Danish Citizenship

For general information on Danish citizenship please see the website of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration (in Danish only).  

On these pages we have chosen to present in English the answers to the most common enquiries we receive about citizenship for Danish nationals born and/or living abroad. Please select the option below that applies to your situation.

Australian citizenship by descent - possible loss of Danish citizenship

This important information concerns individuals who were born outside of Australia to one Danish parent and one Australian parent. The individual may have acquired Danish citizenship automatically by birth from their Danish parent but if the individual acquired Australian citizenship by descent before 01/09/2015, there is a chance that the Danish citizenship was lost upon acquiring Australian citizenship by descent. Read more about this issue here.

Please note: New Zealand also has a law regarding 'citizenship by descent' for children born outside of New Zealand. However New Zealand citizenship by descent is considered a birth right which only has to be registered with the New Zealand authorities after birth. Therefore the information on the above link only applies to Australian citizenship by descent - not to New Zealand citizenship by descent.

Dual citizenship

A new Danish law came into effect on 01/09/2015 allowing dual citizenship for Danish nationals. For more information on dual citizenship click here.

The 22-year-rule

As a general rule, Danish nationals born abroad lose their Danish citizenship when reaching the age of 22 unless they have stayed in Denmark under circumstances that indicate a strong connection to Denmark. Retention of the Danish citizenship may be granted in these cases provided certain conditions are fulfilled. For more information on the 22-year-rule and how to apply to retain Danish citizenship before you turn 22 click here.

If you are born outside of Denmark and have already turned 22 but have not applied for retention of your Danish citizenship, there may be a possibility that you could still obtain proof of Danish citizenship.  For more information about obtaining proof of Danish citizenship after you turn 22 click here.