IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

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Mapping

STATELESSNESS

in Denmark

UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries

IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

Mapping

STATELESSNESS

in Denmark

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries, Stockholm, 2019

Consultant: Eva Ersbøll and Paavo Savolainen

authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided that UNHCR is acknowledged as the source.

ISBN 978-953-95763-7-8

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent

the views of UNHCR.

Cover photos: © UNHCR

Layout & design: BakOS DESIGN

IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

CONTENTS

Glossary..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

1. Introduction

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................7

1.1 Statelessness across the globe

................................................................................................................................................................... 8

1.1.1 Defining “a stateless person”.................................................................................................................................................................. 8

1.1.2 Causes of statelessness.......................................................................................................................................................................... 9

1.1.3 Consequences of statelessness ..........................................................................................................................................................10

1.2 The international and regional legal framework

.................................................................................................................................10

2. The Face of Statelessness in Denmark

..........................................................................................................................................................12

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 Historical background ............................................................................................................................................................................12

2.1.1.1 Acquisition of nationality.................................................................................................................................................................12

2.1.1.2 The “statelessness case” ..............................................................................................................................................................14

2.2 A statistical overview of the stateless population in Denmark

......................................................................................................15

2.2.1 Specifics of the data used ....................................................................................................................................................................15

2.2.2 The target population .......................................................................................................................................................................... 17

2.2.2.1 Stateless persons with residence rights ..................................................................................................................................18

2.2.2.2 Stateless persons seeking asylum or other residence permits .....................................................................................25

2.2.3 A summary of the developments after 2011 ..................................................................................................................................36

2.3 Qualitative analysis of the situation of stateless persons

............................................................................................................. 37

2.3.1 Specifics of the information used ...................................................................................................................................................... 37

2.3.2 Procedural aspects .............................................................................................................................................................................. 37

2.3.3 The human face of statelessness .....................................................................................................................................................39

2.3.4 Hopes and expectations for the future ...........................................................................................................................................40

2.4 Conclusions and recommendations

.......................................................................................................................................................41

3. Determination of statelessness and rights attached to the status

.......................................................................................................41

3.1 Introduction

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................42

3.2 National legal framework

..........................................................................................................................................................................43

3.3 Statelessness determination procedure or other procedures in which statelessness status is determined

................44

3.3.1 Competent authority .............................................................................................................................................................................45

3.3.2 Procedural aspects...............................................................................................................................................................................46

3.3.2.1 Initiation of the procedure and course of the procedure ...................................................................................................46

3.3.2.2 Standard and burden of proof.................................................................................................................................................. 47

3.3.2.3 Access to courts (appeal procedures)....................................................................................................................................48

3.3.2.4 Other procedural aspects: developments after 2011 .........................................................................................................49

3.3.3 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................................................................50

Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

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3.4 Rights of applicants and recognized stateless persons

..................................................................................................................50

3.4.1 Rights of applicants during the statelessness determination procedure................................................................................50

3.4.1.1 Detention ...........................................................................................................................................................................................51

3.4.1.2 Expulsion ..........................................................................................................................................................................................51

3.4.2 Rights of persons recognized as stateless ....................................................................................................................................52

3.4.2.1 The right of residence..................................................................................................................................................................52

3.4.2.2 The right to work and related rights .......................................................................................................................................54

3.4.2.3 The right to public relief .............................................................................................................................................................55

3.4.2.4 Identification and travel documents .......................................................................................................................................56

3.5 Conclusions and recommendations

......................................................................................................................................................56

4. Reduction and prevention of statelessness

................................................................................................................................................58

4.1 Introduction

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................58

4.2 National legal framework

..........................................................................................................................................................................59

4.2.1 Avoidance of statelessness at birth ...................................................................................................................................................61

4.2.1.1 Birth on the state’s territory ..........................................................................................................................................................61

4.2.1.1.1 Rules governing persons born stateless in Denmark

who are under the age of 18 years at the time of application ..................................................................................................63

4.2.1.1.2 Rules governing persons born stateless in Denmark

who have attained the age of 18 years but are not yet 21 years old ......................................................................................65

4.2.1.1.3 Transitional rule for certain stateless persons born in Denmark who are 21 years or older .............................66

4.2.1.1.4 Political concern with regard to convention obligations and 2018 dialogue with UNHCR................................ 67

4.2.1.2 Birth outside the State’s Territory..............................................................................................................................................68

4.2.1.3 Other path to naturalization .......................................................................................................................................................69

4.2.1.4 Foundlings ......................................................................................................................................................................................69

4.2.2 Birth on a ship or aircraft ....................................................................................................................................................................70

4.2.3 Avoidance of statelessness upon change in civil status ............................................................................................................. 71

4.2.4 Avoidance of statelessness in the context of renunciation, loss or deprivation of nationality ......................................... 71

4.2.5 Reduction of statelessness ................................................................................................................................................................ 72

4.2.5.1 Naturalization ................................................................................................................................................................................. 72

4.2.5.2 Other modes ................................................................................................................................................................................. 76

4.3 Conclusions and recommendations

...................................................................................................................................................... 77

5. Concluding remarks and recommendations

............................................................................................................................................... 78

UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries

IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

GLOSSARY

CAT

Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,

Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women

Central Office of Civil Registration

Convention on the Rights of the Child

Danish Institute for Human Rights

Documentation and Advisory Centre on Racial Discrimination

European Convention on Human Rights

Electronic Case and Document Handling System

European Convention on Nationality

UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4: Ensuring Every Child’s Right to Acquire a

Nationality through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness

UNHCR Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Danish Immigration Service

Non-Governmental Organization

Aliens Division of the Danish National Police

National Police Case Registration System

Refugees Welcome

Statistics Denmark

National Operational Aliens Centre

UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons

1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness

CEDAW

CPR

CRC

DIHR

DRC

ECHR

ECDH

ECN

Guidelines No. 4

Handbook

ICCPR

ICERD

DIS

NGO

NUC

POLSAS

UCN

UNHCR RNB

UNRWA

1954 Convention

1961 Convention

1951 Refugee

Convention

1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol

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INTRODUCTION

In November 2014, UNHCR launched a Global Campaign to End Statelessness in 10 Years. The strategy for the

Campaign is set out in a Global Action Plan, which contains 10 actions that need to be taken to end statelessness.

States are encouraged to adopt National Action Plans that include those actions necessary to end statelessness

in their own national contexts. Since the launch of the Campaign, the UNHCR Representation for the Nordic

and Baltic Countries (UNHCR RNB) has conducted statelessness mappings in each of the eight countries in the

Northern Europe region. The mapping in Denmark has been conducted by an independent consultant, Ms. Eva

Ersbøll, senior researcher, Ph.D., Danish Institute for Human Rights, working under the supervision of UNHCR RNE.

The text was finalized by UNHCR RNE with the support of Paavo Savolainen reflecting relevant developments until

31 December 2018. The methodology has comprised desk research as well as consultations with governmental

and non-governmental stakeholders in this area. It should be noted that sec. 4.2.1.1.4 was drafted by UNHCR.

UNCR RNB shared a draft version of the mapping with the key national stakeholders in this area, namely the

Ministry of Immigration and Integration received an advance draft of the mapping for comments, which have been

incorporated by UNCR RNB into this final report. The statistical data was updated in early 2018 with the support of

Statistics Denmark. UNHCR is very grateful for all the cooperation extended and for the valuable input, constructive

feedback and comments provided by the stakeholders throughout the consultative process.

The information gathered through these mappings of statelessness in the countries of Northern Europe,

consolidated in reports like the current one, is aimed at raising awareness and providing a better understanding

among the stakeholders of the situation of stateless persons in the countries concerned, and the extent to which

the international standards in this area are implemented in law and practice. UNHCR thus hopes that the findings

and recommendations contained in the reports will contribute to the ongoing dialogue between UNHCR, the

governments concerned, civil society, and other relevant actors on what steps may need to be taken at the national

level in order to bring the respective countries’ national legal frameworks, institutional capacities, and practices

fully in line with international standards in the area of prevention and reduction of statelessness and the protection

of stateless persons. UNHCR, moreover, hopes that the reports can serve as a starting point for the development

of National Action Plans to end statelessness in each of the countries in the region.

This mapping of statelessness in Denmark provides an overview and analysis of the statistics and demographic

profiles of persons who are stateless in Denmark and examines existing laws and practices relating to the

recognition of their status and their enjoyment of rights.

The demographic section of this report consists mainly of quantitative analysis with some qualitative elements. The

quantitative analysis includes a statistical overview and analysis, as well as a review of statelessness registration

methods and practices. As the statistics provided in the mapping cover a specific period, a cutoff date has been

set as 31 December 2017.

The chief purpose of the legal analysis section of the report is to examine the implementation of the 1954

Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons

(1954 Convention) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction

of Statelessness

(1961 Convention) and other relevant international and regional standards on statelessness. In

analyzing current Danish approaches to statelessness in law and policy, particular attention has been paid to

UN General Assembly, Convention

Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons,

28 September 1954, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol.

360, p. 117, available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3840.html.

UN General Assembly, Convention

on the Reduction of Statelessness,

30 August 1961, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 989, p.

175, available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b39620.html.

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whether and to what extent Danish law and policy provide for the identification and protection of stateless persons,

as well as the prevention and reduction of statelessness.

The report consists of five parts. This introductory chapter is followed by Part 2, which illustrates the face of

statelessness in Denmark containing a historical overview of relevant Danish laws, as well as a summary of statistical

data on stateless persons in Denmark. Part 3 discusses the administrative practices and means to identify and

determine statelessness within the existing administrative procedures, as well as rights that are attached to the

status, while addressing the compliance with art. 1 C in the 1954 Convention. Part 4 discusses the reduction and the

prevention of statelessness, analyzing the compliance of national laws with the 1961 Convention and other relevant

international human right standards. All parts conclude with a set of recommendations. The last part of the report,

Part 5, compiles all recommendations.

The mapping highlights positive aspects of addressing statelessness in Denmark, as well as current gaps and

challenges. It suggests possible ways to improve conditions of stateless persons in Denmark. UNHCR hopes this

mapping can contribute to a better understanding and awareness of the issue of statelessness at the national level

and help encourage relevant national actors to further investigate how to address statelessness.

1.1

Statelessness across the globe

Statelessness is a global phenomenon. UNHCR estimates that there are millions of stateless persons worldwide.

The following sections look at the definition of a “stateless person”, the causes of statelessness, and some of the

consequences of being stateless.

1.1.1 Defining “a stateless person”

The definition of a “stateless person” is set forth in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention, which provides that a

“stateless person” is “a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law.” The

International Law Commission has concluded that Article 1(1) definition of a “stateless person” is part of customary

international law.

The present report focuses on persons coming under this definition.

The term “national” within the meaning of Article 1(1) refers to a formal bond between a person and a state, but it does

not need to be an “effective” or “genuine” link.

The term “law” within the meaning of Article 1(1) “encompass[es]

not just legislation, but also ministerial decrees, regulations, orders, judicial case law…and, where appropriate,

customary practice.”

Establishing whether an individual is considered as a national of a state requires an analysis

of both the text of that state’s laws, as well as their application to the individual’s case.

The letter of the law, as well

See

the International Law Commission,

Articles on Diplomatic Protection with commentaries,

2006, p. 49 (stating that the Article 1 definition

can “no doubt be considered as having acquired a customary nature”), available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/525e7929d.html.

The UNHCR

Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons

explains that “persons who fall within the scope of Article 1(1) of the 1954

Convention are sometimes referred to as “de

jure”

stateless persons,” UNHCR,

Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons,

30 June

2014, para. 7, (“Handbook

on Protection of Stateless Persons”),

available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/53b676aa4.html.

Individuals

who have a nationality but are outside the country of their nationality and are denied diplomatic and consular protection accorded to

other nationals by their state of nationality have been referred to as “de

facto”

stateless. See UN High Commissioner for Refugees

(UNHCR), Expert Meeting – The Concept of Stateless Persons under International Law (“Prato Conclusions”), May 2010, pp. 5-8, available

at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ca1ae002.html.

The term “de

jure”

is not found in any international treaty and is not used in this report,

yet it must be emphasized that the present report does not include “de

facto”

stateless persons.

UNHCR Handbook

on Protection of Stateless Persons,

30 June 2014, para 54 and fn. 38.

Ibid,

para. 22.

Ibid,

para. 23, and fn. 12 (citing Articles 1 and 2 of the 1930 Hague Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality

Laws).

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as the practice, must be examined, as some states may not precisely adhere to the letter of the law or might even

“[go] so far as to ignore its substance.”

A person’s nationality must be assessed at the time of determination of eligibility to international protection under

the 1954 Convention, which is neither a historic nor a predictive exercise.

This means that, for the determination

of whether a person is stateless, it is not relevant that that person is in the process of naturalizing or has the option

to acquire the nationality of a given state. Accordingly, if, at the time of the determination, the person is in the

process of losing, being deprived of, or renouncing a nationality, the person is still a national.

Furthermore, the

1954 Convention does not permit states to exclude from protection persons who have voluntarily renounced their

nationality.

1.1.2 Causes of statelessness

Statelessness can be caused by numerous factors. Some of these factors are of a legal technical nature, where

statelessness is caused by gaps in nationality laws or conflicts of nationality laws. States determine their own

nationality laws, within certain limited restrictions imposed by international human rights law. The two principal legal

frameworks governing states’ nationality rules are

jus sanguinis

(citizenship by descent) and

jus soli

(citizenship by

birth in the territory).

Conflicts in these laws are one of the several types of conflicts of law situations that can render a child stateless.

For example, a child born in the territory of a

jus sanguinis

state to parents with nationality of a

jus soli

state would

encounter problems obtaining any nationality if the national legislation of the two states relevant here do not

contain provisions that would allow such a child to obtain citizenship.

Statelessness can also occur later in life. Some legal systems provide for mechanisms of automatic loss of

nationality, for example after a long absence from the territory. Some states require that a person renounce his or

her nationality before acquiring the nationality of that State. Withdrawal of nationality can also lead to statelessness

if there is no adequate safeguard in place to prevent statelessness.

Another major cause of statelessness relates to the dissolution and separation of states, transfer of territory

between states, and the creation of new states. In the period of decolonization, groups of persons may have been

left out of the initial body of citizens under the nationality legislation of the newly independent state. In Europe,

many people were left stateless after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Socialist Federal Republic of

Yugoslavia.

Often, nationality laws or practices that discriminate against certain segments of a population, or arbitrary

deprivation of nationality, contribute significantly to the creation and perpetuation of statelessness. Such situations

can independently account for instances of statelessness, or they can be present alongside the aforementioned

causes of statelessness. In some countries, certain ethnic groups within a state or ethnic populations living across

multiple states are denied or deprived of nationality. Examples of such populations are the Rohingya in Myanmar,

the Bidoon in the Arab Gulf States, and segments of the Roma population in Europe.

Discrimination on the ground of gender can also be a cause of statelessness. In some nationality laws, women are

not able to pass their nationality on to their children. Moreover, women may lose their nationality upon marriage

or upon dissolution of the marriage. The impossibility for women to transmit their nationality to their children is

Ibid,

para. 24.

