Denmark Liberals Leak Scrapped Citizenship Tightening Proposals

Applying for Danish citizenship may soon face stricter rules. Denmark's Liberal Party accidentally leaked discarded proposals to public broadcaster DR. The leaked plans show the party considered extreme limits on non-Western applicants. They also evaluated requiring character witnesses for each applicant. These proposals were scrapped before the party announced its current five-year provisional citizenship plan.

The first leaked proposal required applicants to provide Danish character witnesses. These witnesses would sign a statement confirming the applicant chose Denmark. Naturalised citizens could not serve as witnesses. The second proposal aimed to cap citizenships for non-Western applicants at 250 per year. This limit could apply to people from outside the EU and European Economic Area. Candidates with the highest citizenship test scores would get priority.

The leak also revealed earlier ideas about provisional citizenship. One draft involved issuing temporary passports that could be revoked for crimes. The party dropped this to avoid breaking international conventions. Instead, they now propose withholding passports for five years. Party spokesperson Morten Dahlin confirmed the text message was sent by mistake. He stated these discarded ideas do not represent official party policy.

More than 16,000 citizenship applications are currently paused in Denmark. Over 2,000 applicants are already listed on a pending citizenship bill. Processing stopped in February when the government announced elections. Authorities are considering adding mandatory interviews to screen for un-Danish views.