To start the process, you must first meet the following requirements:
- You must pledge allegiance and loyalty to Denmark and Danish society, and you must comply with the Danish law.
- You must have a permanent residence permit and residence in Denmark. There are a few exceptions - read more here (in Danish only).
- You must have had 9 consecutive years of residence in Denmark. Exceptions for applicants married to a Dane, Nordic citizens and others are stated here (in Danish only).
- You must have been financially independent for the last 2 years, and within the last 5 years you must not have received any financial support for more than a total period of 4 months. Find out more about the requirements of financial indepence here.
- You must have passed “Prøve I Dansk 3”. If you have been financially independent (meaning that you have not claimed state benefits such as "kontanthjælp") the last 8½ year out of the previous 9 years, it is sufficient to pass “Prøve i Dansk 2”. Read more here (in Danish only).
- You must have passed the citizenship test (indfødsretsprøven in Danish, which has been updated in 2021) about Danish society, culture, and history, which takes place twice a year - in June and November. Read more here (in Danish only).
- You may not have debt to the public with regard to repayable benefits, child care support, day-care payment, unpaid housing benefit, taxes, etc. Read more here (in Danish only).
- Applicants, who have committed heavy crimes cannot apply for Danish citizenship.
There are stricter waiting periods for applicants who have committed crimes and special requirements for applicants who have received fines in between 3,000 DKK and 10,000 DKK for breaching the law outside the boundaries of the Criminal Code, Traffic Code, the weapon laws and drug laws. Read more here (in Danish only).
- To get exemptions due to mental illnesses, you need a doctor’s permit with an account from a psychological specialist or another state approved medical practitioner.
I think I meet all the conditions, but I don’t have evidence to prove it. What do I do?
This is particularly relevant in the language requirement (danskkundskaber). E.g. you may have been living in Denmark for a long time and be fluent in Danish but without any evidence to prove it.
As the requirements are now, you will need to provide evidence in the form of exam certificates to support your application. If you have taken a form of higher (university) education where the primary language was Danish, you may be able to submit this in place of a language school exam.
There is a list of accepted evidence listed here - see "Bilag 3"(in Danish). The list includes the following exams:
"Prøve i Dansk 3", STX, HF, HHX, HTX, AVU ("almen forberedelseseksamen")
Exams from higher educations e.g. universities.
If you do not have the required evidence, it may be that you need to take an exam in Danish. You can sign up to take the exam from many language schools without attending classes, although a fee will likely be charged for this.
So many exams! What is the citizenship test and how do I take it?
You are lucky as the citizenship exam (Indfødsretsprøve) has been changed to make it a bit easier! There are now fewer obscure Danish history questions and more focus on Danish values and society.
You can take a practice exam online here https://www.indfodsretsprove.dk/gratis-prove, which is highly recommendable prior to the official test.
You can sit the exam twice a year (in June and November). You can book your place online at https://www.indfodsretsprove.dk/index.html.
It costs DKK 738 to take the exam.
This article was updated on 29 October 2019.