Ibid,

para. 50.

Ibid.

Ibid,

para. 51 and fn. 34 (distinguishing, but not discussing, voluntary renunciation from failure to comply with formalities).

UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries

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especially problematic in cases where children are born out of wedlock or where the father is unknown, has

passed away, has left, is stateless or is a foreigner who is unable to transmit his own nationality or who is unwilling

to take the necessary administrative steps to do so. Currently, 25 States still discriminate against women in their

laws with regard to transmission of nationality to their children, the majority of which can be found in Africa, Asia

and the Middle East.

Further, laws that discriminate against children born out of wedlock, for example by making

it more difficult for them to acquire their father’s nationality, can also contribute to statelessness.

1.1.3 Consequences of statelessness

Most stateless persons encounter difficulties in many aspects of daily life. Stateless parents may have trouble

obtaining a birth certificate for their children and stateless persons generally have problems obtaining personal

identification documents. Without such documents, they are often prevented from enjoying their fundamental

rights. They may face obstacles accessing education or health care services, entering the labor market, traveling

abroad, or owning land or other property. Stateless persons may not be able to open a bank account, to inherit or to

get legally married. Stateless persons may be detained repeatedly and for prolonged periods because they have

no identity documents or right to stay in the country where they are. Consequently, stateless persons often face

destitution, and many stateless populations belong to the most marginalized and vulnerable groups worldwide.

1.2

The international and regional legal framework

The international legal framework relating to statelessness consists of international instruments and regional

instruments. At the international level, two conventions deal specifically with statelessness: the 1954 Convention

relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

The 1954 Convention aims to guarantee to persons who are stateless the enjoyment of a minimum set of rights,

while the 1961 Convention provides a set of safeguards for states to include in their nationality laws to ensure that

statelessness is avoided. The 1954 Convention entered into force in 1960 and has 91 states parties.

The 1961

Convention entered into force in 1975 and has 73 states parties.

Denmark is a state party to both conventions.

In June 2014, UNHCR published the

Handbook,

which provides interpretative legal guidance for governments,

NGOs, legal practitioners, decision-makers, the judiciary, and others working on statelessness. The

Handbook

addresses the definition of a stateless person, procedures to determine who is stateless, and the legal status

of stateless persons at the national level. UNHCR’s Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4

address the prevention

of statelessness at birth under the 1961 Convention. Developed on the basis of consultations with international

experts and a broad range of stakeholders, the Handbook and the Guidelines will be used in the present report to

elaborate upon the obligations under the Conventions.

Other international human rights instruments contain provisions relevant to nationality and statelessness. The

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the

Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Convention on the Elimination

of Racial Discrimination (CERD) contain provisions on the right to a nationality, on equal treatment of men and

UNHCR,

Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2019,

8 March 2019, available at:

https://www.refworld.org/docid/5c8120847.html.

As of August 2019. UN Treaty Collection database, available at:

https://bit.ly/2Pcb65f.

As of August 2019. UN Treaty Collection database, available at:

https://bit.ly/3f3xbNJ.

Denmark ratified the 1954 Convention on January 17, 1956 (with reservations to Arts. 24(3), 24(1), and 31, as discussed

infra),

and acceded

to the 1961 Convention on July 11, 1977 (without reservation).

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Guidelines

on Statelessness No. 4: Ensuring Every Child’s Right to Acquire a Nationality

through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (“UNHCR Guidelines No. 4”),

21 December 2012, HCR/

GS/12/04, available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/50d460c72.html

[accessed 15 August 2019]

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women, and the prohibition of discrimination. In addition to these instruments, the 1951 Convention Relating to

the Status of Refugees, expressly applies to stateless persons who otherwise meet the definition of a refugee,

as does the 1967 Protocol by implication.

That is to say that, although not all stateless persons are refugees, a

stateless person can be a refugee and, if so, the protection afforded to refugees by the 1951 Convention and the

1967 Protocol apply to such a stateless person.

At the European regional level, the Council of Europe has adopted two instruments of particular relevance to

statelessness. The European Convention on Nationality (ECN) entered into force in 2000 and currently has 21 State

Parties, Denmark among them.

This instrument contains several provisions guaranteeing against statelessness,

some of which parallel those found in the 1961 Convention and others of which complement the convention.

ECN Article 4 provides,

inter alia,

that State Party nationality rules shall incorporate the principle that statelessness

be avoided.

ECN Article 6(2) provides a safeguard against statelessness at birth comparable to that of the 1961

Convention. Further, ECN Article 7, which governs the loss of nationality

ex lege

or at the initiative of a State Party,

contains safeguards against statelessness.

The European Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to the Succession of States entered into

force in 2009 and has seven States Parties.

It establishes rules for the acquisition of nationality with a view to

preventing statelessness in the particular context of state succession.

Moreover, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to which Denmark is party, is increasingly relevant

to the prevention of statelessness and the protection of stateless persons. Although the ECHR does not explicitly

provide for the right to a nationality, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has recognized in its jurisprudence

that the impact of the denial of citizenship on a person’s social identity brings it within the scope of Article 8 of

the ECHR, which enshrines the right to respect for private and family life.

Further, the ECHR sets out rights to be

enjoyed by all persons within a state’s jurisdiction, whether they are the state’s own nationals, foreign nationals,

or stateless persons.

See

1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Art 1(A)(2) (“Definition of the term ‘refugee’”).

See

UNHCR

Handbook,

paras 78-82 (discussing in detail the coordination of refugee status and statelessness determinations, including

confidentiality requirements; noting that “protection under the 1951 Convention generally gives rise to a greater set of rights at the

national level than that under the 1954 Convention” but that “there may be instances where refugee status ceases without the person

having acquired a nationality, necessitating then international protection as a stateless person”).

See also ibid,

para 128 (noting that

where a stateless person may also be a refugee, each claim must be assessed and both stateless and refugee statuses must be explicitly

recognized; noting standards of treatment and complementary forms of protection).

Number provided by the Council of Europe’s Treaty Office as of August 2019, available at:

https://bit.ly/2OWr1Ez.

Denmark ratified the

ECN on July 24, 2002. It entered into force on November 1, 2002. In the regional context of Europe, note also the European Convention

on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to the Succession of States (entered into force in 2009; six states parties as of the date

of publication of this report, Denmark not among them). The Convention sets forth detailed rules for the acquisition of nationality with a

view to preventing statelessness in the context of state succession. These rules are in addition to the already substantial rules set forth in

statelessness conventions, as well as the ECN. The text of the European Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to the

Succession of States and a list of states parties are available at:

https://bit.ly/3g4SMGU.

The ECN is discussed in more detail

infra.

Article 4 provides in part: “The rules on nationality of each State Party shall be based on the following principles: a) everyone has the right

to a nationality; b) statelessness shall be avoided.”

Number provided by the Council of Europe’s Treaty Office as of August 2019, available at:

https://bit.ly/2BCieoc.

See

Genovese v. Malta, Application

no. 53124/09, Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights, 11 October 2011, available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/509ea0852.html.

UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries

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THE FACE OF STATELESSNESS

IN DENMARK

2.1

Introduction

Although Denmark is a state party to both the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions, as well as to other

international human rights instruments that contain provisions of relevance to statelessness, as is the case in

many other Western European countries, statelessness had received little attention until 2010/2011. Consequently,

many stateless persons in Denmark were not registered as stateless. The recognition of this led to a process of

re-registration that started in the autumn of 2011, as described in more detail below.

The lack of attention to statelessness and its legal effects did not only become apparent to the various authorities

dealing with foreigners, but also organizations working with immigrants reported that they had not been sufficiently

aware of the complex problems related to statelessness. Consequently, many NGOs explained in the course of the

research for this report that they did not have a great deal of experience with, or insight into, statelessness.

Events in 2011 drew the public’s attention to the plight of stateless persons in Denmark and led to changes in

government policy.

In a series of articles, Danish newspaper Information reported on the cases of stateless persons born in Denmark

who have had their citizenship applications wrongly denied.

In cooperation with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR),

the Danish Immigration Service turned its

attention to statelessness, in particular the determination and identification of stateless persons. Letters were sent

to stateless persons, informing them of their right to be re-registered as stateless and about their right to acquire

an aliens passport. Leaflets were distributed on re-registration as a stateless person.

2.1.1 Historical background

2.1.1.1 Acquisition of nationality

Since the adoption of the Danish Nationality Act of 1898, Danish nationality rules have primarily build on the

principle of

jus sanguinis.

Over time, a number of significant changes have been implemented, some of which have

made the acquisition of Danish nationality easier, and some of which have made it more difficult.

Until 1978, a child born in wedlock to a Danish father and a foreign mother acquired Danish nationality by birth, but

the child born in wedlock to a Danish mother and a foreign father did not, as a rule, acquire Danish nationality. In

other words, a Danish woman married to a foreigner could not transmit her nationality to the child.

By contrast, a

child born out of wedlock acquired Danish nationality only if the mother was Danish, meaning a Danish man who

fathered an out-of-wedlock child did not automatically transmit his nationality to the child.

The re-registration initiative launched by the Danish Immigration Service in late 2011 was concluded by the end of 2012. Still, the Danish

Immigration Service receives and processes incoming applications for re-registration (cf. consultant’s communication with the Danish

Immigration Service, email dated 9 March 2015).

DIHR is an “independent state-funded institution” whose “mandate is to promote and protect human rights and equal treatment in

Denmark and abroad.” For the official website,

see

http://www.humanrights.dk/about-us.

An exception applied if the father was stateless or did not transmit his nationality to the child at birth.

Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

Since then, important and steady changes in the law have protected the right of both men and women to transmit

their Danish nationality to their children, as well as the children’s right to acquire both parents’ nationality. In 1978,

the Nationality Act was amended to allow a Danish woman to transmit her nationality to her children born in

wedlock to a foreign man. In 1998, an amendment granted children born out of wedlock in Denmark equal rights

to children born in wedlock. In principle, the change was neutral as to whether the child was born in- or out-of-

wedlock and had the effect that all children born in Denmark in and out of wedlock to a Danish parent acquired

Danish nationality from the father as well as the mother. An exception remained for children born abroad and out of

wedlock, who did not automatically at birth acquire Danish nationality from the father.

If the father had custody of

the child, it was, however, possible for the child to become naturalized.

In 2014, the Nationality Act’s exception for

children born abroad out of wedlock to a Danish father was abolished.

As of 1 July 2014, “a child acquires Danish

nationality by birth if the father, the mother or the co-mother is Danish”.

Section 3 of the Nationality Act on immigrant descendants’ entitlement to Danish nationality was amended in 1968

in order to comply with Article 1 of the 1961 Convention. From that time, young non-Danish nationals could acquire

Danish nationality by making a declaration when they were between the ages of 18 and 23 years and had resided

in Denmark for at least five years before the age of 16, and permanently between the age of 16 and 21 years.

Declarants who were stateless or could prove that they would lose their foreign nationality by the acquisition of

Danish nationality could make the declaration between the age of 18 and 23 years.

In 1998, access to Danish

nationality was facilitated for young aliens, including stateless persons. According to the amended section 3, both

groups could henceforth acquire Danish nationality by declaration between ages 18 and 23 years, if they had

resided in Denmark for at least ten years in total, at least five of which must have been within the six-year period

preceding the declaration.

However, by the end of the following year, Section 3 of the Nationality Act was restricted, making acquisition of

Danish nationality by declaration conditional on the absence of a criminal record.

In 2004, another amendment of

Section 3 was enacted providing that only descendants of Nordic origin were entitled (under the above-mentioned

conditions) to Danish nationality by declaration.

Other descendants of immigrants, including stateless persons

born in Denmark, were as of 2004 referred to the process of naturalization granted by an Act of Parliament.

With the amendments to Section 3 of the Nationality Act in late 1999 and 2004, the entitlement for persons

born stateless in Denmark, as described under Articles 1(1)(b) and 1(2)(a) of the 1961 Convention, were no longer

implemented in Danish law. In response, it was announced in the explanatory notes to the Bills providing for

the changes to Section 3 of the Nationality Act, that stateless applicants who were covered by Article 1 of the

The former section 1(1) of the Nationality Act (Consolidation Act No. 422 of 7 June 2004) provided: “A child is a natural-born Danish

national if born to a Danish father or a Danish mother. Where the child’s parents are not married and only the father is a Danish national,

the child will only acquire Danish nationality if born within Denmark.” That provision applied to children who were born on 1 February 1999

and later. Available in English translation at:

https://bit.ly/39wmuls.

Under the present naturalization circular, section 16, the custody requirement has been abolished.

See

amendment of the Nationality Act by Act No. 729 of 25 June 2014 (providing for the automatic granting of citizenship at birth to all

children of a Danish father, mother, or co-mother). For an English-language summary,

see

https://bit.ly/32VQXby.

See Act No. 729 of 25 June 2014, amending Section 1 of the Nationality Act. For an English-language summary of the new law governing

transmission of Danish citizenship to children born abroad, see the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark in the

United States, page on “Citizenship,” available at:

http://usa.um.dk/en/travel-and-residence/citizenship/.

Residence in another Nordic country before the age of 16 and at least 5 years before the declaration was made equated residence in

Denmark.

See Section 1(1) of Act No. 399 of 11 December 1968. Before, the Nationality Act incorporated some

jus soli

aspects by providing for

access to Danish nationality for persons born and raised in Denmark at the age of majority. The birth criterion was repealed in 1968.

Act No. 1102 of 29 December 1999.

Act No. 311 of 4 May 2004. For background information on the processes that caused these changes,

see

the country profile of Denmark

at the website of the EUDO Observatory on Citizenship, available at:

http://eudo-citizenship.eu/country-profiles/?country=Denmark.

UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries

IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

1961 Convention would be included in future Bills for naturalization submitted to Parliament, regardless of their

compliance with the general conditions for naturalization.

The idea, as referred to in the preparatory works of the bill, was to comply with the 1961 Convention obligation in

relation to persons born stateless in Denmark, but only to the minimum, making acquisition of nationality subject

to all conditions allowed in Article 1(2)(a) to (d) of the Convention. However, as will be explained below under 2.1.1.2,

subsequent applications from persons who were born stateless in Denmark and fulfilled these conditions were

refused.

Due to an amendment of the Nationality Act in 2014, persons with foreign background who were born and raised in

Denmark became again, under certain (more strict) conditions, entitled to Danish nationality by making a declaration

to that effect. The declaration should be made before they turned 19 years.

The Centre-Left government that

came into office in 2011 introduced the new provision that turned out to be short-lived as it was repealed after a

new change of government, as of 1 March 2016.

Among other important developments dual nationality was fully accepted by Denmark as of 1 September 2015.

Moreover, as of 1 April 2016, as a rule, applicants for Danish nationality must submit their applications for

naturalization by a digital application procedure.

