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Act on the Acquisition of Danish Nationality (Consolidation)

This act consolidates the Danish Act No. 252 of 27 May 1950, on the Acquisition of Danish Citizenship, cf. Executive Order No. 155 of 6 April 1978, as amended consequent to Section 2 of the Danish Act No. 326 of 4 June 1986, and the Danish Act No. 159 of 18 March 1991.

Section 1

(1) Danish citizenship is acquired by virtue of the birth of

(i) a legitimate child whose father or mother is Danish,

(ii) an illegitimate child, whose mother is Danish.

(2) A child of unknown parentage found in this country shall be deemed to be a Danish citizen until information to the contrary is provided.

Section 2

If a Danish man and an alien woman have children by each other before they marry, such children shall acquire Danish citizenship upon the marriage of their parents, as long as the children are unmarried and under the age of eighteen.

Section 2A

(1) An alien child under the age of twelve, who has been adopted under a Danish adoption order, shall become a Danish citizen by virtue of the adoption, if the child is adopted by a married couple, both of whom are Danish citizens, or by an unmarried Danish citizen, and if the child lives with its adoptive parents (the adopter) in this country.

(2) Acquisition of citizenship shall have effect from the day on which the adoption order is made.

Section 3

(1) An alien who has resided continuously in this country from the age of sixteen and who has, moreover, previously lived in this country for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than five years, shall acquire Danish citizenship upon attaining the age of twenty-one but before attaining the age of twenty-three, by submitting a written declaration to this effect to the County, the Prefect's Office, the Governor's Office on the Faroe Islands or the Governor's Office in Greenland. If the alien does not have nationality in any country, or if he proves that he will lose his foreign nationality by acquiring Danish citizenship, such declaration may be made after the alien has attained the age of eighteen if, when the declaration is made, he has resided in this country continuously for the previous five years and has, moreover, lived in this country previously for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than five years.

(2) If the country is at war, a national of a hostile State shall not be able to acquire citizenship in pursuance of this section. This shall also apply to a person who does not have nationality in any State but has most recently been a national of a hostile State.

Section 4

If a person who has acquired Danish citizenship by virtue of birth and who has lived in this country until attaining the age of eighteen has lost his citizenship, he shall re-acquire such citizenship, provided that he has lived in this country for the last two years, by submitting a written declaration to this effect to the County, the Prefect's Office, the Governor's Office on the Faroe Islands or the Governor's Office in Greenland. If he is a national of another country however, the said declaration may only be made if he proves that he will lose his foreign nationality by re-acquiring Danish citizenship.

Section 5

(1) If a person acquires citizenship in pursuance of sections 3 or 4 above, such citizenship shall also be vested upon his unmarried, legitimate, child who is under the age of eighteen and residing in this country. This shall not however, apply to a child who, after the dissolution of its parents' marriage or their separation, is subject to the custody of the other parent.

(2) The regulation stated in the first sentence of section 5 (1) above shall correspondingly apply to the relationship between a woman and her illegitimate child, unless the custody of the child has been awarded to the child’s alien father.

Section 6

(1) Citizenship may be acquired by virtue of naturalisation pursuant to the Danish Constitutional Act.

(2) If the person who is naturalised has children, the regulations stated in section 5 above shall correspondingly apply, unless a provision to the contrary has been agreed upon on a case by case basis.

Section 7

Danish citizenship shall be forfeited by:

(1) a person who, by petition or explicit consent, acquires foreign nationality,

(2) a person who, by taking a position with the public authorities of another country, acquires foreign nationality,

(3) an unmarried child under the age of eighteen who acquires foreign citizenship because one of its parents, who has custody or any part hereof, acquires foreign nationality in the way described under paragraph 1 or 2 above, unless the other parent remains Danish and also has a share in the custody.

Section 8

(1) Any person who is born abroad and has never lived in this country, nor stayed here under conditions indicating an interdependence with Denmark, shall lose his Danish citizenship upon attaining the age of twenty-two. The Minister for the Interior or anyone so authorised by him may, however, by petition submitted before this time, permit that the citizenship be retained.

(2) If a person loses his citizenship under this section, his child shall also lose its citizenship if the child has acquired such citizenship by virtue of its descent from the father, unless the child becomes stateless as a consequence of this.

Section 9

(1) The Minister for the Interior, or anyone so authorised by him, may release a person who is, or wants to become, a foreign national from that person's relationship to Denmark with regard to nationality. In the latter case such release shall take place on the condition that the petitioner becomes a national of another country within a specific time frame.

(2) A person who is a foreign national and who resides permanently in another country cannot be denied release.

Section 9A

(1) The King may, according to agreement with other States, state that the provisions of Section 9A (2) and (3) below are applicable. The term "country of agreement" has been made.

(2) A person who, by virtue of birth, has acquired nationality in Denmark as well as in the country of agreement, shall lose Danish citizenship when attaining a specific age that is stated in the agreement, this shall not be under the age of nineteen nor above the age of twenty-two, if for the last five years such person has been in permanent residence in the country of the agreement in question.

(3) If a person loses his citizenship according to Section 9A (2) above, his child shall also lose its citizenship, if the child has acquired the citizenship by virtue of descent from the father, unless the child becomes stateless as a consequence of this.

(4) A person who has lost his Danish citizenship under this section and who after that has remained a national of the country of agreement, shall re-acquire the citizenship when, after taking up permanent residence in this country, he has submitted a written declaration to this effect to the County, the Prefect's Office, the Governor's Office on the Faroe Islands or the Governor's Office in Greenland. The provisions of the second sentence of Section 4, and Section 5, shall correspondingly apply.

