Denmark passed its first Immigration Act in 1983, and it was proudly presented as a very humane approach. During the passage of the bill, a politician from the Liberal Party (V) stated that this would ensure that immigration policy would not become a political battleground. Unfortunately, nothing could have been further from the truth. Tighter restrictions already began in the 1990s and really gained momentum from 2001 onwards. Today, Denmark is known around the world for its tough policies towards refugees and immigrants.
This article provides an overview of the most significant legislative changes over the past 25 years. It is not exhaustive, as we have prioritised clarity over detail. Further information can be found in the book "Udlændingeret" and on retsinformation.dk (both in Danish only). Current regulations can be found on nyidanmark.dk (English). We have also described several legislative changes since 2015 on this website; you can find these in chronological order under ‘News’ (English) and in our consultation responses (Danish only). See also our fact sheet on Danish citizenship (English). Please note that most of the tightening of rules on family reunification mentioned here have exceptions for refugees.
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2001
THE VK GOVERNMENT (Liberal, Conservative)
• Led by Anders Fogh Rasmussen with support from the Danish People's Party 2001-2009
• Led by Lars Løkke Rasmussen 2009-2011
2002
Asylum:
• De facto status changed to protection status
• The Refugee Appeals Board reduced from 5 to 3 members
• Carrier sanctions + stop for asylum applications at Danish embassies
Family reunification:
• Stop for parents to adults
• Introduction of the 24-year rule
• Tightening of the ties-to-Denmark requirement
• Introduction of demand for economic maintenance
Permanent residence:
• Residence requirement increased from 3 to 7 years
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Under the heading ‘A new immigration policy’, the government’s policy statement announces that the influx of foreign nationals into Denmark must be restricted, particularly in the areas of asylum and family reunification, and that it should be more difficult to become a Danish citizen.
In the area of asylum, protection status, or B status, replaces the former de facto status and will only trigger asylum if the applicant faces the death penalty, torture or other inhuman treatment in their home country.
The Refugee Appeals Board is being reduced in size once again. In 1995, the board had been reduced from 7 members to 5, and now stands at 3.
Airlines and ferry companies are subject to heavy fines for bringing passengers to Denmark without a valid passport and visa (carrier sanctions), and it is no longer possible to submit an application for asylum at Danish embassies.
The legal right to family reunification has already been weakened by the introduction of the ‘ties to Denmark’ requirement and the housing requirement in 2000.
The new 24-year rule means that both spouses must be at least 24 years old to be granted family reunification in Denmark. A new financial guarantee requires the person residing in Denmark to provide security of 50,000 DKK, and must not have received social security benefits in the past year.
The ties requirement is being tightened, so that the couple’s combined ties to Denmark must be stronger than those to any other country. The requirement is being extended to also include Danish citizens who wish to bring their foreign partner to the country.
Permanent residence now requires 7 years’ legal residence, whereas previously it was 3 years.
Danish citizenship can now only be granted after 1 year of permanent residence, and there is a new requirement that the applicant must not have committed certain types of crime. Furthermore, applicants must pass a test in the Danish language and understanding of Danish society, and sign a declaration that they will comply with Danish law.
Social benefits are reduced to almost half if the applicant has not resided legally in Denmark for 7 of the last 8 years, and are renamed ‘Starthjælp’ (start-up allowance).
2003
Family reunification:
• The 28-year rule is introduced
2004-2005
Citizenship:
• The option for young people to apply by means of a declaration is abolished
• The citizenship test is introduced
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The extension of the residency requirement has been met with criticism because it prevents Danes living abroad from returning to Denmark with their families. Consequently, the ‘28-year rule’ is being introduced, which means that the connection requirement may be waived if the applicant has been a Danish citizen or has resided legally in Denmark for a period of at least 28 years. It is primarily ethnic Danes who benefit from this change in the rules.
Until now, young foreign nationals born or raised in Denmark have been able to obtain Danish citizenship by declaration without having to meet the standard requirements, but this is being abolished.
A citizenship test comprises 40 questions on Danish culture and history, of which 28 must be answered correctly within one hour.
