Citizenship by naturalisation

Pursuant to Art. 44 of the Constitution a foreigner may acquire Danish citizenship by statute (naturalisation). In order to acquire citizenship applicants must meet a series of conditions, for example in relation to self-sufficiency, residence in Denmark, Danish language skills and knowledge about Denmark.

Residence:

It is usually a condition for the acquisition of Danish citizenship that you have been resident in Denmark for 9 years without interruption. There are, however, special provisions regarding the duration of residence for certain categories of applications, including refugees, Nordic citizens and spouses of Danish citizens.

Self-sufficiency/recourse to public funding:

It is a condition for the acquisition of Danish citizenship that the applicant is self-sufficient. This means that the applicant must not have received aid under any equivalent to the rules in the Danish Act on Active Social Policy or the Integration Act within the last 2 years, and that in the last 5 years the applicant must not have received aid under any equivalent to the rules in the Danish Act on Active Social Policy or the Integration Act for a period that totals more than 4 months. Furthermore, it is also a condition that the applicant has no outstanding debt payable to any public authorities.

Crime:

It is a condition for the acquisition of Danish citizenship that the applicant has not committed certain types of criminal acts. Certain forms of criminal acts will lead to permanent exclusion from obtaining Danish citizenship, whereas persons who otherwise have a criminal record or have been sentenced to criminal sanctions may only become Danish citizens after the expiry of a set qualifying period. This means that the applicant cannot acquire Danish nationality before the completion of the qualifying period.  

Danish language skills:

It is a condition for acquiring Danish citizenship that applicants can document their Danish language skills. This requirement to document Danish language skills does, however, not apply to applicants resident in the Faroe Islands. In these cases, a police assessment of whether the applicant without use of paraphrasing or other languages and with an accent that is natural can participate unhindered in a conversation in Danish, Faroese or Greenlandic as sufficient documentation for the applicant’s Danish language skills.

For further information, please contact the Chief of Police in the Faroe Islands +298 351448.