2.1.1.2 The “statelessness case”

In 2010, the Minister of Integration informed the Parliament that the Ministry had for some years wrongfully denied

applications for Danish nationality from persons born stateless in Denmark entitled to Danish nationality under

the 1961 Convention and the CRC. The Minister noted that, pursuant to explanatory notes to the 1999 and 2004

amendments to the Nationality Act, Danish law was supposed to be interpreted in line with these conventions.

In 36 cases, the Ministry had wrongly refused applications for Danish nationality made by persons born stateless

in Denmark. In 22 cases, applicants who were entitled to Danish nationality under the 1961 Convention (by virtue

of birth in Denmark) had had their applications denied. There were an additional 14 cases in which children born

stateless in Denmark, who were entitled to Danish nationality under the CRC, had been wrongly denied nationality.

Unlike the 1961 Convention, the CRC was expressly referred to in the Naturalization Circular of 2008, however, in

vague terms.

In Denmark, following the amendments referred to in 2004, naturalization to Danish born stateless persons is granted by statute, adopted

in Parliament. The general naturalization criteria are included in a circular, but until 2013, the circular did not mention the right to Danish

nationality for stateless persons born in Denmark, as regulated in the 1961 Convention. Thus, after the 1999- and 2004-amendment of

Section 3 of the Nationality Act, there was not an effective implementation of Article 1 (on the entitlement to Danish nationality for persons

who fulfil the requirements of Article 1), since this right did not any longer find expression in any Danish regulation.

The obligations were not any longer reflected in any law or guideline on naturalization and hereafter it turned out that the case workers

were not aware of the obligations in the administrative practice.

See amendment of the Nationality Act by Act No. 730 of 25 June 2014.

See amendment of the Nationality Act by Law No 110 of 8 February 2016.

Act no. 1496 of 23 December 2014.

Act no. 534 of 29 April 2015.

Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides in its entirety: 1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth

and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for

by his or her parents. 2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their

obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless. Section 17

of the Naturalization Circular implemented Article 7 of the CRC in relation to children who were born stateless in Denmark. Accordingly,

Section 17 states: “In accordance with the 1989 UN Convention children born stateless in Denmark may be listed in a naturalization bill if

they are residing (in Dnaish: ‘bopæl’) in Denmark.” For an earlier English version of the Circular, see Circular Letter No. 61 of 22 September

2008, available at:

https://bit.ly/2D7KLCn.

Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

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The following year, 2011, Danish media reported on the wrongful refusals. The attention ultimately resulted in the

resignation of the Minister for Integration, and in the establishment of a Statelessness Commission.

Before the

Minister resigned, she asked the Central Office of Civil Registration for information about the number of persons

born stateless in Denmark who could have claimed Danish nationality under the 1961 Convention or the CRC

from 1991

onwards. Based on information from the Central Office of Civil Registration, she concluded that 378

persons (aged 0 – 37 years) were registered as born stateless in Denmark and thus potentially had the right

to Danish nationality. Among them, 27 could not any longer apply for Danish nationality by entitlement as they

had turned 21.

Given that these stateless persons might have been misinformed about their rights, the Minister

instigated that they were informed individually in March 2011 of their assumed entitlement to Danish nationality.

Simultaneously, the 27 stateless persons who did not any longer fulfill the general age requirements for applying

for Danish nationality were given an opportunity to apply for inclusion in a naturalization bill by 1 March 2012.

What came to be known as the “statelessness case” prompted public debate, and questions of statelessness and

the rights of stateless persons captured the attention of the Danish public. More families claimed that they were

stateless and asked for nationality rights for their children.

It turned out that almost all the stateless persons who had been wrongly denied Danish nationality in the

“statelessness case” were stateless Palestinians, whereas many stateless persons born in other countries,

especially stateless Kurds from Syria, had been wrongly registered in the Aliens Register and the Civil Registration

System as nationals of the countries of their former habitual residence, rather than as stateless.

When a picture

of a defective registration system emerged in or around August 2011, DIHR entered into negotiations with the

Danish Immigration Service with a view to improve the registration procedures and to correct earlier wrongful

registrations.

Accordingly, the Danish Immigration Service introduced new registration procedures, as explained in more detail

below in Section 3.3.2.4, and many stateless persons have had their civil registration changed.

2.2

A statistical overview of the stateless population in Denmark

2.2.1 Specifics of the data used

The gathering of statistics on stateless persons in Denmark presents a challenge, also found in the vast majority of

other countries: no one single administrative office in Denmark is able to provide statistics relating to all stateless

persons in the country. Instead, different sources provide statistics on different groups of stateless persons.

Moreover, as noted above, a person’s statelessness was not necessarily registered correctly in the Danish registers

prior to 2011.

Website of the Commission available at:

http://statsloesekommissionen.dk/.

The year 1991 was chosen since that year the CRC entered into force in Denmark.

But see

discussion,

infra,

of Article 12 of the 1961

Convention (requiring that Articles 1 and 4 be retroactive upon a State Party’s accession).

See Ministry of Integration, ‘Redegørelse

til statsministeren om Integrationsministeriets behandling af ansøgninger om indfødsret fra

statsløse personer født i Danmark’,

7 March 2011, p. 29, available at:

https://bit.ly/2CSrt43.

In a letter of 3 March 2011, 378 stateless persons, born in Denmark since the CRC entered into force in 1991, were informed that the 1961

Convention and the CRC, under certain conditions, entitle persons born stateless in Denmark to Danish nationality. The letter listed the

conditions they had to meet under Danish law. It also informed of the application form and fee.

See one of the first newspaper articles on the registration problem, ‘Kurdere

vil omregistreres fra syrere til statsløse’

Information,

June 2011, available at:

http://www.information.dk/271997.

See the DIHR’s memoranda of 4 October 2011 and 27 October 2011 on correct registration of among other things statelessness, available

at:

https://bit.ly/3hISd67

and

https://bit.ly/3hDJDVX.

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The primary source for statistical information on statelessness and nationality in Denmark is the Danish Central

Office of Civil Registration (CPR).

A CPR number shall be assigned to any person who is CPR-registered in

Denmark, either on grounds of birth in Denmark or entry from abroad.

A child born in Denmark is CPR-registered

on the ground of “birth” if the mother is registered as a resident. If this is not the case, the child may be registered

on the ground of “entry,” but only if the child fulfils the criteria for registration based on immigration. The criteria

for such registration follow from part 5 of the Act on the CPR. Normally, to be eligible for registration, a foreigner

(adult or child) must have a residence permit, an entry clearance in accordance with the Aliens Act or regulations

issued in pursuance thereof, or a confirmation from the Danish Immigration Service that he or she is exempt from

a residence permit or entry clearance pursuant to the Aliens Act.

Sources of data presented in this chapter are from Statistics Denmark, the Danish Immigration Service, and the

Danish National Police. Statistics Denmark provides statistical information about population figures in Denmark,

including data on stateless persons. However, Statistics Denmark receives its population figures from the CPR,

which, as explained above, primarily registers persons with a right of residence. Importantly, stateless persons

without a right of residence are not captured by the CPR data, nor are asylum-seekers. Consequently, the number

of stateless persons reported by Statistics Denmark is lower than the number of stateless persons actually in

Denmark.

Data provided by the Danish Immigration Service’s yearly Statistical Overview on migration and asylum is also

presented. This Overview includes categories of stateless persons not registered in the CPR system, such as

asylum-seekers.

One division of the Danish Immigration Service, the so-called Country of Origin Information

Division, works explicitly on collecting background information in a database on conditions in countries of origin

of asylum-seekers, which serves as a basis for decisions in asylum cases. Since late 2011, after DIHR entered into

a cooperative arrangement with the Danish Immigration Service on registration of statelessness, the Country of

Origin Information Division of the Danish Immigration Service has also collected background information for the

use of the identification of statelessness.

The Country of Origin Information Division was tasked with collecting

background information on statelessness in different countries because it is the division charged with collecting

background information on conditions in asylum-seekers’ countries of origin.

Since 1924, the name, address, marital status, place of birth, nationality and other basic information, are systematically registered for

every person with past or present residence in Denmark or Greenland. In 1968, the centralized Civil Registration System (the CPR system)

was created as the single civil register covering the whole country.

See

the CPR, ‘Udviklingen

på CPR-området i de seneste 20-25 år

frem til 2009’,

April 2009, available at:

https://cpr.dk/media/165161/4396.pdf.

The basis for this registration is found in the Act on the

CPR (consolidated Act of 2 June 2017) which aims to ensure that every person with residence in Denmark can be identified by a unique

identification number (the CPR-number). This number also serves as identifier for the CPR when operating as a supplier of basic personal

information to public authorities, such as Statistic Denmark, or to private individuals.

See

Section 1 of Consolidation Act No. 5 of 9 January

2013 (with amendments), available at:

https://www.retsinformation.dk/forms/r0710.aspx?id=144955.

An English version of the Act is

available at:

https://cpr.dk/media/163624/lovbekendtg_relse_eng_12070213.pdf.

Ibid,

Section 3.

Asylum-seekers are not registered in the CPR system, but acquire a substitute registration number. As a rule, registration can only take

place if the stay in Denmark is to last more than three months and if the person in question has a residence or fixed place of abode in

Denmark.

According to Statistics Denmark, ‘Quality Declaration for Immigrants and Descendants 1 January 2014’, available at:

https://bit.ly/2WZSh9I

The Danish Immigration Service, ‘Tal

og Fakta på Udlændingeområdet 2016’

(Danish version at

https://bit.ly/3hE5mx5.

For a shorter

English version, see ‘Statistical Overview: Migration and Asylum 2015’ at

https://bit.ly/2DafWx3.

The database contains information on the countries’ nationality law, specific provisions on loss, change, renunciation and reacquisition of

nationality, registration practice, rules and practice concerning access to passports, ID- and civil status documents, security and human

rights situations, property and pension rights, discrimination, repression and gender inequality.

This task of the Country of Origin Information Division is not legally formalized in any law or decree. Responsibilities are assigned

geographically to the staff of the Country of Origin Information Division, so staff members work as regional experts. They continually

process information obtained from an extensive selection of reports, newsletters, journals and newspapers. A great deal of information

is also retrieved via the internet. In addition, information is collected through national and international networks, including researchers

and others with specialized knowledge of the regions. Further information is obtained via the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

UN organizations (notably UNHCR), and other relevant sources.

See

information on obtaining information about countries of origin on

New to Denmark, available at:

https://bit.ly/2OYVIc7.

Furthermore, the regional experts of the Country of Origin Information Division may

also travel abroad to examine problems on statelessness.

Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

There has been a lack of uniformity between Statistics Denmark and the Danish Immigration Service in the

classification of different groups of stateless persons, which complicates the comparison of statistics from different

data sources. Statistics Denmark distinguishes in statistics on persons’ nationality between “stateless” and “not

stated” (nationality), while the Danish Immigration Service traditionally separated “stateless Palestinians” from

“other stateless persons”. Nowadays, the category “stateless persons” includes “stateless Palestinians”, while a

few statistical overviews merge the categories “stateless/unknown”.

2.2.2 The target population

Most stateless persons have come to Denmark as refugees, arriving spontaneously or as part of a resettlement

program, applied by Denmark back in 1979. Since 1989, Denmark has annually granted about 500 refugees a

residence permit in accordance with the resettlement program. However, in 2016 and 2017, the Danish government

has decided to put the resettlement program on hold.

As will become clear from the statistics outlined in Section 2.2.2.1, the largest number of recognized stateless

persons in Denmark is comprised of stateless persons of Syrian and Palestinian origins from different countries,

such as Lebanon and Syria. Many Syrians have fled to Denmark during the recent war and many Palestinians came

to Denmark during the civil war in Lebanon in the 1980s,

also fleeing persecution.

The database of the Country of Origin Information Division contains background information of several groups of

stateless persons, among others, stateless Palestinians, stateless ethnic Nepalese from Bhutan, stateless Rohingya

from Myanmar, and stateless Kurds from Syria. Apart from these populations, information could also be found on

stateless Bidoon from Kuwait and stateless former Soviet nationals from countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan,

the Republic of Moldova, Belarus, Kirgizstan, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Russia.

Rohingya have been granted asylum in Denmark, both as spontaneous asylum-seekers and as resettled refugees.

The Rohingya refugees were among those who were informed in 2012 of their right to have an incorrect registration

corrected in the CPR-register. Since then, the number of stateless persons from Myanmar with residence rights in

Denmark has increased significantly, from only two persons in 2012 to 142 persons in 2017, see figure 7.

Other refugees in Denmark among whom statelessness is common are Bhutanese refugees of Nepalese origin.

For a number of years, Denmark received about 150 Bhutanese refugees per year for resettlement. In 2012, the

Danish-Bhutanese Culture Organization estimated that 650 Bhutanese refugees had residence in Denmark and

that most of them were stateless. In the same year, however, Statistic Denmark had only recorded 92 stateless

persons of Bhutanese origin. According to the Danish-Bhutanese Culture Organization, many Bhutanese refugees

were at that time in the process of getting a former wrongful registration as national of Bhutan corrected to

“stateless”.

The results of the re-registration procedure is reflected in the records of Statistics Denmark, which

counted 718 stateless persons of Bhutanese origin as having residence in Denmark by July 2017 (see Figure 7).

See the September 2017 draft bill on the introduction of a new quota arrangement at

https://bit.ly/2CTYuwN.

Information obtained from the Danish-Palestinian friendship organization during an interview on 15 August 2012.

See Mohamed Kamel Doraï.

Palestinian Emigration from Lebanon to Northern Europe: Refugees, Networks and Transnational Practices.

Refuge, 2003, 21 (2), p.23-31, available at:

https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00291746.

Hundreds of thousands of persons became stateless in the early 1990s because of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Since then,

Denmark has, according to Statistics Denmark, received 45 stateless persons from the following republics of the former Soviet Union:

Russia (14), Estonia (7), Latvia (12), Lithuania (1), Belarus (1), Ukraine (5), Armenia (4) and Azerbaijan (1).

See

Statistics Denmark (Quarterly

Population Statistics (FOLK1)).

See the Danish Immigration Service’s reports of June 2003 and January 2011 on fact finding missions into the situation of Rohingya,

available at:

https://bit.ly/39xTeuO

and

https://bit.ly/2OYSo0z.

Interview with the Danish-Bhutanese Culture Organization, 26 August 2012.

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Kurds from Syria comprise another sizable number of stateless persons in Denmark. According to Statistics

Denmark, 365 stateless Kurds were registered as residents in Denmark in 2012, while, as illustrated in Figure 7, the

registered number of stateless persons with Syrian origins has increased to 3,868 in 2017. Years back, the Danish

Refugee Appeals Board decided to suspend any return of asylum-seekers from Syria.

To overcome the various challenges outlined above, the statistical overview will be divided into two sections, each

focusing on a group of stateless persons covered by the separate sources of data:

Stateless persons with residence rights

Stateless persons seeking asylum or other residence permits

2.2.2.1 Stateless persons with residence rights

The stateless population with residence rights in Denmark consisted of 4,558 persons by the third quarter of 2014.