2006-2007
Permanent residence permit:
• Employment requirement is introduced
Benefits:
• Employment requirement for entitlement to social assistance is introduced
2008-2009
Expulsion:
• Persons on Tolerated Stay are imposed a duty to reside and a daily duty to report in Center Sandholm
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To be eligible for a permanent residence permit, it is now a requirement to have been in full-time employment for 2.5 years. A similar requirement is introduced for entitlement to full social security benefits. Anyone who has not been in employment for 2.5 years will instead receive the lower start-up benefit, even if they meet the 7-year residence requirement introduced 5 years earlier.
In 2008, a daily reporting obligation is introduced for people on Tolerated Stay. At the same time, they are required to stay at Center Sandholm. The penalty for breaching these obligations is increased to up to 1 year’s imprisonment.
2010-2011
Asylum:
• Requirements for humanitarian residence permits significantly tightened
Permanent residence permit:
• The points-based system is introduced
• The active-citizen test is introduced
• Faster access for people who meet all the conditions
Family reunification:
• The points-based system is introduced
• The condition of ties to Denmark is tightened, self-sufficiency requirements and a guarantee of financial support are added
• An application fee is introduced
Expulsion:
• Stricter bans on entry and expulsion rules
Voting rights:
• The residence requirement is increased from 3 to 4 years
Benefits:
• A principle of 'earning access over time' is introduced for pensions and child benefit
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Until now, rejected asylum seekers have been able to obtain residence permits if they were seriously ill and did not have ‘actual access’ to the necessary treatment in their home country. A 2010 guidance note removes the small word ‘actual’, thereby making it practically impossible to obtain a humanitarian residence permit.
A points-based system is introduced for obtaining permanent residence. It contains a number of mandatory conditions as well as some supplementary criteria. Applicants must be able to speak Danish, contribute to society and must not have committed criminal offenses. A ‘active-resident test’ is established, covering Danish society as well as Danish culture and history. It will generally be more difficult to meet the requirements, but those who fulfill all the conditions will be able to obtain permanent residence more quickly than before – after 4 years instead of 7.
A points-based system is also introduced for family reunification, which supports the 24-year rule. Points are awarded for education, work experience and language skills. Family reunification is now conditional on accumulating enough points. People under the age of 24 must accumulate twice as many points as those over 24. Furthermore, there is now a fee to apply.
The ties requirement is being tightened, so that the couple’s combined ties to Denmark must be ‘significantly greater’ than to any other country. The economic support guarantee is being doubled, so that the spouse residing here must now provide 100,000 kr. And the requirement for self-sufficiency is tightened, so that the spouse residing here must not have received any public benefits for three years.
An unconditional prison sentence will now lead to expulsion, unless it would ‘certainly’ be in breach of Denmark’s international obligations. With this legislative amendment, the government is assuming ‘litigation risk’ – in other words, accepting that the legislation may contravene human rights. At the same time, the ban on re-entry into Denmark following expulsion is being extended.
The right to vote is being restricted, so that people will only be allowed to vote in local and regional elections after 4 years of uninterrupted, lawful residence in Denmark.
Under a new qualifying period rule, people will in future have to have resided in Denmark for a certain number of years to be entitled to a full state pension, disability pension and child benefits.
2011
S-SF-R GOVERNMENT (Social Democrats, Socialist People's Party and Social Liberals)
Led by Helle Thorning-Schmidt with support from the Red-Green Alliance
2012
Asylum:
• Right to live and work outside asylum centers
• Centers categorised by stage of the asylum process
• The Refugee Appeals Board brought back to 5 members again
The Immigration Board is established:
• An appeals body for family reunification and permanent residence cases
Family reunification:
• The points-based system is abolished
• The 28-year rule is replaced by the 26-year rule
• Condition of ties to Denmark is relaxed
• The application fee is abolished
Permanent residence:
• The points-based system is abolished
• Education is treated on a par with work
• Access for refugees is relaxed
Benefits:
• The start-up allowance is abolished
Expulsion:
• The phrase ‘with certainty’ is removed
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The Refugee Appeals Board is expanded by 2 members bringing it back to 5 as it was before, and a corresponding appeals body is established for other cases involving foreign nationals, although this board does only ask for in-person attendance in exceptional cases.
Asylum seekers are now permitted to live outside the asylum centres after 6 months, and they may apply for permission to work. As opposed to this relaxation, it is decided to divide the asylum centres into arrival, residence and departure centres.
The points-based system for family reunification is abolished, but the 24-year rule is retained. A 26-year rule is introduced, which is a more lenient version of the previous 28-year rule. The application fee is abolished, and the wording in the ties requirement stating that there must be a ‘significantly’ stronger connection to Denmark than to another country is amended so that the connection now simply needs to be stronger.
