Denmark Lists 5 Categories of Foreigners Exempt From Language Requirement for Citizenship
- Denmark requires most citizenship applicants to pass a Danish language test, but the government has carved out specific exemptions for certain groups
- Applicants living in Greenland or the Faroe Islands, as well as Swedish and Norwegian speakers, are among those who can bypass the standard language tests
- Children under 12 years old applying for citizenship separately from their parents also fall under the exemption, along with several other categories
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Denmark requires most foreign nationals seeking citizenship to demonstrate proficiency in the Danish language, but the country's official guidelines confirm that five distinct categories of applicants are not bound by that rule.
According to Denmark's official citizen information portal, the standard condition for naturalisation is that applicants pass Danish language test 3, known as Dansk 3.
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Those who have not received social assistance under Danish law for more than three months across a nine-year period may instead qualify by passing the slightly lower-level Danish language test 2, known as Dansk 2.
Danish citizenship: Who's exempt from language requirement?
However, some applicants are fully exempted from providing evidence of Danish language skills altogether.
1. The first group covers those residing in the Faroe Islands or Greenland. For these applicants, a police assessment confirming that the person can participate with ease in a Danish or Faroese/Greenlandic conversation, without paraphrasing or switching languages and with a natural accent, is considered sufficient.
2. Swedish and Norwegian speakers form the second exempt group. Completing a primary school education in Swedish or Norwegian is treated as adequate proof of language ability for these applicants.
3. The third exemption applies to members of the Danish minority community in Southern Schleswig, Germany, who fall under the facilitated residence conditions set out in the Circular on naturalisation.
4. The fourth category covers applicants who were born to a Danish mother between 1 January 1961 and 31 December 1978, and who currently reside abroad. For this group, an assessment from a Danish diplomatic representation confirming conversational ability in Danish, without the use of paraphrasing or other languages and with a natural accent, serves as proof.
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Denmark lists 3 categories of foreigners who can apply for citizenship without living there
5. The fifth and final exemption applies to certain children applying for citizenship independently of their parents. Children below the age of 12 face no language evidence requirement at all.
For children aged 12 and above who have not yet completed secondary education at the ninth or tenth grade level, a letter from their school confirming that their Danish language skills and knowledge of Danish society, culture, and history are in line with expectations for a child of the same age is considered sufficient.
This school statement, however, is not accepted if the child completes the ninth or tenth grade before the law on notification of naturalisation, in which they are expected to be included, is adopted.
Legit.ng has also published residency years for foreigners who want to become Qatari citizens.
Citizenship: Australia mentions residency years for foreigners
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Australia's Department of Home Affairs has outlined the residence requirement foreigners must meet before applying for citizenship.
Applicants must have lived in Australia on a valid visa for a number of years before the date they apply for citizenship.
The rules also specify how much time applicants are allowed to have spent outside Australia during that period.
Source: Legit.ng