In addition, there were 61 persons registered as of having their nationality ‘not stated’ (uoplyst in Danish) forming

a category which will further on be referred as ‘unknown nationality’

in this study. In the following years, the

stateless population with residence rights in Denmark has risen with more than 3,000 persons and consists by

the third quarter of 2017 of 7,784 stateless persons – and in addition, 58 persons are registered as of “unknown

nationality”.

Figure 1: Population with residence rights registered as stateless or unknown nationality (2008 – 2017)

2008

Stateless

Unknown nationality

Total

3,487

101

3,588

2009

3,467

101

3,568

2010

3,222

100

3,322

2011

3,074

100

3,174

2012

3,220

105

3,325

2013

3,764

103

3,867

2014

4,558

4,619

2015

5,771

5,838

2016

7,013

7,070

2017

7,784

7,842

Source: SD (Quarterly Population Statistics (FOLK1), 3

quarter of every year, 2011-2017)

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

■

Stateless

■

Unknown nationality

See

an assessment of the police’s work on the return of rejected asylum-seekers in 2013 in the NUC, ‘Status

på arbejdet med udsendelse

af afviste asylansøgere i 2013’,

21 January 2014, p. 11, available at:

https://bit.ly/3hFWd7a.

The main source of data is Statistics Denmark.

The main sources of data are the Danish Immigration Service and the National Police.

‘Persons of unknown nationality’ is here defined as ‘Individuals with no identifiable nationality but who cannot obtain the registration

as stateless either’. The Danish Immigration Service has informed during an interview in August 2012 that most of the registrations as

‘unknown nationality’ are relatively old. Today, the authorities seldom have doubts about a person’s nationality or statelessness.

Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

As illustrated in Figure 1, in the period 2008-2012 a rather consistent number of stateless persons were registered

with residence rights in Denmark, ranging from around 3,000 to 3,500 individuals. In the following years, however,

Denmark has seen a marked increase in the registered number of stateless persons, from 3,200 in 2012 to the 2017

level of 7,784. The number of persons of unknown nationality has remained equally stable around 100 persons,

with a decrease to around 60 persons from 2014 and onwards.

The surge in the number of stateless persons with residence rights in Denmark must be seen in light of a general

rise in the number of asylum-seekers, including stateless asylum-seekers arriving from Syria. At the same time, the

changes reflect the registration procedure changes in 2011. Due to the increased focus on statelessness, and the

4,000 letters that were sent out to persons at risk of being wrongfully registered, more than 800 persons were re-

registered as stateless during 2012, which compares to only 171 in 2011.

In addition, since 2012, the registration

of statelessness has been more accurate.

The data provided by Statistics Denmark can be broken down according to origin, age, country of origin, civil status,

gender and regional distribution. These categories will provide an insight into the profile of stateless persons with

residence rights in Denmark.

Origin of stateless persons

As illustrated in Figure 2 below, the vast majority (92.7 percent) of stateless persons registered in the CPR system

are immigrants (7,218 persons).

Moreover, 561 of the stateless persons are descendants of immigrants (7.2

percent),

whereas only five persons are of Danish origin (0.1 percent). Among the persons registered as having

an unknown nationality, there are 43 immigrants (74 percent), six descendants of immigrants (10 percent) and nine

persons of Danish origin (16 percent).

Figure 2: Origin of stateless persons in Denmark in 2017

Stateless

Immigrants

Descendants

Persons of Danish origin

Total

7,218

561

7,784

Unknown nationality

Source: SD (Quarterly Population Statistics (FOLK1), Recorded 3

quarter of 2017)

Personal communication of the author with the Danish Immigration Service (email dated 9 March 2015).

Statistics Denmark defines an immigrant as ‘a person born abroad whose parents are both (or one of them if there is no available

information on the other parent) foreign nationals or were both born abroad. If there is no available information on either of the parents

and the person was born abroad, the person is also defined as an immigrant’. Definition obtained from Statistics Denmark, ‘Quality

Declaration for Immigrants and Descendants 1 January 2014’, available at:

https://bit.ly/39wZJOp.

Statistics Denmark defines a descendant of immigrants as ‘a person born in Denmark whose parents (or one of them if there is no

information on the other parent) are either immigrants or descendants with foreign nationality. If there is no available information on either

of the parents and the person in question is a foreign national, the person is also defined as a descendant’.

Ibid. See

Section 4.2.1.1 for a

discussion of the laws governing how children born stateless in Denmark can be naturalized.

An example of a stateless person of Danish origin is a girl born to a British mother and a Danish father. In her childhood, she was

considered a Danish national and received a Danish passport, but when she turned 18 years old, it was discovered that since she had

been born out of wedlock before 1999, and thus before Danish unmarried fathers could pass on their nationality to their children born

abroad. For that reason, she was not Danish; her one-time Danish nationality was deemed void. She could not acquire British nationality

from her British national mother, who had been born abroad and resided abroad and thus could not transmit her British nationality to her

daughter. Because of this conflict-of-laws gap, the daughter was stateless – until she was granted Danish nationality by naturalization.

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Figure 3 below outlines the development in the number of stateless persons, broken down by categories of origin.

As can be seen, the decrease in the overall number of stateless persons experienced from 2008 to 2011 was

largely due to a reduction in the number of stateless descendants of immigrants, mainly as result of these persons

acquiring citizenship. Likewise, the figure demonstrates that the significant increase during the following years

was mainly driven by a rise in the number of stateless immigrants. As noted above, this increase is probably to be

explained with the rising number of stateless asylum-seekers arriving from Syria coupled with the statelessness

registration procedure that was introduced by the end of 2011.

Figure 3: Origin of stateless persons (2008-2017)

2008

Immigrants

Descendants

Persons of Danish origin

Total

2,635

844

3,487

2009

2,674

788

3,467

2010

2,718

499

3,222

2011

2,736

333

3,074

2012

3,002

213

3,220

2013

3,506

254

3,764

2014

4,223

329

4,558

2015

5,355

410

5,771

2016

6,546

462

7,013

2017

7,218

561

7,784

Source: Provided by SD upon a request (Quarterly Population Statistics (FOLK1) Recorded 3rd quarter of every year

from 2008-2017)

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

■

Immigrants

■

Descendants

■

Persons of Danish Origin

Age distribution

The age categories considered in this section are based on the various rules applicable in Denmark for the

acquisition of nationality, in particular for stateless persons born in the country.

Figure 4: Age distribution of stateless persons with residence permits in 2017

0-17 years

Stateless

Unknown nationality

2,274

18-20 years

344

21+ years

5,166

Total

7,784

Source: Provided by SD upon a request (Quarterly Population Statistics (FOLK1), recorded 3rd quarter of 2017)

See

discussion, infra Section 4.2.1

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Stateless persons

Unknown nationality

■

0-17 years

■

18-20 years

■

20+ years

■

0-17 years

■

18-20 years

■

20+ years

Of the 7,784 stateless persons with residence rights in Denmark in 2017, the distribution by age group is as follows:

2,274 persons are minors below the age of 18 (29 percent), 344 persons are 18–20 years (5 percent); 5,166 (66

percent) stateless persons are more than 21 years old (2,850 of them being between 21–40 years old (37 percent),

while 2,316 persons are older than 40 years of age (29 percent)). The distribution among age categories of persons

with an unknown nationality is very different as the majority of persons with unknown nationality (79 percent) are

older than 21 years old, whereas 21 percent are between ages 0 and 17 years old and 24 percent between 21 and

40 years old. In 3rd quarter of 2017, there was not a single person with unknown nationality between ages 18 and

20 years old.

When considering only stateless persons who are born in Denmark, the distribution looks somewhat different:

Figure 5: Age distribution of stateless persons born in Denmark who have residence permits

0-17 years

Stateless

Unknown nationality

520

18-20 years

21+ years

Total

561

Source: Provided by SD upon a request (Quarterly Population Statistics (FOLK1). Recorded 3

quarter of 2017)

As illustrated in Figure 5 above, 520 out of the 561 stateless persons born in Denmark are under the age of 18,

while eight persons are between 18 and 20 years old. It can be inferred that the vast majority of all stateless

persons who are born in Denmark (91 percent in 3

quarter of 2017) are entitled under domestic law to be listed in

a naturalization bill and to acquire Danish nationality without satisfying the usual naturalization conditions.

Figure 6 shows the development between 2008 and 2017, in age brackets, of stateless persons born in Denmark.

Figure 6: Stateless persons born in Denmark who have residence permits (2008-2017)

2008

0-17 years

18-20 years

21+ years

Total

794

844

2009

717

788

2010

409

499

2011

264

333

2012

179

213

2013

223

254

2014

298

329

2015

371

410

2016

424

462

2017

520

561

Source: Provided by SD upon a request (Quarterly Population Statistics (FOLK1), 3rd quarter of every year from

2008-2017)

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Stateless persons born in Denmark, 2008-2017

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

■

0-17 years

■

18-20 years

■

20+ years

The figure illustrates that the number of stateless persons born in Denmark between 0 and 17 years old decreased

steadily from 794 persons in 2008, to 179 persons in 2012, notably with the first large decrease occurring between

2009 and 2010. After 2012, the number started to rise again and in 2017 there were 520 stateless persons under

18 years old who were born in Denmark. The number of stateless persons aged between 18 and 20 rose between

2008 and 2010 from 29 to 59 persons, after which it has decreased each year, to only eight persons in the third

quarter of 2017.

The notable decrease in the overall number of stateless persons born in Denmark in 2012, as noted earlier, is

largely explained by a fall in the number of stateless persons under the age of 18 years, and complemented by a

decrease in the age group between 18 and 20 years old.

Nonetheless, 561 persons born stateless in Denmark remain stateless. This is thus an issue warranting further

examination.

Country of origin

The countries of origin that are most frequently represented in the statistics on stateless persons with residence

rights under Danish law are detailed below in Figure 7.

The figure includes the category of “country of origin in

the Middle East unknown” and “Stateless”. The nine countries and two categories listed in the figure together

constitute 94.9 percent of the stateless population with residence rights in Denmark.

However, there may be an

additional number of stateless persons living in Denmark without a residence permit, who may still fall within the

terms of the 1954 and/or 1961 Conventions.

This observation is related to the earlier explained wrongfully denied grants of Danish nationality, which was addressed in 2011.

Subsequently, more stateless persons born in Denmark claimed their Danish nationality, causing the fall in the total number of stateless

persons.

Country of origin is by Statistics Denmark determined on the basis of the following: If both parents are known, the country of origin is

determined according to the mother’s country of birth. If only one parent is known, the country of origin is determined according to that

parent’s country of origin. If neither of the parents is known, the country of origin is defined according to the stateless person’s own

information. Definition obtained from Statistics Denmark, ‘Quality Declaration for Immigrants and Descendants 1 January 2014’, available

at:

https://bit.ly/3hI9Brk.

An additional 50 countries combined make up the remaining 5 percent. The remaining countries each comprise less than 0.5 percent of

the total stateless population and are not included within Figure 7.

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Figure 7: Country of origin of stateless persons in Denmark (N <0.5%)

4,000

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

ria

u ta

ele

Isr

3,516

Source: SD (Requested in a separate

correspondence. Recorded 1 July of 2017)

Figure 7 indicates that 43.4 percent of the stateless population in Denmark has one or two parents from Syria (3,868

persons in absolute numbers). Another 22.6 percent has one or two parents who originate from Lebanon (1759

persons), while 9.2 percent (718 persons) are of Bhutanese origins.

5.2 percent (408 persons) of the stateless

population have their country of origin marked as ‘Stateless’ which suggests that there have been mistakes in the

registration procedure, as ‘Stateless’ is not a country and cannot therefore be a person’s country of origin.

Gender, marital status, and regional distribution

The male to female ratio among stateless persons with residence rights is close to 1:1, with 4268 stateless men

(53 percent) and 3516 stateless women (47 percent). In the case of persons with an unknown nationality, the ratio

is somewhat more unequal with 37 men (64 percent) and 21 women (36 percent) registered in the CPR system.

Figure 8: Gender distribution among stateless persons and persons of unknown nationality in Denmark

Males

Stateless

Unknown

4,268

Females

Source: SD (Quarterly Population Statistics (FOLK1), recorded 3rd quarter of 2017)

N<0,5 percent: a country is only included when it comprises at least 0,5 percent of the total stateless population.

In the data provided by Statistics Denmark, persons with ‘stateless’ as country of origin and ‘unknown’ country of origin are two separate

categories (303 and 38 persons, respectively). However, as a stateless person’s country of origin cannot be ‘stateless’, there seems to

have been mistakes in the Danish registration system. Therefore, the two groups are merged here into one larger category covering

persons with an unknown country of origin.

UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries

le-

i-A

rab

Sta

Ira

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Stateless

Unknown

■

Males

■

Females

■

Males

■

Females

As illustrated in Figure 9, the majority of stateless persons (adults and children), i.e. 4034 (47 percent), have never

been married. 3,064 (40 percent) stateless persons are either married or separated. Moreover, two smaller groups

of persons are either divorced or widowed: 515 and 171 persons respectively.

Figure 9: Marital status of stateless persons in Denmark

Never married

Married/separated

Widowed

Divorced

4,034

3,064

171

515

Source: Provided by SD upon a request (Quarterly Population Statistics (FOLK1). Recorded 3rd quarter of 2017)

Denmark is divided into five regions and 98 municipalities. As indicated in Figure 10, most stateless persons,

2,131 persons, reside in the Capital Region of Denmark, while another 1,333 stateless persons live in the Region

of Zealand. 1,928 persons live in Central Denmark, Southern Denmark counts 1650 stateless persons, while 742

stateless persons live in the Region of Northern Denmark.

Figure 10: Stateless persons by regional distribution in Denmark

Capital Region

Region Zealand

Southern Denmark

Central Denmark

Northern Denmark

Source: SD (Quarterly Population Statistics (FOLK1). Recorded 3rd quarter of 2017)

Figure 11 shows the distribution of stateless persons in Danish municipalities on a map. As can be seen, stateless

persons are concentrated in the urban areas of Copenhagen, Aarhus and Odense (the three biggest cities in

Denmark), with 904 persons living in the municipality of Aarhus, 578 persons in Copenhagen and 375 persons in

Odense. The stateless population in these areas constitute roughly 24 percent of the whole stateless population

in Denmark. In addition, the Western part of Zealand and certain municipalities in Jutland host a sizeable numbers

of stateless persons.

2,131

1,333

1,650

1,928

742

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Figure 11: Distribution of stateless persons in Danish municipalities

2.2.2.2 Stateless persons seeking asylum or other residence permits

A number of stateless persons are in the process of applying for asylum or a residence permit on other grounds,

and are therefore not registered in the CPR system. Therefore, this part includes data available through the

Danish Immigration Service, and more specifically through the Danish Immigration Service’s publication “Statistical

Overview.”

The statistics on immigration and asylum are based on administrative records from the Danish Aliens

and on the electronic case and document handling system (ECDH).

These two registries contain

information on foreign nationals or stateless persons who currently have, or previously had, a case processed

according to the Danish aliens legislation.