Section 10

(1) The King may, according to agreement with Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, state that one or several of the provisions under A-C below shall apply. The term "Nordic country of agreement" in this section comprises the State(s) with which such agreement has been made.

A. Upon the application of Section 3 above, residence in a Nordic country of agreement shall be treated as residence in this country until the age of sixteen. When the declaration is made however, the person in question must have resided continuously in this country for the last five years.

(2) Upon the application of Section 4 above, residence in a Nordic country of agreement shall be treated as residence in this country until attaining the age of twelve.

(3) Upon the application of Section 4 above, residence in a Nordic country of agreement for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than seven years shall be treated as residence in this country.

B. A citizen of a Nordic country of agreement who:

(1) has acquired nationality in that country by means other than by virtue of naturalisation,

(2) has attained the age of eighteen,

(3) has resided permanently in this country for the last seven years, and

(4) has not during the said period of time been sentenced to imprisonment, house of correction, preventive detention or sentenced to be placed in a special home for persons suffering from mental disorders, cf. section 70 (1) of the Danish Criminal Code, shall acquire Danish citizenship by submitting a written declaration to this effect to the County, the Prefect's Office the Governor's Office of the Faroe Islands or the Governor's Office in Greenland. The provisions of Section 5 above shall apply correspondingly.

C. A person who, after having lost his Danish citizenship, has continuously been a national of a Nordic country of agreement, shall re-acquire the citizenship when, after taking up permanent residence in this country, he has submitted a written declaration to this effect to the County, the Prefect's Office, the Governor's Office on the Faroe Islands or the Governor's Office in Greenland. The provisions of Section 5 shall correspondingly apply.

Section 11

A declaration concerning the acquisition of citizenship under Sections 3, 4, 9A (4), 10 B and 10 C of this Act cannot be made by a guardian or by a person having custody.

Section 12

(1) The Minister for the Interior may state more specific regulations about the implementing of this Act and regulations regarding payment for the filing of a petition for Danish citizenship by virtue of naturalisation.

(2) Declarations concerning conditions which are covered by this Act or regulations drawn up pursuant to this Act, including declarations made for the purpose of petitioning for citizenship or a certificate of citizenship, may be required to be solemn.

Section 13

(1) A child under the age of eighteen, who would have been a Danish citizen if the provision in section 1 (1) (2) above had not been in force prior to the effective date of this Act, and who is not or has not been a national of any other country, shall acquire Danish citizenship.

(2) Upon the application of Section 4 above, any person who has acquired Danish citizenship pursuant to Act No. 474 of 5 September 1920, relating to the Acquisition of Danish Citizenship in connection with the Danish annexation of the territories in South Jutland, cf. the Danish Act No. 247 of June 1922, shall be deemed to be a native-born Dane. Residence in the South Jutland territories prior to 15 June 1920, shall be treated as residence in this country.

(3) A woman who has lost her citizenship, according to legislation previously in force, by marrying an alien or by acquiring foreign nationality either by virtue of marriage or by virtue of her spouse's acquisition of foreign nationality, but who would have continued to retain her Danish citizenship if this Act had been previously in force, may re-acquire citizenship by submitting a written declaration to this effect to the Chief Administrative Authorities (in Copenhagen, to the Municipal Corporation) or another authority as called for by the Minister for the Interior. Such declaration can, however, not be made validly after 31 December 1955.

(4) A woman who reaches the age of twenty-two before 1 January 1954, and who is or has been married when she attains the said age, shall not lose her citizenship in pursuance of section 8 (1) above until the end of the year 1953.

(5) The provisions of Section 3 and 4 above and of subsection 3 of this section shall not apply to persons who are covered by the Danish Act No. 379 of 12 July 1946, as amended by the Danish Act No. 528 of 22 December 1947, cf. Danish Act No. 518 of 22 December 1948, and who have not by a special act been allowed admission to acquire or retain their citizenship, irrespective of the provisions of the Danish Act of 12 June 1946. This shall also apply to any person who would have been effected by these acts if he had been a native-born Dane and remained resident in this country.

(6) If a person who has become a national of another country but who, puruant to the second sentence of Section 5 of Danish Act No. 123 of 18 April 1925, has retained his Danish citizenship, moves out of the country, such an act shall not require forfeiture of citizenship unless the person in question continues to have nationality in another country and would lose the citizenship based on the regulations of Section 7 of this Act if such regulations had been previously in force.

(7) Moreover, the provisions of this Act shall apply if the conditions giving ground for the acquisition or forfeiture of the citizenship is of a later date than the entering into force of this Act.

Section 14

This Act, which shall replace Danish Act No. 123 of 18 April 1925, relating to acquisition and forfeiture of citizenship, shall apply to any part of the Danish State.

Section 15

This Act shall enter into force on 1 January 1951.

The Danish Act No. 326 of 4 June 1986

The Danish Act No. 326 of 4 June 1986, section 2 of which shall amend section 2A, contains the following commencement provisions:

“Article 3

1. The Act shall enter into force on 1 October 1986.

2. (Deleted)

3. Section 2 shall apply to adoption orders issued after the entering into force of this Act”.

The Danish Act No. 159 of 18 March 1991

The Danish Act No. 159 of 18 March 1991, of whose section 1 subsection 1 shall amend sections 3(1), 4, 9A (4), and two passages in section 10(3).

Subsection 2 shall amend section 8(1)(2);

subsection 3 shall amend section 9(1)(1);

subsection 4 shall amend section 12(1);

contains the following commencement provision:

2. The Act shall enter into force one week after its affirmation.

The Ministry of the Interior

17 June 1991

Topics: Nationality law,