The points-based system for permanent residence permits is also abolished. Conditions regarding Danish language skills, self-sufficiency and employment still apply, but education counts on an equal footing with work towards the employment requirement. In return, the residence requirement will be increased from 4 years to 5 years. Refugees will be eligible for permanent residence after 8 years without meeting all demands if they have demonstrated a willingness to integrate, and they will have the same entitlement to social security benefits as others.
Regarding expulsion orders, the much-criticised wording stating that a person may be deported unless it ‘certainly’ contravenes Denmark’s international obligations is removed.
2013
Citizenship:
• Language and self-sufficiency requirements relaxed
• The citizenship test is replaced by the naturalisation test
• Dual citizenship is accepted
• Young people's access to acquire citizenship by declaration is reintroduced
• Automatic citizenship for children born to a Danish parent
2014
Benefits:
• Refugees regain full entitlement to state pension
Asylum:
• The ‘integration potential’ criterion is abolished for resettlement refugees
• A new temporary protection status, Section 7(3), is adopted
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In 2013, a citizenship agreement is adopted to facilitate access to Danish citizenship. The language requirement is relaxed so that applicants only needed to pass the ‘Danish Language Test 2’ rather than the ‘Danish Language Test 3’. The self-sufficiency requirement is amended so that applicants only need to have been self-sufficient for 2.5 years within the last 5 years. The citizenship test is replaced by the ‘naturalisation test’, which focuses on contemporary everyday life and politics rather than culture and history. The test consists of 30 questions, and at least 22 must be answered correctly.
Dual citizenship is permitted for the first time, allowing people to keep their previous citizenship when they become Danish citizens. Children with one Danish parent will in future automatically acquire Danish citizenship at birth, whilst foreign nationals born in Denmark will, under certain conditions, be able to acquire citizenship by declaration.
SF (Socialist People's Party) withdraws from the government. In response to the influx of asylum seekers from Syria, the SR government, together with the Liberal Party, Danish People's Party, Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, adopts a new, very temporary asylum status for people who are not personally persecuted (Section 7(3)), thereby restricting the right to asylum. The residence permit is to be granted for just one year and extended in 2-year increments, and refugees with this new status are not entitled to family reunification for the first 3 years. At the same time, the criteria for ties to the country are tightened, making it easier to revoke a residence permit.
This was, in fact, the first step in the so-called ‘paradigm shift’, which was further cemented in 2018.
2015
V GOVERNMENT (Liberal Party)
Led by Lars Løkke Rasmussen with support from Danish People's Party
'The asylum package' is passed.
Asylum:
• Temporary protection status under Section 7(3) is in force
• The Jewellery Act is passed
• The ‘integration potential’ criterion is reintroduced
Family reunification:
• Section 7(3) refugees have no right to family reunification for the first 3 years
• Payment for transport for refugees is abolished
Permanent residence:
• Length of residence, good conduct, language and employment requirements are tightened
• Additional conditions are introduced
• Education is no longer treated as equivalent to work
• Refugees’ preferential access is removed
• Application fees are reintroduced
Citizenship:
• Language, self-sufficiency and good conduct requirements are tightened
• The citizenship test is reintroduced
• The option to obtain citizenship by declaration is abolished again
Rejection and expulsion order:
• Duty to reside and report extends to everyone in deportation centres
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In November 2015, the new Liberal Party government launched an 'asylum package' containing a wide range of tighter measures on immigration. The newly appointed Minister for Immigration and Integration, Inger Støjberg, makes these tightening measures a goal in their own right and installs a counter at the top of the ministry’s website showing how many she has implemented. She celebrates the 50th tightening measure with an Othello cake, and later reaches over 100.
The new temporary protection status (Section 7(3)) comes into force, and it does not entitle holders to family reunification for the first 3 years. Nor does it entitle them to free education or divorce, although these restrictions are lifted after a few years.
The state no longer pays for the transport to Denmark of family members reunited with refugees.
The so-called ‘jewellery law’ is passed, allowing the police to confiscate valuables from refugees to cover the costs of their stay. It is largely of symbolic significance.