Besides its own publication, the Danish Immigration Service also

The Danish Immigration Service,

Tal og Fakta på Udlændingeområdet 2016

(Danish version), 2017, available at:

https://bit.ly/303fBVN

and Ministry of Immigration, Integration and Housing,

Statistical Overview: Migration and Asylum 2015,

2016, available at:

https://bit.ly/2OY2NcO.

In Danish:

Udlændingeregistret.

The Danish Immigration Service,

Tal og Fakta på Udlændingeområdet 2016,

p. 8.

Ibid.

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provides data to Statistics Denmark regarding annual numbers of residence permits granted, asylum-seekers, and

other information, which will be used throughout this section.

The number and types of residence permits granted to stateless persons over the period 2010-2017 is indicated

in Figure 12 below.

Figure 12: Number of residence permits granted per type, 2010-2017

Stateless

2010

Asylum

Family reunification

EU residence certificate or card

Working permit

Education

Other reasons

Total

2011

237

315

2012

249

316

2013

413

495

2014

571

201

804

2015

919

888

1,873

2016

557

411

1,022

2017

185

202

499

All applicants

2010

Asylum

Family reunification

EU residence certificate or card

Working permit

Education

Other reasons

Total

2,124

4,768

25,361

10,851

11,863

642

2011

2,249

2,902

27,395

9,389

10,550

494

2012

2,583

3,170

9,024

10,652

494

2013

3,889

5,112

11,529

11,601

404

2014

6,104

5,727

35,415

12,436

12,144

516

2015

10,849

11,645

37,366

11,682

12,658

493

2016

74,93

7,679

37,166

12,903

14,291

470

2017

2,749

7,017

38,306

12,750

15,300

775

30,059 32,027

55,609 52,979 55,982 64,562 72,342 84,693 80,002 76,897

Source: SD (Residence permits (year) by type of residence permit and citizenship (VAN66), recorded ultimo each

year 2010-2017)

Three main conclusions can be drawn from Figure 12. First, the figure illustrates a large increase in the total number

of residence permits granted to stateless persons, with a notable increase occurring between 2010 (93 permits)

and 2011 (315 permits) from where the amount has gradually increased leading to the grant of 1,873 permits in 2015.

It can also be seen from the figure that this increase was mainly driven by a rise in the number of permits granted

to stateless asylum-seekers, jumping from 12 in 2010 to 919 in 2015, from which the amount decreased to the level

of 185 granted permits in 2017. This shift partially mirrors the rise in the total number of residence permits granted

to all asylum-seekers (2,124 in 2010 and 10,489 in 2015).

Secondly, reflecting the large increase in the number of residence permits granted to asylum-seekers since 2011,

the figure indicates a significant shift in composition of permits granted. While in 2010, 61.3 percent of all residence

permits (57 permits) were granted to stateless persons on the grounds of family reunification, between 2011 and

2016 the majority of the residence permits have been granted for asylum-seekers. The peak was reached in 2013

when out of the total 495 residence permits granted to stateless persons, the majority (413 permits, or 83 percent)

It must be stressed that due to the wrongful registrations discussed in Section 2.1, the data collected prior 2011 is somewhat flawed. Only

since the attention paid to the issue in 2011 can registration include ‘stateless’ and not only ‘national of country of origin’. Re-registration

therefore causes an increase in the number of stateless persons since 2011. All the same, the data reflect that the distribution of residence

permits granted to stateless persons deviate from the overall distribution of permits. This is acknowledged in the Danish Immigration

Service, ‘Statistical Overview: Migration and Asylum 2011’ (English version), p. 9.

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All applicants

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Stateless application

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

■

Asylum

■

Family reunification

■

EU residence certificate or card

■

Working permit

■

Education

were granted on the basis of asylum and only 54 residence permits (11 percent) were granted on basis of family

reunification, while the remaining permits were granted based on work and education or issued in accordance with

EU law.

In comparison, subsequent years saw a notable increase in the number of residence permits granted

Family members of EU nationals have the possibility of applying for a registration certificate pursuant to the conditions of the Act No. 322

of 21 April 2009, Executive Order on Residence in Denmark for Aliens Falling within the Rules of the European Union (the EU Residence

Order), available at:

https://bit.ly/3306ZBm

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on the basis of family reunification. This figure peaked in 2015, when 888 residence permits (or 47 percent of all

permits) were granted on the ground of family reunification, while the relative importance of the other categories

declined accordingly. In 2017, 40.5 percent of residence permits (202 permits) were granted to stateless persons

on the grounds of family reunification, exceeding the number of residence permits granted on the basis of asylum

(185 percent or 37.1 percent) for the first time since 2010.

The third observation is that in general, the distribution of residence permits granted to stateless persons differs

substantially from the distribution of permits for all applicants. Between 2011 and 2017, in average 49.2 percent

of all residence permits were granted each year in the form of EU residence certificates, while approximately 18

to 20 percent were granted on the grounds of either work or education. These three categories combined made

up less than 6 percent of the residence permits granted to stateless persons during the same period of time, with

the exception of 2011 when 9.2 percent of stateless persons acquired residence permits on the above-mentioned

grounds. Looking at stateless applicants, the vast majority of residence permits have been given to asylum-seekers

(64.2 percent on average), a group that constituted only a minor fraction (7 percent on average) of the total number

of residence permits granted to all applicants within the same period of time.

Figure 13 provides quarterly statistics on the number of residence permits granted to stateless and all other asylum-

seekers in the period of the first quarter of 2010 until the fourth quarter of 2017. Again, the increase in residence

permits granted to stateless asylum-seekers should be seen in the context of a general rise in asylum-seekers,

in particular stateless persons from Syria.

As indicated by the blue bars in the graph, the number of residence

permits granted to asylum-seekers who are not stateless rose significantly throughout the period until the figure

turned into a steady decrease from the 2

quarter of 2016 onwards. The peak periods when the highest amount

of residence permits have been granted to stateless asylum-seekers seemingly follow the general trend with the

highest peaks reached in the fourth quarter of 2013 (16.8 percent or 291 permits) and the first quarter of 2015 (11

percent or 394 permits) after which the percentage of residence permits granted quarterly to stateless asylum-

seekers have been between 5.5 and 9.4 percent.

Figure 13: Residence permits granted to stateless asylum-seekers (quarterly ﬁgures 2010-2017)

Residence permits granted

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

2010Q1

2010Q2

2010Q3

2010Q4

2011Q1

2011Q2

2011Q3

2011Q4

2012Q1

2012Q2

2012Q3

2012Q4

2013Q1

2013Q2

2013Q3

2013Q4

2014Q1

2014Q2

2014Q3

2014Q4

2015Q1

2015Q2

2015Q3

2015Q4

2016Q1

2016Q2

2016Q3

2016Q4

2017Q1

2017Q2

2017Q3

2017Q4

■

All asylum seekers exc. stateless

■

Stateless asylum seekers

Source: SD (Residence permits (quarterly by each year) by citizenship (VAN 77) 2010-2017)

Personal communication with the Danish Immigration Service (email dated 9 March 2015).

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Until 2011, when processing an application for asylum in Denmark, the Danish Immigration Service determined,

whether the applicant fell into the category of “stateless Palestinians” or of “other stateless persons”.

The total

number of “spontaneous asylum applications”,

received by the Danish Immigration Service from 2009-2016, is

outlined below.

Figure 14: Spontaneous asylum applications (processing ﬁgure 2006-2016)

2006

Stateless

– Stateless

Palestinians

– Other

stateless

Total

Stateless as

share of total

922

4.9%

2007

1,029

2.2%

2008

951

4.3%

2009

2,022

2.2%

2010

2,844

1.0%

2011

133

101

3,600

3.7%

2012

3,336

2.6%

2013

351

5,144

6.8%

2014

807

2015

924

2016

1,266

10,192 10,472 12,722

3.7%

8.5%

9.9%

Sources: IS (Statistical Overview, Migration and Asylum 2011, 36) and SD (Asylum-seekers by citizenship and type

of asylum (VAN5) 2006-2016)

Spontaneous asylum applications, processing ﬁgure, 2006-2016

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

■

Stateless total

■

Stateless Palestinians

■

Other Statelles

An application for asylum in Denmark can, as a rule, only be made by a person in Denmark. During the processing of the case, the asylum-

seeker is assigned to an accommodation center in Denmark. See information on applying for asylum on New to Denmark, available at:

http://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us/coming_to_dk/asylum/asylum_process/applying_for_asylum.htm.

A spontaneous asylum-seeker is a person who applies for asylum in Denmark without already holding a residence permit (such

as a family reunification residence permit). See frequently asked questions on seeking asylum on New to Denmark, available at:

http://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us/faq/asylum.htm.

Processing figures only cover “registered spontaneous asylum-seekers”. A registered spontaneous asylum-seeker is a person who has

entered Denmark and applied for asylum, and whose application Denmark has agreed to process (c.f. the Dublin Convention).

Ibid.

Until 2011, the Danish Immigration Service reported the number of spontaneous asylum applications in its annual ‘Statistical Overview’

publications. In its publications from 2012 and 2013, however, the Danish Immigration Service has not reported these figures. For these

years, accordingly, the table draws on data from Statistics Denmark, which does not allow for a decomposition into ‘Stateless Palestinians’

and ‘Other stateless’.

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Figure 14 indicates that the number of stateless Palestinians applying for asylum in Denmark fluctuated between

approximately 17 and 43 applicants in the period 2006-2011. Until 2010, Denmark received applications for asylum

from persons who were registered as stateless Palestinians more frequently than from “other stateless persons,”

who submitted only between two to three applications per year in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, however, the number

of applications for asylum made by “other stateless persons” increased significantly. This may be explained by the

increased number of Syrian asylum applicants, in combination with the increased focus on correct statelessness

registration and re-registration.

In any case, among the asylum-seekers in the category “other stateless persons,”

the majority has so far been of Syrian origin.

Since Statistics Denmark’s data from 2011 and onwards do not allow

for disaggregation, the distribution between “stateless Palestinians” and “other stateless persons” cannot be easily

assessed any longer.

Looking at the overall picture, the graph suggests that the total number of applications for asylum submitted by

stateless persons remained relatively low until 2011, rarely exceeding 45 applications per year. Accordingly, the

number of applications submitted by stateless persons only constituted 1 percent of the total number of applications

for asylum in 2010. Since 2011, applications from registered stateless persons have risen significantly, reaching 6.8

percent of all asylum cases in 2013 and 9.9 percent in 2016.

Recognition Rate

Figure 15 shows the rates of recognition of refugee status in asylum applications from stateless persons, processed

by the Danish Immigration Service from 2006 to 2016.

Figure 15: Recognition rates in asylum cases in Denmark (2006-2016)

2006

Stateless (total)

Stateless

Palestinians

Other stateless

All nationalities

31%

100%

18%

2007

48%

60%

56%

2008

36%

15%

90%

50%

2009

34%

31%

100%

44%

2010

13%

38%

2011

53%

15%

63%

33%

2012

51%

46%

2013

76%

55%

2014

89%

74%

2015

90%

85%

2016

82%

72%

Source: IS (Statistical Overview, Migration and Asylum 2011: 38; 2013:16, 2016: 62 (Danish version))

As explained above, this is caused by the re-registration of stateless persons since 2011. See the Danish Immigration Service, ‘Statistical

Overview: Migration and Asylum 2015’ (English version), 2016, p. 18.

The Danish Immigration Service,

Tal og Fakta på Udlændingeområdet 2016’

(Danish version), 2017, p. 63

The data includes only applications from spontaneous asylum-seekers who are recognized either as ‘convention refugees’ (applicants

who fall within the provisions of the Refugee Convention, cf. Section 7(1) of the Aliens Act) or ‘refugees with B-status/de

facto

status

(applicants who are granted protection status because they risk the death penalty or torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or

punishment in case of return to their country of origin, cf. Section 7(2) of the Aliens Act). The data does not include residence permits

granted to ‘quota refugees’ (refugees who are offered resettlement in Denmark according to an agreement with UNHCR), residence

permits granted for humanitarian reasons (cf. Section 9(b) of the Aliens Act) and residence permits issued when exceptional reasons make

it appropriate, cf. Section 9(c)(1) of the Aliens Act.

Explanatory notes to the table and graph: Until 2011, the Danish Immigration Service maintained the distinction between ‘stateless

Palestinians’ and ‘other stateless persons’ and did not report aggregate recognition rates for stateless persons for the period 2006-2011.

However, in its 2012 and 2013 publications, the Danish Immigration Service provided aggregate recognition rates five years back in time.

For this reason, aggregate recognition rates for stateless persons are available from 2008 onwards.

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100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

■

Stateless (2008-2016)

■

Stateless Palestinians (2006-2011)

■

Other Statelles (2006-2011)

Figure 15 indicates that the recognition rate for stateless Palestinians seeking asylum in Denmark has decreased

from around 30-50 percent in 2006 and 2007 to a substantially lower recognition rate in 2010 and 2011, of around

15 percent. As to “other stateless persons,” the recognition rate has varied but normally it has remained above

60 percent, except in 2010, where no refugee status was granted among this group of asylum-seekers.

Looking

at the aggregate recognition rate available from 2008 onwards, the graph indicates a fall until 2010 (13 percent)

and, since then, a significant increase to 53 percent in 2011 and 76 percent in 2013; thereafter the percentage has

steadily remained between 82 to 90 percent.

Comparing the data of stateless asylum-seekers to other categories of asylum-seekers (shown in the table), it

can be seen that between 2008 and 2011, the recognition rate for “stateless Palestinians” was substantially lower

than the average of all others, which remained between 30 percent and 50 percent in that period. In contrast,

the recognition rate for “other stateless persons” was higher than the national average, except in 2010. When

considering the stateless as one group, recognition rates remained below the national average until 2011. After

2011, the recognition rate for stateless asylum seekers in total has stayed consistently higher than the rate for other

categories.

Besides the stateless spontaneous asylum-seekers, stateless persons may have been granted asylum in Denmark

as quota refugees, these being refugees who are offered resettlement in Denmark based on an agreement with

UNHCR, or they may have been granted a residence permit for humanitarian or other exceptional reasons. In

order to get a comprehensive overview of the total number of stateless persons within the entire asylum system

in Denmark, it is therefore important to consider the total number of residence permits granted, as outlined in

Figure 16.

