Opposition parties have turned on the Danish government over its decision to revive a lapsed citizenship bill covering 2,055 applicants. The criticism, aimed mostly at the Social Democrats, came up repeatedly during the opening debate in parliament on Thursday.
Immigration and integration minister Morten Bødskov announced on Monday that the government would resubmit the bill, which is the last step before the applicants and their children can become Danish citizens. Denmark grants citizenship by naturalisation through acts of parliament, which is unusual internationally. Bills are normally presented twice a year, usually in April and October, and each contains around 2,000 names. The last one passed in early 2025, and the October 2025 bill never reached parliament because of a crowded schedule during Denmark’s EU presidency. The current bill was introduced on 22 January 2026, had its first reading on 5 February and was due for a second reading on 19 March and a final vote on 24 March, but Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called a general election on 26 February and the vote was postponed.
Inger Støjberg of the Denmark Democrats challenged Social Democrat spokesperson Rasmus Stoklund over what she called the party’s indifference to handing out citizenships. Anders Vistisen of the Danish People’s Party asked Stoklund how many Islamists the government planned to include. Stoklund replied that if Vistisen knew of anyone holding such views, he should inform the Citizenship Committee.
Stoklund also argued that the rules are now tougher than when Støjberg served as migration minister from 2015 to 2019. “We have tightened up a large number of citizenship rules,” he said. He added that the 2,055 people had effectively been checked twice, since they already met every requirement when the previous government placed their names on the bill. The checks cover employment and whether an applicant has committed serious crimes.
Since the election was called in February, the applicants have not known whether they would be granted citizenship or have to apply again. The government’s legislative programme schedules the new bill for the second half of February. The Social Liberal Party, which is involved in the wider citizenship talks, has raised concerns about children named in the bill who have turned 18 while it was stalled and would no longer qualify. Its spokesperson Magnus Georg Jensen called that outcome “super unfair”.
