The 2,055 citizenship applicants who appeared on a bill earlier this year can expect to receive their citizenship next summer.
In some cases, applicants were also expecting that their successful naturalisation would automatically lead to the naturalisation of their dependants.
However, in a written answer to the Folketing, the Minister for Immigration and Integration, Morten Bødskov of the Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet), has said that 63 expected dependants will no longer qualify.
Dependants
When a person is naturalised in Denmark, they can also normally have any dependants under the age of 18 who live in Denmark get naturalised with them.
On L98, the much-discussed bill that was introduced earlier this year and would have seen 2,055 people given Danish citizenship, there were an expected 1,120 dependants.
Had L98 passed before the election was called, an expected 3,175 would have been granted Danish citizenship, not only the 2,055 whose names appeared on the bill.
No longer fulfil requirements
However, given the delay of the bill, 63 of these dependants no longer qualify for naturalisation as they will turn 18 before 1 July, when the bill is expected to take effect.
First, the bill lapsed when the election was called earlier this year. Following the formation of a new government, several months passed before the government decided to reintroduce it.
If the 63 are not naturalised along with their parents, they will likely be required to start the process from the beginning, where they would end up behind almost 17,000 other applicants.
“Completely different ballgame”
In a comment to Politiken, Peder Hvelplund, Deputy Chair of the Naturalisation Committee from the Red–Green Alliance (Enhedslisten), criticised the situation.
He said, “There are some residents who, in good faith, expected the processing time to be around two years: ‘so my kids won’t turn 18 and can come along as dependants.’
“Now they’re going to end up having to apply on their own. And that’s a completely different ballgame if you have to go and submit a separate application.”
He called for the government to include the additional 63 names on the reintroduced naturalisation bill; however, the minister has declined to take the initiative and says it is up to the Folketing.
Now, Hvelplund is looking to have the 63 people added through the Naturalisation Committee by granting them an exemption.
Take it up in the committee
Politiken had also spoken with representatives from the Social Democrats, the Moderates (Moderaterne), and the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre) on the committee.
They all noted that this was something the committee could look at granting following the reintroduction of the bill. However, none of them would strictly confirm this.
The closest to a confirmation came from the Moderates’ political spokesperson Mohammad Rona, who said, “I’ll at least look through the cases first, and then I’ll probably lean towards voting yes.”
Blue parties are against
Blue parties have already made clear their intention to oppose another naturalisation bill until a new agreement is reached on the screening process for applicants.
The political negotiations for such an agreement will begin after an expert group presents its findings on the feasibility of screening for undemocratic views. The group’s work is not expected to conclude until mid-March next year.