Here, it must be taken into consideration that the number of “other stateless applicants” was relatively low. There were for instance only

two and three asylum applications registered from “other stateless applicants” in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

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Figure 16: Total number of residence permits issued to stateless persons who are recognized refugees, resettled

refugees, or granted a residence permit based on humanitarian or exceptional grounds (2006-2016)

2006

Stateless

– Stateless

Palestinians

– Other stateless

Total

Stateless as

share of total

1,095

6.3%

2007

1,278

1.6%

2008

1,453

4.3%

2009

1,376

2.3%

2010

2,124

0.6%

2011

237

227

2,249

10.5%

2012

249

235

2,583

9.6%

2013

413

207

206

3,889

10.6%

2014

571

6,104

9.4%

2015

919

10,849

8.5%

2016

556

7,493

7.4%

Source: IS (Statistical Overview, Migration and Asylum 2011: 70; 2012:18, 2013: 14-15, 2015:17; 2016: 15 (Danish

version))

1,000

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

■

Stateless total (2013-2016)

■

Stateless Palestinians (2006-2011)

■

Other Statelles (2006-2011)

As indicated in Figure 16, the total number of residence permits granted to persons who were registered as

“stateless Palestinians” and “other stateless persons” fluctuates from year to year. In the case of stateless

Palestinians, the total number of positive decisions varied between 10 and 55 from 2006 to 2012, but rose to 207

in 2013. For “other stateless persons,” the number of positive decisions was substantially lower in the period 2006-

2010, ranging from zero to 14 permits. In 2011, however, this number rose steeply to 227 permits, partly due to the

attention paid to correct registration in 2011, including 143 permits granted to quota refugees, mainly from Bhutan

and Myanmar.

This level, above 200 permits granted per year, continued in 2012. Since 2013, over 400 permits

have been granted per year. The peak was reached in 2015 when 919 residence permits were granted.

When comparing the total number of residence permits granted to stateless persons with the overall number of

permits granted, the percentage of permits granted to stateless persons varies widely from 0.6 percent of the total

in 2010 to 10.6 percent in 2013 after which the number has moderately decreased to the level of 7.4 percent in

2016.

The Danish Immigration Service, ‘Statistical Overview: Migration and Asylum 2011’ (Danish version), p. 44.

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If an asylum-seeker receives a final rejection of his or her application from the Refugee Appeals Board, the person

becomes subject to removal and must leave Denmark according to a deadline stated in the decision. If a rejected

asylum-seeker refuses to leave Denmark voluntarily, it is the responsibility of the North Zealand Police – National

Operational Aliens Centre (UCN)

to ensure his or her departure.

An asylum-seeker who has received a final

rejection and awaits his or her departure is registered as a “rejected asylum-seeker in return position.”

The

practice of returning rejected asylum-seekers who are stateless can be problematic, as stateless persons may

not have a country to be returned to at all .

Consequently, in practice it may not be possible to return a stateless

person whose application for asylum has been refused.

Despite these obstacles, each year a number of rejected stateless asylum-seekers are registered as being in a

return position waiting to leave Denmark.

The Danish Immigration Service provides historical data on the total

number of rejected stateless asylum-seekers in a return position, which is outlined in Figure 17.

Figure 17: Rejected stateless asylum seekers in a return position (2008 to 2016)

2008

Stateless

– Stateless Palestinians

– Other stateless

Total in return position

Share of stateless in total

665

3.0%

2009

510

3.3%

2010

844

2.0%

2011

978

4.2%

2012

1,525

3.1%

2013

1,519

4.3%

2014

1,686

4.0%

2015

1,393

6.2%

2016

1,154

8.3%

Source: IS (Statistical Overview, Migration and Asylum 2011: 40, 2013: 20, 2016: 21 (Danish version))

Rejected stateless asylum seekers in a return position, 2008-2016

100

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

■

Stateless Palestinians

■

Other Statelles

■

Other (total)

In Danish:

Udlændinge Center Nordsjælland

(UCN).

See information on applying for asylum on New to Denmark, available at:

https://bit.ly/3hID7gW.

The Danish Immigration Service, ‘Statistical Overview: Migration and Asylum 2011’ (English version), p. 40.

The NUC, ‘Status

efter 2. halvår 2011 vedrørende arbejdet med udsendelse af afviste asylansøgere’

(Status of the second half of 2011

concerning the departure of rejected asylum-seekers), February 2012, available at:

https://bit.ly/3hUtR9F.

Some countries abide by their duty to receive stateless persons to whom they are affiliated; for instance Lebanon, which receives

stateless Palestinians who are registered in Lebanon with UNRWA.

See ibid.

In its annual ‘Statistical Overview’ publications for 2012 and 2013, the Danish Immigration Service does not distinguish between ‘Stateless

Palestinians’ and ‘Other stateless’ in data on rejected asylum seekers in return position.

Figures for 2014: The National Aliens Division of the National Police: Status concerning the departure of rejected asylum seekers in 2014,

Status på arbejdet med udsendelse af afviste asylansøgere i 2014, p.4:

https://bit.ly/330iIQc.

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Figure 17 indicates that since 2008, the number of stateless persons registered as in a return position has steadily

rose from the number of 20 in 2008 to 96 persons recorded in 2016; however, in relation to the number of

submitted asylum applications, increased recognition rate and the increase in residence permits granted to

stateless persons within the same period of time, as illustrated in Figures 14 to 16 respectively, the percentage of

stateless asylum seekers in a return position has proportionally decreased. Between 2008 and 2011, the majority of

rejected stateless asylum applicants in return position were of Palestinian origins, but since the Danish Immigration

Service discontinued the use of distinct categories of ‘Stateless Palestinians’ and ‘Other Stateless’ in 2011, it was

not possible to make distinctions between the two groups from 2012 onwards.

Statistics Denmark provides information on the number of foreigners, including stateless persons, who have

obtained Danish nationality through naturalization each year in the period 2006-2017. They are shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18: Stateless persons obtaining Danish nationality (2007-2017)

2007

Stateless persons

All persons

Share of

stateless in total

4,150

1.7%

2008

126

6,111

2009

463

6,869

6.7%

2010

246

3,833

6.4%

2011

248

4,467

5.5%

2012

128

3,671

2013

1,863

2.7%

2014

163

4,786

3.4%

2015

149

4,498

3.3%

2016

415

15,028

2.8%

2017

274

7,272

3.8%

Source: SD (People, who changes into Danish citizenship by sex, age and former citizenship (DKSTAT) recorded

ultimo 2007-2017)

500

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Figure 18 indicates that between 50 and 463 stateless persons were granted Danish nationality each year in the

period 2007-2017.

When comparing the numbers of stateless persons to the total number of foreign nationals who naturalized, there

is a decrease in the percentage of stateless persons obtaining Danish nationality since 2009 and onwards. In the

period 2009-2011, the percentage was around six percent, while since 2012, it decreased to less than four percent

of the total number of grants of nationality to foreigners. In 2017, 274 stateless persons obtained Danish nationality,

which constitutes 3.8 percent of all naturalized persons.

The high number of naturalized stateless persons in 2009 cannot be explained as an effect of the “statelessness

case” (see Section 2.1.1). It may have caused a number of stateless persons to apply for naturalization but most

likely only as of 2011 when the rights of Danish born stateless persons became publicly well known. The fact that

the grants of nationality to stateless persons peaked already in 2009 may be explained as a coincidence. The

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Nationality Division of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration (previously under the Ministry of Justice) has

shared their impression that many applicants were informed about the entitlement to nationality due to birth in

Denmark from other applicants, and that the information was passed by word-of-mouth.

Under the ministerial report of 2011 on the “statelessness case,” stateless children born in Denmark made up a

substantial number of the applicants who had been listed in naturalization bills in 2009 due to their fulfilment of the

normal requirements for naturalization. Stateless children born in Denmark made up between 9 and 16 percent of

all applicants listed in the two naturalization bills in 2009 (121 and 254 children respectively). Likewise, in the first

half of 2010, before the re-establishment of a naturalization practice in accordance with the Conventions, stateless

children born in Denmark made up 10 percent of all listed applicants (89 stateless children out of 913 applicants).

100

Figure 19 illustrates the number and legal grounds on which stateless persons have been listed in naturalization

bills since October 2010 to 2016.

101

Figure 19: Stateless persons listed in Naturalization Bills (2010-2016)

Oct

2010

Convention

on the Rights

of the Child

Convention

on the

Reduction of

Statelessness

Standard

requirements

Total per bill

121

Apr

2011

Nov

2011

Apr

2012

Oct

2012

Apr.

2013

Oct.

2013

Apr.

2014

Oct.

2014

2015

2016

Total

492

(38%)

107

(8%)

701

(54%)

1,300

177

137

346

388

103

180

Source: Naturalization Bills submitted to the Danish Parliament October 2010 – October 2014 (L38

102

, L192

103

, L11

104

L163

105

, L42

106

, L211

107

, L53

108

, L179

109

and L45

110

The figure indicates that 38 percent of stateless persons included in Danish naturalization bills since October 2010

have been listed based on the CRC (492 persons). A relatively smaller part of stateless persons (8 percent) have

been listed on the basis of the 1961 Convention (107 persons), while a bit over half (54 percent) have obtained Danish

nationality by fulfilling the standard requirements applicable to stateless immigrants applying for naturalization in

Denmark (701 persons). In total, 1300 stateless persons have been listed on a naturalization bill from October 2010

to October 2016, of which 599 persons have been listed based on one of these two Conventions.

100

The theory was explained during an interview on 29 August 2012 with the Nationality Division.

See the report, Ministry of Integration, ‘Redegørelse til statsministeren om Integrationsministeriets behandling af ansøgninger om

indfødsret fra statsløse personer født i Danmark’, 7 March 2011, available at:

https://bit.ly/2OYOeWy

In October 2010, the first naturalization bill was submitted to the Danish Parliament comprising a number of stateless applicants who did

not fulfil the general naturalization requirements.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20101/lovforslag/l38/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20101/lovforslag/L192/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20111/lovforslag/L11/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20111/lovforslag/L63/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20121/lovforslag/l42/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20121/lovforslag/l211/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20131/lovforslag/l53/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20131/lovforslag/l179/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20141/lovforslag/l45/index.htm.

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

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In 2015, 41 stateless children were included in naturalization bills according to the CRC, and one person was

included according to the 1961 Convention. In total 388 stateless persons were naturalized that year. In 2016, 77

stateless children were included in naturalization bills according to the CRC and none was included according to

the 1961 Convention. In total, 180 stateless persons were naturalized that year.

111

It appears from the statistics that many Danish-born stateless persons – more than 500 – are entitled to Danish

nationality and still have not naturalized. The higher numbers of naturalizations of Danish born stateless children

and young people in the wake of the so-called “statelessness case” must be seen against the background of the

direct information about their entitlement to Danish nationality from the authorities that Danish-born stateless

persons received in individual letters in March 2011.

112

Since then, no such direct information has been given.

Moreover, some difficulties are experienced with regard to naturalization, especially given the difficulties as to

getting a judicial review.

113

Furthermore, fees for naturalization of a child where families apply independently may

have been an obstacle for naturalization for some of these families. As a positive development, this problem has

been solved, since as of 1 September 2015, all children are exempted from the requirement of paying a fee for

naturalization.

2.2.3 A summary of the developments after 2011

Since 2011, the Danish authorities have increasingly focused on statelessness. This has led to a reconsideration of

the registration of stateless persons and the mechanism through which statelessness is assessed, as well as the

publication of information on the possibilities for re-registration of nationality. These developments are reflected

in the statistics.

The renewed attention to statelessness has made immigration authorities more aware of the problems that

stateless persons face, and the Danish Immigration Service’s Country of Origin Information Division has developed

a database with country specific information on statelessness. Thus, all stakeholders now have a better indication

of the size of problems with regard to statelessness in Denmark. The initiated processes of re-registration were

completed by the end of 2012. However, the process of re-registration of statelessness is continuously ongoing.

114

Moreover, an increasing number of stateless persons have entered Denmark and been granted residence permits,

and the total number of stateless persons is approximately 8,000. Thus, there is reason to believe that the registered

number of stateless persons residing in Denmark may further increase.

111

112

Informed by the Ministry of Immigration and Integration in letters of 29 April 2016 and 14 June 2017 to the DIHR.

As mentioned in section 2.1.1, in a letter of 3 March 2011, the 378 stateless persons born in Denmark were informed that the 1961

Convention and the CRC, under certain conditions, entitle persons born stateless in Denmark to the nationality of their country of birth.

The letter listed the conditions to be applied in Danish practice and informed about the use of an application form and an application fee.

See about access to judicial review below in section 4.2.

According to Information given by the Danish Immigration Service to DIHR in an email dated 9 March 2015, in March 2015, about 30

applicants awaited re-registration.

113

114

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2.3

Qualitative analysis of the situation of stateless persons

2.3.1 Specifics of the information used

As part of this mapping, representatives of five NGOs working on statelessness were interviewed in August 2012.

115

These organizations shared their views and experiences with stateless persons in Denmark, as presented in the

following sections.

2.3.2 Procedural aspects

Around 2012, the organization

Refugees Welcome (RW)

advised about 200 refugees per year, including stateless

Palestinians, Rohingya, Bhutanese and stateless persons from the former Soviet Republics.

RW staff explained that originally stateless Kurds from Syria in particular had faced problems in Denmark during

the administrative process.

116

Other stateless persons had reported problems in relation to getting a biometric

registration document from their country of origin.

117

RW explained that some of their experiences related to periods preceding the Danish Immigration Service’s

introduction of new statelessness registration procedures in 2011-12, but they mentioned that they still came across

registration problems. In their opinion, it would be an improvement if qualified interpreters could participate in the

first registration of asylum-seekers carried out immediately after their arrival. Confusion due to language problems

might lead to misunderstandings, for instance in relation to a question like, “Where do you come from?”

According to RW, stateless asylum-seekers, like other asylum-seekers, faced economic problems, which were

exacerbated after a rejection of their asylum application, when they were in a “return position.” As far as RW could

judge, the provision in Section 9c(2) of the Aliens Act (on the grant of residence permits to aliens whom it has not

been possible to return for at least 18 consecutive months) was used very seldom. This was considered especially

to be so because of the requirement under Section 9c(2)(iii ) that “return must be considered futile.”

RW was aware of two cases where stateless persons had stayed in reception centers in Denmark for 10 to 12 years.

The first case concerned a stateless Kurdish family from Syria. RW has described the case in the publication

“Asylum Camp Limbo.”

118

Both the father and the mother had been politically active in Syria. They both fled to

Turkey, where they met and married.

119

Later they moved to Denmark and applied for asylum. In Denmark, they

lived in a number of reception centers, during which time their two children were born, in 2002 and in 2006. Their

asylum application was refused in 2003 and an appeal was refused in 2010. Their children were heavily affected

by their insecure life in the centres. The parents declared their willingness to leave Denmark but ultimately, they

refused to sign the necessary papers when they learned about persecution of Kurds in Syria. Neither the Syrian nor

the Turkish authorities had confirmed their identity. The Syrian authorities claimed that their ID cards were forged.

The husband was alleged to have come to Denmark under a false identity, which made him untrustworthy in the

115

These organizations are Refugees Welcome (‘Komitéen

Flygtninge Under Jorden’),

the Danish Refugee Council (‘Dansk Flygtningehjælp’),

the Danish-Palestinian Friendship Association (‘Dansk-Palæstinensisk

Venskabsforening’),

the Danish-Bhutanese culture association

(‘Håndtryk

og Hatemalo’,

both Håndtryk and Hatemalo means ‘handshake’ in Danish and Bhutanese respectively) and the Documentation

and Advisory Centre on Racial Discrimination (‘DRC:

Dokumentations- og rådgivningscentret om racediskrimination’).

Interviews with

stateless persons were not part of the research project.