The residence requirement for a permanent residence permit is increased from 5 to 6 years, though it will be reduced to 4 years if a number of new supplementary conditions are met. The threshold at which a criminal record leads to exclusion is lowered to 1 year’s unsuspended prison sentence, and the quaranteen periods are extended. The language requirement is raised to passing the ‘Danish Language Test 2’. The employment requirement is raised to 2.5 years’ work within the last 3 years. Part-time employment and education no longer counts towards this. Refugees’ preferential access to permanent residence after 8 years is abolished. Application fees are reintroduced.
New requirements for Danish citizenship are also introduced. The language requirement is tightened, so that applicants must now have passed the ‘Danish Language Test 3’. The new citizenship test is comprising 40 questions, of which 32 must be answered correctly. Applicants must now have been self-supporting for 4.5 of the last 5 years, and the criminal record criteria are tightened. The more lenient route to citizenship for children and young people born and raised in Denmark is removed, meaning they can no longer obtain citizenship by declaration.
Rejected asylum seekers and those given an expulsion order who do not cooperate with their departure will be required to stay at a deportation centre and report to the authorities there.
2016
VLAK GOVERNMENT (Liberal Party, Liberal Alliance, Conservatives)
Led by Lars Løkke Rasmussen with support from Danish People's Party
Asylum:
• Couples where one is below 18 are separated
• Refugee Appeals Board once again reduced from 5 to 3 members
Family reunification:
• 26-year rule abolished
Permanent residence:
• Residence criteria raised to 8 years
• Work criteria raised to 3,5 years within last 4 years
• Crime criteria tightened
Benefits:
• Cash benefits to asylum seekers lowered
• Integration allowance introduced
• Principle of earning right to pension and child support reintroduced
• New 225-hours rule introduced
Rejected and expelled:
• Deportation center Kærshovedgård opens
• The wording "with certainty" reintroduced
• Duties to stay and report tightened
• Duty to inform introduced
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A law package of 44 restrictive measures is introduced in 2016, and the new policy – whereby asylum is not necessarily extended – begins to affect the first Somalis.
The then Minister for Immigration and Integration, Inger Støjberg, issues instructions stipulating that asylum seekers under the age of 18 must not live with their spouse or partner in asylum centres. They must be separated without exception. The instruction is unlawful and subsequently leads to Støjberg being found guilty by 25 out of 26 judges in the High Court (Rigsretten) in December 2021 of breaching the Ministerial Responsibility Act by failing to allow for individual assessments in each case.
The Refugee Appeals Board is once again reduced to 3 members: Danish Refugee Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can no longer appoint members.
The European Court of Human Rights rules that the 26-year rule is discriminatory, and the rule is abolished.
The criteria for obtaining a permanent residence permit are tightened once again. The limit on the length of prison sentences a person may have served is reduced from 12 to 6 months’ imprisonment. The self-sufficiency requirement is tightened so that applicants must not have received public benefits for 4 years, and the employment requirement is increased to 3.5 years’ employment within the last 4 years. The residence requirement is raised from 6 to 8 years.
Cash benefits for asylum seekers are reduced by 10 per cent. A reduced ‘integration allowance’ is introduced for people who have not resided in Denmark for 7 of the last 8 years, along with an employment requirement of 2.5 years’ work. The pension accrual principle is reintroduced, and the qualifying period for child and youth benefits is extended from 2 to 6 years.
A cap on social security benefits is being introduced, along with the 225-hour rule, which means that benefits will be reduced if a person has not worked 225 hours in a year.
Kærshovedgård opens as a departure centre. Expulsion orders for criminal offences will be given once again take place unless it ‘with certainty’ contravenes Denmark’s international obligations. The penalties for breaching residence and reporting obligations for everyone in the deportation centers are being tightened, and a duty to report is introduced for people on Tolerated Stay and people with an expulsion order.
2017-2019
The 'Paradigm shift' is adopted
Asylum:
• Residence permits shortened, and issued aiming at only temporary stays
• Access to courses and language programs in asylum centers abolished
• Number of quota refugees to be determined on a year-by-year basis
• The legal right to permanent accommodation in local authorities abolished
• A series of revocation proceedings begins for Somalis and Syrians
Family reunification:
• Ban on family reunification for people living in socially vulnerable neighbourhoods
• The requirement of ties to Denmark replaced by a system of integration requirements
• Application fees reintroduced
Permanent residence:
• Behaviour, self-sufficiency and residence requirements tightened once again
Statsborgerskab:
• Behaviour and self-sufficiency requirements tightened once again
• Application fees raised
Benefits:
• The integration allowance is reduced and renamed
• The residence requirement for receiving social security benefits is tightened
Other:
• Self-payment for interpreters is introduced
• A ban of face-covering is adopted
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Asylum seekers’ right to education and integration programs, as well as their ability to live and work outside asylum centres, is abolished. Refugees’ legal entitlement to have local authorities provide them with permanent accommodation is abolished.
