The processing of some pending citizenship cases has been suspended due to errors in criminal records. This decision was made by the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, according to a press release issued by the ministry on Monday. These are cases where the error in the criminal record could be significant, and such errors could affect the immigration authorities' handling of cases where information from the criminal record is used in processing the application, including assessing whether the requirement that the applicant must not have committed a crime in Denmark is met, the statement explained.
The number of affected cases has not been disclosed.
The ministry did not specify in the press release the number of cases covered by this order, and will not answer phone calls. The ministry said it has no further comments.
The Ministry of Justice informed the Danish Parliament last week that the National Police had learned of an error in the criminal record and were investigating the extent and implications of this error in relation to a number of types of cases.
The National Police discovered that some information had been mistakenly deleted from the Central Criminal Record. The error was discovered in June, and the police then attempted to determine the cause and extent of the mistake.
National Police Chief Lasse Boe said in a press release: “It is extremely serious to have errors in the criminal record, because the criminal record is fundamental to dealing with crimes and criminal cases in Denmark.”.
The issuance of child handling certificates and gun permits has also been suspended.
It was also announced last week that errors related to the deletion of information were discovered in 48 cases, some of which were deleted too early and others too late. This error caused them to decide last week to suspend the issuance of certificates for dealing with children and gun permits.
The ministry stated in a press release issued on Monday that it had asked “immigration authorities to temporarily suspend the processing of cases in which the error may be substantial.” The statement from the Ministry of Immigration and Integration read: “The Ministry of Immigration and Integration has decided to suspend the processing of pending citizenship applications in which the error in the criminal record may be substantial. The ministry has also asked immigration authorities to suspend the processing of these applications until further notice.”
According to local sources quoting Ritsau, the ministry will not respond regarding the authorities or issues concerned. The agencies affiliated with the ministry are the Danish Immigration Service, the Danish Resettlement Agency, and the Danish Agency for International Employment and Integration (SIRI).
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