The viewpoints of RW were given during an interview on 13 August 2012.

These problems are not recognized by the asylum authorities, and may be problems which stateless asylum applicants experience

themselves.

RW,

Asylum Camp Limbo,

A report about obstacles to deportation, 2011. pp. 30 and 34, available at:

https://bit.ly/30RwqSJ.

Ibid,

p. 30.

116

117

118

119

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eyes of the Danish police. The authorities had said they suspected they were of Turkish origin, but a language

test showed they spoke Arabic fluently. The Danish Immigration Service reported that the family was granted a

residence permit in the summer 2012 as “un-returnable”, and they were re-registered as stateless.

120

The other case mentioned in the publication concerned a stateless Bidoon from Kuwait.

121

Kuwait does not

recognize the Bidoon as citizens (bidoon is short for

Bidoon Jinsiya

which means “without nationality” in Arabic),

and the Bidoon do not have access to employment or healthcare. The stateless Bidoon in this particular case,

having left his wife and five children in Kuwait, went to Denmark to look for employment. He reportedly acquired

a forged Iraqi ID card in 2002, arguably because other asylum-seekers had told him that this would improve his

chances of being granted asylum in Denmark. Quickly after, however, he regretted the forgery and told the Danish

police the truth about the forged card and his situation as a stateless Bidoon. In 2004, he received the final refusal

of his application for asylum. The Danish authorities maintained that he was from Iraq and attempted to return him.

In 2009, the Iraqi authorities declared that his identity card was false and refused to admit him. Later, however,

the Iraqi authorities showed some willingness to reopen the case. The person was imprisoned in a Danish asylum

prison for seven months, on grounds that his physical presence was necessarily in the event of an expulsion order.

The Danish embassy in Kuwait had received no reply from the Kuwaiti authorities, and thus presumed that Kuwait

would not readmit him. The person claimed that if he had received legal counsel from the start, he would not

have lied about his identity, and he would probably have had a greater chance being granted a residence permit

in Denmark. The Danish Immigration Service informed the DIHR late 2012 that the person were to be granted a

residence permit as “un-returnable” and that he would be re-registered as stateless.

122

In 2012, the Danish Immigration Service and the

Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

concluded an agreement on

counseling asylum-seekers.

123

This project encompassed asylum-seekers at all phases of the asylum procedure.

Under the agreement, the DRC counseled rejected asylum-seekers who had remained in Denmark for many

years.

124

The importance of their assistance in the return efforts was emphasized.

The DRC explained during an interview in 2012 that, in their opinion since 2011, there had been more awareness

of statelessness among all Danish stakeholders. Still, they found that stateless persons in a return position faced

problems, and persons who were “unreturnable” appeared to be a low priority for the Danish Immigration Service.

According to the Aliens Act, the national police must consider questions on return options 18 months after an

application for asylum has been rejected. However, the decision of the Danish Immigration Service to grant a

residence permit based on the fact that a person is unreturnable, pursuant to Section 9c(2) of the Aliens Act, could

take an extra six months. One of the requirements for such a grant is that the ‘return must be considered futile

according to the information available at the time’ (Section 9c(2)(iii)). When that is not the case, another 18 months

must pass before a new application for a residence permit on grounds that someone is unreturnable can be

reconsidered. In this way, several 18-month periods can pass. In the opinion of the DRC, a person’s statelessness

could be the occasion for exempting him or her from the 18-month requirement, since an assessment of the

return possibilities would often be possible from the very beginning, given the likelihood that a stateless person

is unreturnable.

Obstacles to return are discussed by the national police in their annual reports.

125

In these reports, emphasis is put

on the receiving countries’ willingness to receive rejected asylum-seekers. They do not deal with the standard of

treatment afforded by these countries to, among others, stateless persons.

120

121

122

123

124

According to an email to DIHR dated 28 November 2012.

RW,

Asylum Camp Limbo, A report about obstacles to deportation,

2011. p. 34.

Information given by the Danish Immigration Service to DIHR in an email dated 28 November 2012.

Interview with Danish Immigration Service.

Information meetings will be held at the accommodation centers. The aim was that all centers have video equipment with the possibility of

video conferences with the Danish Refugee Council in 2012. In addition, the Danish Red Cross, which is responsible for accommodation

centers, has been contacted with a view to make it possible to refer rejected asylum-seekers to the Danish Refugee Council for further

information.

The annual reports by the NUC, ‘Status

på arbejdet med udsendelse af afviste asylansøgere’,

are available at:

https://bit.ly/2CXMiuW.

125

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In relation to stateless Palestinian refugees who came from Lebanon and who have prima facie a refugee status,

the Refugee Appeal Board may decide whether they can be returned to Lebanon as a safe third country. According

to the DRC, the question is whether the living conditions of stateless persons in Lebanon cumulatively fulfil the

requirements of a “safe third country.”

The

Danish-Bhutanese culture organization Håndtryk og Hatemalo

explained in 2012 that the first group of

Bhutanese refugees came to Denmark in 2008. At that time, they did not understand the text in the papers they

received from the Danish authorities, including their residence permits. The Danish-Bhutanese culture organization

was also not acquainted with the entitlement to Danish citizenship if a child is born stateless in the country. Most

Bhutanese refugees were illiterate. According to the organization, it was not enough to disseminate information

at Danish language schools. In the opinion of the organization, the municipality, the “accompanying group” or a

“spokesperson” should provide information. This way, this population would be better informed, for example, of

their children’s right to acquire Danish nationality.

The chairperson of the Danish-Bhutanese culture organization himself did not realize that he had been wrongfully

registered as a Bhutanese national, rather than as stateless. First, when he started his education at an education

center, he found out that he was registered as a national of Bhutan, even though he had lived as a stateless

refugee in a camp in Nepal for 17 years and was not allowed to enter Bhutan. In 2012, he received a letter from

the Danish Immigration Service, informing him about the possibility to change his incorrect registration from

“Bhutanese national” to “stateless.”

For many Bhutanese refugees, it was a particular problem that they could not document their age, since they had

their age “altered” in the refugee camps in Nepal in order to get access to education, which was only offered to

persons up to a certain age.

126

In Denmark, their low age on paper had unexpected consequences, among others

in relation to the qualifications for old-age pension.

2.3.3 The human face of statelessness

The Danish-Palestinian Friendship Organization noted that having a nationality gives security and makes family life

possible. In a residential housing area in Copenhagen, Mjølnerparken, many of the residents were elderly people

who were not born in Denmark and who could not acquire Danish nationality.

127

This was a problem in families

where children and grandchildren were Danish nationals. It was difficult to explain to the old generation that they

could not become Danish nationals. Often, they could not travel with their families. Nationality is also important

for feeling included in the Danish society. Moreover, without a nationality it is not possible to vote in parliamentary

elections, which they see as the ultimate expression of citizenship and inclusion.

For various reasons, many stateless Palestinians from Lebanon had problems acquiring Danish nationality, while

they, at the same time, were unable to return to their former country of habitual residence. They had their whole

family in Denmark. For them, acquisition of a nationality was of great importance, and this feeling was shared by

their children, who had become Danish nationals. Stateless persons appeared to value acquisition of a nationality

most of all.

This was also illustrated in the so called “statelessness case,” where it became apparent from a number of interviews

with stateless persons in the media that acquisition of a nationality made a tremendous difference in the lives of

stateless persons. Similarly, RW explained that most stateless persons shared a feeling of disgrace and displeasure

when their country rejected them as citizens with equal rights.

126

127

This was explained during the interview with the Danish-Bhutanese culture organization on 26 August 2012.

Many elderly persons have difficulties learning a new language, and an exemption from the language requirement for naturalization for

applicants over the age of 65 was repealed in 2002.

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The Danish-Palestinian Friendship Association explained that even after the “statelessness case,” some of the

stateless persons who were entitled to Danish nationality were met with a refusal from the police who might not

have been sufficiently informed about the new practice on naturalization of Danish stateless persons who do not

fulfil the general requirements. The association had established an organization, The Nationality Organization

(in Danish ‘Statsborgerforeningen’) for stateless persons born in Denmark. The organization advised stateless

persons about their entitlement to Danish nationality. Seventeen stateless persons took legal action against the

Danish state and the then Ministers for Integration concerning damages for pain and suffering due to the wrongful

refusals of their applications for Danish nationality up to 2010.

128

On 21 December 2016, the Eastern High Court

ruled that the ministry should pay compensation for the injury to seven of the applicants with a sum of 20,000 DKK

(about 2,667 €) to each. The seven applicants had acquired Danish nationality with a significant delay due to the

wrongful treatment of their cases, which was not the case for the rest of the plaintiffs.

129

A stateless girl known to the Documentation and Advisory Centre on Racial Discrimination (DRC) has described the

problems she faced when her grandparents became ill, and she was not able to visit them together with her sisters

and brothers, who had acquired Danish nationality by entitlement as they were born in Denmark. The girl herself

was born in Sweden on a one-day visit when her pregnant mother unexpectedly gave birth prematurely, and the

then Danish Ministry of Justice/the Minister of Justice had not recommended that she acquired Danish nationality

by entitlement, as she was not born in Denmark.

130

Eventually, in April 2013, the Parliamentary Naturalization

Committee granted the16-year-old girl at that time Danish nationality.

131

2.3.4 Hopes and expectations for the future

Several organizations have pointed out that stateless persons need a nationality. The Danish Refugee Council

noted the importance of granting every member of a stateless family Danish nationality to ensure family unity.

Acquisition of nationality promotes security and inclusion and allows for family trips abroad.

The chairperson of the Danish-Bhutanese culture organization found it important to be correctly registered

as stateless. He said that anyone who had experienced being stateless truly would know how important the

acquisition of a nationality is. He hoped to be able to acquire Danish nationality but was worried, having heard that

the requirements were very rigorous. To his knowledge, more than 50 percent of the Bhutanese refugees were not

able to pass the Danish language test level 2, which was required in 2012 in order to obtain a permanent residence

permit.

132

Therefore, following the October 2015 changes of the language requirement for acquisition of Danish

nationality, demanding as a rule successful Danish language test level 3,

133

the language requirement may be a

barrier for most Bhutanese refugees to acquire Danish nationality.

According to the Danish-Bhutanese culture organization, it is a particular problem that many elderly pensioners

cannot take Danish language classes. They cannot walk long distances to language schools in winter periods

or they are not offered language education in practice. Moreover, they must fulfil the general, high language

requirements for naturalization. The chairman of the organization finds it difficult to understand that Denmark

subjects resettled uneducated refugees to such high requirements as a precondition for granting them a secure

128

129

See the newspaper article ‘Statsløse

trækker Bertel Haarder i retten’

Politiken,

8 July 2011, available at:

https://bit.ly/30MAtQ8.

See the judgment at:

https://bit.ly/3jMUija:

the ministry had offered 10,000 DKK in compensation and this amount was doubled by the High

Court.

For the story of the stateless girl in question, see a collection of articles in the newspaper

Information,

‘Sagen

om de statsløse’,

available

at:

http://www.information.dk/statsl%C3%B8se.

See the newspaper article ‘Folketinget

underkender Morten Bødskov i sag om statsløs pige’

Information,

April 2013, available at:

http://www.information.dk/458535.

Danish language test level 2 corresponds to B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF or CEFR),

accessible her

https://www.examenglish.com/CEFR/cefr.php.

Danish language test level 3 corresponds to B2 of the CEF.

130

131

132

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residence status. In his opinion, the selection of refugees and the requirements they need to fulfil in order to be

granted a secure residence status do not correspond.

As to the hopes and expectation for the future of stateless Bhutanese, the organization reported big differences

between the generations. The chairperson’s father, for instance, had lived and worked in Bhutan and participated

in the construction of roads and in building the society. His generation saw Bhutan as their country and they wished

to return to Bhutan. Return was, however, unrealistic for the time being. As things stood, also persons belonging

to the older generation wanted to be registered as stateless persons and have the opportunity to acquire Danish

nationality, since they expected their children and grandchildren to stay in Denmark.

2.4

Conclusions and recommendations

In Denmark, statelessness often arises in the context of migration and asylum. Gathering statistical data on the

stateless population in Denmark possess some challenges, as the data must be obtained from various sources,

which in turn focus on different population groups. The analysis must therefore take into consideration different

registration categories, gaps, and overlaps in the data. There may also be a group of undocumented stateless

persons in Denmark who are not registered at all.

Based on the statistics available, it can be estimated that in 2017, almost 8,000 stateless persons reside in Denmark.

Registration procedures have been improved since 2011. In 2012, as many as 804 stateless persons responded to

the letter from the Danish Immigration Service about the possibility of re-registration and got their statelessness

established. Relatively few persons are registered under the category of “unknown nationality”, as the Danish

Immigration Service tries to avoid using this registration category.

Through interviews in 2012 with NGOs and the Danish Immigration Service, it has become clear that stateless

persons encountered difficulties in everyday life. Stateless persons reported feelings of disgrace and displeasure.

However, more information is needed to accurately and timely depict the human face of statelessness.

The data available at Statistics Denmark and Danish Immigration Service are comprehensive allowing profiling of

the country’s registered stateless population by various indicators, including country of origin information, sex and

age, type of residence permits and place of residence in Denmark. It is recommended that data collection between

various government institutions in charge of registering stateless persons be further harmonized in order to ensure

a consistent approach, in particular, concerning the use of definitions and availability and consistency of data in

different databases. Further research should also be undertaken, including interviews with stateless persons in

Denmark, in order to provide a full and actual picture of the human face of statelessness in Denmark.

Moreover, information about the possibility of re-registering in the CPR system

134

as a stateless person and to

acquire Danish nationality should be made available in languages that the persons concerned may understand.

135

134

Furthermore, the DIS handles the initial registration of citizenship for foreign nationals with residence according to the Aliens Act. If

subsequent changes are made to this registration, the DIS will ask the municipality to make the changes in the CPR system.

On the website, newtodenmark.dk, there are specific sections in English with guidance for stateless persons, under the articles

concerning” Modification of personal data” and “Apply for a passport for foreign nationals”.

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DETERMINATION OF STATELESSNESS AND

RIGHTS ATTACHED TO THE STATUS

3.1

Introduction

As noted in Chapter 1.3.1, a stateless person is defined in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention as “a person who is

not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law.” The International Law Commission has

concluded that Article 1(1) definition of a “stateless person” is part of customary international law.

136

The definition

identifies the persons who are entitled to the core protection of the 1954 Convention, with additional convention

rights depending on the individual’s residence status, as discussed below. While ultimately only the acquisition of

a nationality will end a person’s statelessness, in situations where this is not yet possible, it is necessary to protect

stateless persons. A formal statelessness determination procedure makes it possible to identify those persons

who are entitled to the protection regime of the 1954 Convention.

For a statelessness determination procedure to be fair and efficient, a number of procedural safeguards must be

implemented. The procedure must be accessible for stateless persons,

137

and while the procedure is underway,

applicants should be entitled to certain rights.

138

During the procedure, stateless persons may not be detained for

reasons relating to their statelessness. Where they are detained, it must be a measure of last resort and the person

may not be held with convicted criminals or individuals awaiting trial.