In future, the Minister for Immigration and Integration will decide on a year-by-year basis how many quota (resettlement) refugees Denmark is to accept (previously, the figure was 500 per year). For the years 2016–2019, the decision is made not to accept any.
In 2018, the ‘paradigm shift’ is adopted with votes from the Danish People’s Party and the Social Democrats – note that the first step was taken in 2015. All residence permits are changed to ‘with the aim of temporary residence’ and their duration is shortened – the focus shifts to return home rather than integration. Convention status is now granted for only 2 years initially, and individual protection status for only 1 year. Both are extended by 2 years at a time.
As a result of measures introduced in 2015 to make it easier to revoke a residence permit on the grounds of improved security in the country of origin, several hundred Somali refugees lose their residence permits in 2017–2018, and in 2019, efforts are made to revoke Syrian refugees’ residence permits, but almost all such cases are ultimately overturned by the Refugee Appeals Board.
The government presents a plan for ‘a Denmark without parallel societies’ and passes a law containing an ethnic criterion for when a residential area can be characterised as a ghetto – the so-called ‘ghetto law’.
Family reunification will no longer be allowed for people living in an area that has been on the government’s ‘ghetto list’ for at least 2 consecutive years. The requirement of ties to Denmark is replaced by a complicated integration requirement. The parties must now meet at least 4 out of 6 criteria relating to full-time employment, education and language skills; the person residing in Denmark must have passed ‘Exam in Danish Language 3’, and the applicant must have made at least one lawful visit to Denmark. The requirement for financial security is being raised from 50,000 to 100,000 DKK. The applicant must have passed a Danish language test within 9 months of arrival.
The Government, the Danish People’s Party and the Social Democrats adopt a new citizenship agreement. Certain types of crime now result in permanent exclusion from Danish citizenship. The self-sufficiency requirement is tightened. A new requirement is introduced: applicants must shake hands with an ‘authority representative’ at a constitutional ceremony.
The integration allowance is being drastically cut and renamed the Self-Sufficiency, Repatriation and Transitional Allowance. If the applicant has lived in Denmark for more than 3 years, the authorities will not longer offer an interpreter when needed.
The residence requirement for receiving social security benefits is tightened, so that people must now have lived in Denmark for 9 of the last 10 years to be eligible for education support or social security benefits.
It is decided to establish a deportation center on the island of Lindholm in Stege Bay, but the plans are subsequently scrapped.
Finally, a ban on face coverings is passed, aimed in particular at women who wear the burqa or niqab.
2019-2022
S GOVERNMENT (Social Democrats)
Led by Mette Frederiksen with support from Socialist People's Party, Social Liberals and Red-Green Alliance
Asylum:
• Provision for asylum processing in third countries is introduced
• Special Act for evacuees from Afghanistan is adopted
• Special Act for displaced persons from Ukraine is adopted
Citizenship:
• Stricter requirements for the children of Danish 'foreign fighters'
• Provision introduced to revoke the citizenship of foreign fighters and gang criminals
• Questions on values included in the citizenship test
• Stricter requirements for behaviour, residence, employment and self-sufficiency
Family reunification:
• Refugees under Section7.3 can now apply after 2 years
• Short deadline for applying for children
• Assessment of integration for children abolished
Benefits:
• Condition of residence to receive unemployment support abolished
Rejected:
• The Return Act is adopted and The Return Agency established
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The rules on family reunification are amended so that children will no longer be required to undergo an assessment of their integration potential. However, for children under the age of 15, an application must now be submitted no later than 3 months after the child’s parent has been granted a residence permit. Previously, the deadline was within 2 years.
In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that it was unlawful for refugees with Section 7(3) status to be required to wait 3 years after being granted a permit in Denmark before applying for family reunification. The waiting period is not abolished, but reduced to 2 years.
A new law allows the Danish authorities to transfer asylum seekers to a third country outside the EU and process their cases there. This is the first step in what is known as the Social Democrats’ 'Rwanda plan' from 2018.
