Official statistics from the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration show that 3,143 out of 14,575 people who have acquired Danish citizenship since 2015, and who originate from the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey, have been convicted of crimes after obtaining citizenship. These figures come at a time of heightened political debate in Denmark regarding the conditions for granting citizenship and the need for stricter vetting procedures for applicants, according to DR.
These developments bring the issue of Danish citizenship back to the forefront of political debate, with increasing demands to review the screening procedures before granting citizenship, amid disagreement over how to assess applicants' positions and the limits of the procedures to be taken.
A percentage of naturalized citizens (22%) were convicted of crimes after obtaining citizenship.
According to data from the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration, reviewed by the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, as reported by the source, the statistics included 14,575 people who have obtained Danish citizenship since 2015, and who belong to the MENAPT group of countries, which includes countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey.
The data showed that 3,143 people from this group were convicted of crimes after obtaining citizenship, while 1,551 people committed crimes that could have led to a waiting period before granting citizenship or the rejection of their applications if they had committed them before obtaining it. These represent about 11% of the total group.
The remaining convicts committed less serious offenses that, in themselves, do not preclude the granting of Danish citizenship. A total of 202 people were sentenced to prison, representing 1,391,000 of the total number of individuals included in the statistics, according to the sources.
The Liberal Alliance party is demanding deeper vetting before granting citizenship.
In another development, the Liberal Alliance (a right-wing blue party) demanded that a woman listed in a bill granting Danish citizenship to 2,055 people be summoned for an interview before the Citizenship Committee in Parliament.
The party said it had detected posts by the woman praising Hamas and two of its former leaders, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh. Party leader Alex Vanopslagh told Politiken that the case reinforces his view that granting more citizenship to the 2,055 people should be postponed until a suitable screening mechanism is in place to identify people who hold anti-democratic views.
But the woman in question, who spoke to the newspaper, denied supporting Hamas or killing in general, and declared her willingness to come and explain her position, according to the sources.
Political dispute over the timing of granting citizenship and the new screening mechanism
The bill, which includes 2,055 people, was postponed after the parliamentary elections were called for spring 2026. This led to demands from opposition parties for a more thorough vetting of applicants to ensure they do not hold anti-democratic views.
The ruling Social Democratic Party (Socialdemokratiet) had also supported the need for stricter screening, but the government decided to submit the bill before the new screening mechanism was fully prepared, which drew criticism from the opposition during the opening parliamentary debate.
Rasmus Stoklund, the Social Democratic Party's political spokesperson, responded to the Liberal Alliance's demands by stating that opposition parties could report to the Citizenship Committee anyone they believe holds anti-democratic views and whose name appears on the bill. The Liberal Alliance announced that it had already taken this step.
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