Parties Weigh in on Controversy Around Naturalisation Bill

On Wednesday, revelations by Liberal Alliance threatened the naturalisation bill expected next year for 2,055 citizenship applicants.

Since then, other parties have chimed in on whether they want to see a hearing for a particularly controversial applicant.

As of Thursday, there is no majority behind calling an extraordinary hearing in the Naturalisation Committee.

Praising Hamas leaders

On Wednesday, in an article in Politiken, Liberal Alliance revealed that it had found one citizenship applicant from L98 who had praised former Hamas leaders in Facebook posts.

L98 was the naturalisation law that would have granted 2,055 citizenship applicants Danish citizenship. It was introduced in January 2026 but lapsed when the general election was called.

Initially, the government said it would not reintroduce the bill until after a new political agreement was reached on requirements for screening for undemocratic views.

However, after internal pressure, the government U-turned and announced that it would reintroduce L98 and that applicants could expect to be voted through within the first half of 2027.

Applicants would still have to be re-evaluated to ensure they still meet the requirements for citizenship today.

“Never supported Hamas”

In Politiken, it was noted that the woman in question is not fluent in Danish, so her daughter spoke on her behalf.

Her daughter told the newspaper, “As I know my mother, she has never supported Hamas in any way. But she is very against killing – all forms of killing.

“And as I also know my mother, she just shares everything on Facebook – everything that has to do with killing – and then she doesn’t always check whether it has anything to do with Hamas.”

Hearing before the Naturalisation Committee

Liberal Alliance has requested that the woman in question be called in for an extraordinary hearing before the Naturalisation Committee to test whether she is an Islamist.

A similar procedure was conducted in 2024 when three applicants on a proposed law were found to have shared undemocratic views on social media.

However, questions were raised about the legality of this procedure, which led to the government establishing an expert group to look into it.

Other parties react

Other parties have now reacted to the findings shared by Liberal Alliance.

The Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti), the Conservative People’s Party (Det Konservative Folkeparti), and the Denmark Democrats (Danmarksdemokraterne) have all joined Liberal Alliance’s calls for a hearing.

Mikkel Bjørn, spokesperson on immigration for the Danish People’s Party and Chairman of the Naturalisation Committee, has told DR, “I believe that the information that has been presented is sufficient for her to be removed from the bill.

“But if anyone thinks the basis is too thin, then I’m happy to take the initiative for a conversation to be held.”

The Social Democrats’ (Socialdemokratiet) spokesperson on naturalisation, Katrine Evelyn Jensen, has, however, told DR that, “The people who were listed on the initial bill will be checked again.

“We need to verify whether they still meet the requirements – therefore it is potentially a waste of the committee’s time to have to hold this conversation before the bill is reintroduced, when we don’t know if the woman is still on the bill.”

The Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) has opposed the hearing. Its spokesperson on naturalisation and Deputy Chairman of the Naturalisation Committee, Peder Hvelplund, told DR, “I find it disheartening to see yet another proposal that attempts to undermine the liberal rule of law.

“People must be free to believe, think and speak as they wish, and even though I in no way sympathise with the views expressed in the woman’s posts, I defend the right to hold those views.”