As the Taliban take power in Afghanistan, around 1,000 Afghans are evacuated by air to Denmark. Subsequently, the Danish Parliament passes a special law granting Afghans who have assisted the Danish authorities a 2-year residence permit in Denmark. They must apply for asylum when the permit expires.
In 2022, the EU activates the Temporary Protection Directive in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shortly afterwards, the Danish Parliament passes a special law granting displaced persons from Ukraine a temporary residence permit.
The requirements for obtaining Danish citizenship are tightened once again. 5 questions on 'Danish core values' are added to the citizenship test, including questions on freedom of expression, equality and religion. The quaranteen periods for offenses that do not result in exclusion are extended. The residence requirement is increased, so that applicants must have held a permanent residence permit for 2 years. For refugees and stateless persons, the requirement is 1 year. Applicants must have been in full-time employment for at least 3.5 years out of the last 4 years.
Children of ‘foreign fighters’ who hold Danish citizenship will no longer automatically be granted Danish citizenship. People who have acted in a manner seriously detrimental to Denmark’s vital interests may in future have their Danish citizenship revoked without having been convicted by a court. Gang-related crime may now also lead to the revocation of Danish citizenship.
The residence requirement for entitlement to unemployment insurance (dagpenge) is abolished, meaning that people will no longer be required to have resided in the country for 5 of the last 12 years in order to receive unemployment insurance.
The new Return Act ensures financial support for those who cooperate with their departure, whilst those who do not cooperate will face sanctions, including the loss of access to education and activation programs. The new Return Agency will be tasked with convincing rejected asylum seekers to return to their home countries.
2023-2025
SVM GOVERNMENT (Social Democrats, Liberal Party, Moderates)
Led by Mette Frederiksen
Citizenship:
• The Parliament Committee for Citizenship calls applicants in for interviews and removes one applicant
• Application for repeated applications introduced
Benefits:
• A reform of the social benefits system is adopted
Deportation centers:
• Residence permit due to deportation hindrances is abolished
• Daily duty to report is introduced for all residents
• Residents with drivers license are no longer allowed to drive a car
• Rules concerning ban on entry are tightened
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A major reform of the social benefits system abolishes the previous Self-support, Repatriation and Transitional benefits. Instead, 3 different allowance rates are introduced, the lowest of which is aimed at foreign nationals. This is because a residence requirement of 9 years’ residence within the last 10 years, as well as a requirement for 2.5 years’ full-time employment over the last 10 years, must be met in order to be entitled to the higher rate. Furthermore, a work obligation is being introduced for citizens who do not meet the residence and employment requirements.
For the first time, the Parliament’s Citizenship Committee calls in 3 selected individuals who have applied for citizenship and meet all the requirements to attend interviews to assess their 'Danish mentality'. In 2025, the Committee excludes an applicant from the Citizenship Act, even though he meets all the formal requirements.
In 2024, the option to grant a residence permit on the basis of obstacles to deportation is abolished (we wrote a report on this issue in 2011). In practice, this was very rarely used.
A daily reporting requirement will be introduced for everyone staying at a departure center. At the same time, residents at departure centers are deprived of the right to drive.
The rules on entry bans are amended so that all foreign nationals who are expelled due to an unconditional prison sentence will be subject to a minimum 6-year entry ban.
2026-
S-SF-R-M GOVERNMENT
Led by Mette Frederiksen with support from Red-Green Alliance
Asylum:
• Start on implementing the EU Pact on asylum and immigration
Expulsion:
• The reform on expulsion is adopted
• Use of electronic anklet is introduced in deportation centers
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From June 2026, the parts of the EU’s new Asylum Pact to which Denmark has acceded must be implemented. The AM Regulation replaces the Dublin Regulation; a new screening period following arrival is introduced, and various appeal deadlines are shortened. Most of the procedure will continue as before.
The Parliament passes an expulsion reform which means that foreign nationals who commit certain types of serious crime and are sentenced to at least 1 year’s imprisonment must be expelled, even if this contravenes Denmark’s international obligations. The Government expects that the European Court of Human Rights will change its previous practice on the basis of a declaration that Denmark has signed together with a number of other members of the Council of Europe.
Electronic tagging will in future be used at the Kærshovedgård departure center in cases of repeated breaches of the obligation to stay and to report daily in the center.