Danish People's Party Demands Removal of Three Applicants from Citizenship Bill

Denmark is debating stricter social media checks for people applying for citizenship. The Danish People’s Party wants to remove three applicants from an upcoming citizenship bill. The bill covers 2,055 people in total.

Party spokesperson Mikkel Bjørn cited social media posts made by the three applicants. One post from 2013 by a Syrian applicant discussed punishing a girlfriend. A second post from 2017 shared a video about restricting women from visiting burial sites. A third post praised a Syrian rebel figure linked to the Islamic State group.

Bjørn acknowledged that manual checks might contain mistakes. He asked the ministry to verify if the applicants actually wrote the posts. The party wants to interview the applicants if the government keeps them on the bill. The national parliament is scheduled to debate the citizenship bill in February. CPH Post reported the story based on Ritzau coverage.

The debate follows a broader government plan to screen applicants for anti-democratic views. An expert group is studying new screening options. Their conclusions are expected in March 2027.