash assistance or similar benefits in the relevant period. Accordingly, if you receive rehabilitation benefits, you will not be eligible for Danish nationality. If you receive, for example, State education grants and loans, anticipatory pension or old-age pension or you are supported by your spouse, this will not prevent you from obtaining Danish nationality.
For further details see section 23 of the Guidelines.
Danish skills
To be listed in a naturalisation bill you must prove your Danish skills by presenting a particular examination certificate.
The proof of your Danish skills that you have to submit is a certificate of the Danish 3 Examination from a Danish language centre with an average mark of at least 7 (at the 13-point scale) or 4 (at the 7-step scale), or one of the examinations listed in Schedule 3.
According to Schedule 3, you can also prove your Danish skills by a certificate of the lower secondary school-leaving examination after either 9th or 10th grade with an average mark of at least 6 (at the 13-point scale) or 02 (at the 7-step scale) in the Danish disciplines other than neatness.
You must submit your original copy as proof. If it is not possible for you to submit the original certificate, you may send a photocopy certified by a stamp and signature of an authorised person at the issuing educational institution.
For further details see section 24 and Schedule 3 of the Guidelines.
Citizenship test
To be listed in a naturalisation bill you must prove your knowledge of the Danish society and of Danish culture and history by presenting a certificate of a special citizenship test.
You must submit your original copy as proof. If it is not possible for you to submit the original certificate, you may send a photocopy certified by a stamp and signature of an authorised person at the issuing educational institution.
For further details about deadlines for applying for the citizenship test, test organisers etc.:
For details about the citizenship test.
For further details see section 24(2) of the Guidelines.