Dear Catti,
I'm afraid that Danmark has one of the striktest policies regarding
naturalisation through marriage.
Obtaining a Residency Permit
----------------------------
Before you can even dream of becoming a Danish citizen, you must first
reside there legally, as your partner's spouse.
The first condition must be, that the Dane is residing and is
registered in Danemark. "The spouses or registered partners must be
living together at the same address in Denmark when the residence
permit has been granted." (SOURCE: Danish Immigration Service,
"Spouses and cohabiting companions"
<http://www.udlst.dk/english/Family+Reunification/Spouses/Default.htm>).
The Dane must reside permanently in the country.
Other conditions:
(1) "The marriage or registered partnership should be recognizable
according to Danish law." It also cannot be forced marriage ; and "The
marriage or registered partnership must not have been entered into pro
forma: i.e, solely for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit for
one of the parties.". (SOURCE: Danish Immigration Service, "Spouses
and cohabiting companions"
<http://www.udlst.dk/english/Family+Reunification/Spouses/Default.htm>).
(2) Both partners must be over 24 years.
(3) This is one of the trickiest conditions: The so called "atachment
requirement": "The attachment of both of the spouses or registered
partners to Denmark must be greater than their attachment to another
country. [...] If the person residing in Denmark has had Danish
citizenship for more than 28 years he or she does not need to satisfy
the attachment requirement. " If you have been living together
elsewhere, it would raise a problem not only because the Danish
partner must live in the country, but also because it might prove that
he or she doesn't have greater attachment to Danmark.
"When the Danish Immigration Service assesses whether the attachment
requirement is fulfilled, attention to the following circumstances are
considered, among other things:
- How long both the individual already resident in Denmark and the
applicant have lived in Denmark.
- Whether one or both have ties to other individuals in Denmark: for
example, family members.
- Whether one or both have custody of or visiting rights to minors in Denmark.
- Whether one or both have completed an education, or have a permanent
connection to the labour market in Denmark.
- The Danish language proficiency of both parties.
- The extent of both parties' ties to another country, including
whether they both, or either of them have made extended visits to that
country.
- Whether the applicant has children or other family members in
another country." (SOURCE: Danish Immigration Service, "Spouses and
cohabiting companions"
<http://www.udlst.dk/english/Family+Reunification/Spouses/Default.htm>).
(4) "The person residing in Denmark must have an accommodation of
reasonable size at his or her disposal.; The person residing in
Denmark must provide documentation proving that he or she has an
income that is sufficient to support the foreign spouse or registered
partner.The person residing in Denmark must not have received public
financial assistance for a period of one year prior to submission of
the application for the residence permit, nor during the time it may
take for the permit to be issued. For this purpose, public assistance
is defined as any economic aid paid out under the terms of the Danish
Integration Act or under the terms of the Act on an active social
policy.
The person living in Denmark must not have been convicted of violent
acts against a former spouse or companion for a period of 10 years
prior to the decision." (SOURCE: Danish Immigration Service, "Spouses
and cohabiting companions"
<http://www.udlst.dk/english/Family+Reunification/Spouses/Default.htm>).
Applying for Danish Citizenship
-------------------------------
After you receive permanent status, due to your marriage, you may
apply for citizenship. More accurately: one must be a legal permanent
resident for (at least) four years, and demonstrate control of the
Danish language to gain citizenship.
Read:
Danish Citizenship
<http://www.finfo.dk/wwwfinfo/HTML/engelsk/Finfo_Danmark/Ny_i_Danmark/Dansk_statsborgerskab_(indfoedsret)/side3.html>
Danish citizenship (nationality)
<http://www.inm.dk/medborger/medborger/engelsk/0302.html>
Kees Groenendijk, Elspeth Guild and Robin Barzilay, "The Legal Status
of Third Country Nationals who are Long-Term Residents in a Member
State of the European Union"
<http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/unit/doc_asile_immigrat/groenendijk_report_en.pdf>,
p. 34.
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. My search strategy
was:
[Danmark immigration]
["danish citizenship" "after * years" "to a danish citizen"],
["danish citizenship"],
[danmark naturalization],
[danmark naturalisation],
[danmark dual citizenship] |