139

Moreover, pending the outcome of the

procedure, the applicant may not be expelled from the State where the procedure is ongoing.

140

The 1954 Convention guarantees rights to stateless persons on a gradual, conditional scale, with some protection

applicable to all stateless persons and others dependent on the precise legal status of the individual.

141

The 1954

Convention foresees that stateless persons who are “lawfully in” a State party (in French “se

trouvant régulièrement”),

are entitled to,

inter alia,

protection from expulsion (Article 31).

142

For stateless persons to be “lawfully in” a State

party, their presence in the country needs to be authorized by the State. The concept encompasses both presence,

which is explicitly sanctioned and that which is known and not prohibited, taking into account all personal

circumstances of the individual. The duration of presence can be temporary. This interpretation of the terms of the

1954 Convention is in line with its object and purpose, which is to assure the widest possible exercise by stateless

persons of the rights contained therein. As confirmed by the drafting history of the Convention, applicants for

statelessness status who enter a determination procedure are therefore “lawfully in” the territory of a State party.

By contrast, an individual who has no immigration status in the country and declines the opportunity to enter a

statelessness determination procedure is not “lawfully in” the country.

143

136

See the International Law Commission,

Articles on Diplomatic Protection with commentaries,

2006, p. 49 (stating

that the Article 1 definition can “no doubt be considered as having acquired a customary nature”), available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/525e7929d.html.

UNHCR

Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons,

paras. 68-70.

Ibid, paras. 144-146.

Ibid, paras. 112-115.

Ibid, paras. 72 and 145.

For a detailed discussion,

see ibid,

paras. 132-139.

See also ibid,

FN 30 (discussing the term “habitual residence” in numerous international instruments, as

well as by The Hague Conferences on Private International Law.).

Ibid.

See in Danish, answer to L41/8 dated 11 December 2019, available at:

https://bit.ly/30V88ra.

https://bit.ly/334PyiS.

See discussion on Section 26 of the Circular of Naturalization, p. 84-85.

Comments by UNHCR to the Legislative Proposal amending the Citizenship Law (Nr. 52/Lp11) in Latvia, p. 2, available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/57ed07954.html.

UNHCR Guidelines No. 4,

para 34.

259

260

261

262

263

264

265

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This interpretation is supported by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which has authoritatively interpreted

Article 7 of the CRC since 1990 as requiring State Parties to grant nationality to all children born on the territory

who would otherwise be stateless, regardless of the residence status of the children or their parents.

267

In its

Concluding observation in October 2017, the Committee urged Denmark to provide for the automatic granting of

nationality to all children born in Denmark who would otherwise be stateless.

268

Under Danish law, the Ministry of Immigration and Integration is required to forward the names of qualified applicants

to Parliament. The Parliament itself is not bound by any domestic law or rule to grant the persons listed on a

naturalization bill Danish citizenship, while international law obligations apply.

269

In this regard, it is recommended

to further examine whether the existing procedure for granting nationality to children born in Denmark, who would

otherwise be stateless, may be discretionary in a way, which would not comply with the CRC (cf. Article 1 of the

1961 Convention).

4.2.1.1.2 Rules governing persons born stateless in Denmark who have attained the age of 18 years but are not

yet 21 years old

Persons born stateless in Denmark, who already reached the age of 18, but not the age of 21, are also entitled to

Danish nationality by naturalization. The rule aims at satisfying the requirements of Article 1 of the 1961 Convention,

and it is now included in Section 26 of the Naturalization Circular of September 2018. The conditions are as follows:

• The applicant must be born stateless in Denmark and always have been stateless.

• The applicant must have his or her habitual residence in Denmark (the Danish wording is “fast bopæl”).

• The applicant must have resided habitually in Denmark for five years immediately preceding the submission

of the application, or must have resided habitually in Denmark for eight years altogether. This means that the

applicant may have lived in Denmark for different periods of a total duration of eight years, but in any case, at the

time of submitting the application for nationality, he or she must reside in Denmark.

• The applicant must not have been found guilty of an offence against national security, and not have been

sentenced to imprisonment for five years or more for a criminal offence. Offences against national security are

acts falling within the scope of Part 12 of the Criminal Code on offences against national independence and

security and Part 13 of the Code on offences against the Constitution and the supreme authorities of the state.

These provisions relate to, among others, offences that are considered terrorist acts.

• The applicant must make a solemn declaration confirming that he or she has not been found guilty of any acts

falling within the scope of Part 12 of the Criminal Code on offences against national independence and security

or Part 13 on offences against the Constitution and the supreme authorities of the state.

• The applicant must also solemnly declare whether he or she has been sentenced to imprisonment for five years

or more.

The Parliament itself is not bound by any domestic law or rule to grant the persons listed on a naturalization bill

Danish citizenship, while international law obligations apply.

270

On this background, it should be examined whether

267

Since 1990, The CRC Committee has made at least 27 recommendations to various State Parties underlying this obligation. See for

instance; UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC),

Concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of the Netherlands,

8 June 2015, CRC/C/NDL/CO/4, available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/566fc5a04.html,

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

(CRC), Concluding observations on the combined second to fourth periodic reports of Turkmenistan, 10 March 2015, CRC/C/TKM/CO/2-

4, available at:

https://bit.ly/30V8H4g,

and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC),

Concluding observations on the combined

second to fourth periodic reports of Switzerland,

26 February 2015, CRC/C/CHE/CO/2-4, available at:

https://bit.ly/3jOkDxm.

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC),

Concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Denmark,

26 October 2017,

CRC/C/DNK/CO/5, para. 15, available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/5a0ebb974.html.

The Danish Supreme Court has – as referenced in sec. 4.2.– found that it to a certain degree can review whether international law

obligations have been violated, and whether an applicant for this reason can claim compensation.

The Danish Supreme Court has – as referenced in sec. 4.2. – found that it to a certain degree can review whether international law

obligations have been violated, and whether an applicant for this reason can claim compensation.

268

269

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the procedure for granting 18-21 year old stateless persons born in Denmark citizenship may be discretionary in a

way, which would not comply with Article 1 of the 1961 Convention. In this regard, it may be taken into account that

before a bill on naturalization is introduced, the Ministry of Immigration and Integration sends the Naturalization

Committee an overview of persons qualifying for naturalization on the basis of the 1961 Convention to the

Parliament.

271

4.2.1.1.3 Transitional rule for certain stateless persons born in Denmark who are 21 years or older

In the wake of the so-called ‘statelessness case’, mentioned above, a transitional rule was adopted, allowing

persons born stateless in Denmark to apply for naturalization although they had attained the age of 21 years or

more and thus exceeded the maximum age for applying for nationality without satisfying the usual conditions.

At first, they had to apply before 1 March 2012, but as of 29 February 2012, the right to apply was extended

indeterminately with the following limitation:

Persons born stateless in Denmark, that previously and before reaching the age of 21 have applied for

nationality, and who may have received an incorrect processing or who may have received incorrect

information regarding their rights under the UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness or the

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child can be listed in a naturalization bill without satisfying the usual

conditions for being eligible for Danish nationality. It is a condition to be listed in a naturalization bill with

reference to the conventions that the person concerned at the time of the incorrect processing or the

incorrect information satisfied the conditions that can be required according to the conventions. When these

conditions are satisfied, the person concerned will be listed in a naturalization bill. This applies regardless

of whether the application has first been submitted after 1 March 2012.

272

The wording of the announcement may be subject to interpretation, but it appears from a letter of 29 February

2012 from the Ministry of Justice to the Parliament’s Naturalization Committee that two groups of stateless persons

having turned 21 as a rule are entitled to Danish nationality based on the CRC and the 1961 Convention and

therefore, upon application, will be included in a Naturalization Bill. The two groups consist of those who have

applied for Danish nationality before they turned 21 years, and those who have been wrongfully advised about

their rights to acquire a nationality under the Conventions.

In addition, the Ministry of Justice refers to an earlier practice introduced by the Ministry of Integration in March

2011, regarding a third group of stateless persons who would be included in a Naturalization Bill under the rules of

the CRC and the 1961 Convention, even if they applied for Danish nationality after they had turned 21 years and had

not been wrongfully advised about their rights to acquire a nationality under the Conventions. However persons in

this third group had to apply for Danish Nationality before 1 March 2012.

According to the Ministry, Denmark is not obliged to grant nationality to persons who have not received incorrect

guidance before they turned 21 years.

This interpretation of Denmark’s international obligations warrants consideration since, for a number of years, the

1961 Convention was not incorporated and the CRC was not fully incorporated in Danish law. During these years,

stateless persons born in Denmark were not (fully) informed about their entitlement to Danish nationality and this

omission may in itself have been misleading.

273

This was recognized by the former Minister for Integration when

she introduced the first transitional rule that had a broader personal scope.

271

272

Section 32(1) of the Naturalization Circular

See the Danish text, available at the website of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, ‘Stateless persons born in Denmark’. Available

at:

http://uim.dk/arbejdsomrader/statsborgerskab/statslose-fodt-i-danmark-1.

See Eva Ersbøll:

Dansk indfødsret i international og historisk belysning

(2007), p. 749.

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Indeed, even though the national legal system contains provisions to prevent statelessness, the rules are not always

apparent to persons who could make use of them. This viewpoint has for example been voiced by a member of

the Bhutanese culture organization, who was not aware of the entitlement to acquire nationality if a child born in

Denmark is otherwise stateless. Most of the Bhutanese who arrived to Denmark up to 2012 were illiterate and it was

difficult for them to find the necessary information on the internet. According to the organization, it is not enough

to disseminate information at the language schools. Many Bhutanese had difficulties in understanding general

information. In the organization’s opinion, information should be provided by the municipality, the ‘accompanying

group’ or a ‘spokesperson’. This way, this population would be better informed on the option to obtain nationality

for their children.

Given that Article 12 in the 1961 Convention expressly provides that States Parties’ obligations under Articles 1

and 4 are to be retroactive, the establishment of a cut-off age for stateless persons born in Denmark to apply for

Danish nationality – where such persons may have been kept in ignorance of their rights under Article 1 or 4 – is

not permitted under the 1961 Convention.

4.2.1.1.4 Political concern with regard to convention obligations and 2018 dialogue with UNHCR

274

What has caused some concern in relation to the naturalization of persons born stateless in Denmark is the 1961

Convention’s conduct requirements. According to the Convention, a state may require that a stateless applicant

has not been convicted of an offence against national security and not been sentenced to imprisonment for a

term of five years or more on a criminal charge. Several politicians in the Danish Parliament are critical of the

requirements in Article 1(2), which they consider “out of date”

275

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service has three times, in the years 2011 – 2013, informed the Minister of

Justice that among the applicants listed in a biannual naturalization bill was a Danish-born stateless applicant who

might be a danger to national security without fulfilling these requirements. For cases not pertaining to stateless

persons, the general rule is that, if the Security and Intelligence Service considers an applicant a possible security

threat, that person is removed from the naturalization bill and excluded from naturalization for a period of normally

five years, as provided in Section 21 of the Naturalization Circular.

The political parties in Parliament were divided when debating the three naturalization bills, which included a

Danish-born stateless person who was considered a possible security risk. One political party decided to vote

against the adoption of the bills; others wanted to refuse the application for naturalization.

276

A majority in Parliament

has asked the Government to re-negotiate the interpretation or the content of Article 1(2) of the 1961 Convention.

Still, in the three concrete cases, a parliamentary majority voted for acting in accordance with the 1961 Convention,

and the three stateless applicants have acquired Danish nationality by naturalization.

Related questions on the interpretation of the 1961 Convention have been debated. One is whether it is in

accordance with the 1961 Convention to require that Danish-born stateless applicants make a solemn declaration

confirming that they have not been found guilty of a crime against the state and have not been sentenced to

imprisonment for five years or more.

277

In early 2018, the Government of Denmark reached out to UNHCR to start a dialogue on the interpretation of

the 1961 Convention with regard to stateless applicants for Danish citizenship who at the time of application are

charged or indicted for serious crimes or assessed as a potential threat to national security.

274

275

This section was drafted by UNHCR

Article 1(2)(c) of the 1961 Convention reads “that the person concerned has neither been convicted of an offence against national security

nor has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of five years or more on a criminal charge” in order to be eligible to acquire nationality

through application in accordance with the Convention.

See for instance the parliamentary debate of bill L 11 (2011-2012) accessible at

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20111/lovforslag/l11/index.htm.

This is a requirement for naturalization in Danish practice.

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In the course of the dialogue, the Government of Denmark produced an outline for an approach for the processing

of applications from stateless applicants under the 1961 Convention.

278

The approach will allow the Ministry of

Immigration and Integration to postpone the processing of citizenship applications from stateless applicants whom

the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) assesses as a potential threat to national security, or who at

the time of application are charged or indicted for offences against national security or a criminal offence that can

result in imprisonment of 5 years or more. In such cases, the application will not be rejected, but action on it will

be postponed, as long as PET assesses the applicant to constitute a threat to national security, or the charge or

indictment is in force and the resolution of these issues is pending.

The postponement is conditional on the continued existence of justified grounds and periodic review conducted

by the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, which will biannually and by its own initiative request a renewed

security assessment of the concerned applicant by the PET or confirm that the charge or indictment is still in force.

Furthermore, it is required that the postponement does not result in the applicant not receiving a decision on his

or her application within “a reasonable time”.

279

The assessment on the “reasonable time” requirement will be

undertaken by the Ministry of Immigration and Integration. In situations where a decision should be made in view of

the overall case processing time, the Ministry will submit the application to the Danish Parliament’s Naturalisation

Committee with a report referring to the obligations under the 1961 Convention.

In August 2018, the Government of Denmark and UNHCR exchanged letters, in which UNHCR concurred that the

new approach is in line with the object and purpose of the 1961 Convention.

280

4.2.1.2 Birth outside the State’s Territory

Article 4 of the 1961 Convention sets forth the obligation of a Contracting State to “grant

its nationality to a person,

not born in the territory of a Contracting State, who would otherwise be stateless, if the nationality of one of his

parents at the time of the person’s birth was that of that State.”

Danish nationality law largely follows the principle of

jus sanguinis.

As noted above, as of 1 July 2014, a child born

to a Danish father, a Danish mother, or a Danish co-mother will acquire Danish nationality at birth, irrespective of

where that birth occurs.

281

This development was prompted by The European Court of Human Right’s judgment in

Genovese case.

282

Prior to this amendment, a child born out of wedlock to a Danish father and a foreign mother would acquire Danish

nationality at birth only if born on Danish territory.

283

In other words, a child born abroad and out of wedlock to a

Danish father and a foreign mother would not automatically at birth acquire Danish nationality under the old rule.

284

However, such child could acquire Danish nationality by naturalization without fulfilling the normal requirements if

the father had part in the parental authority. This last-mentioned condition was abolished in May 2013. At that time

the Naturalization Circular was amended, also prompted by the

Genovese case,

to allow such a child to be listed

278

Ministry of Immigration and Integration,

Brief on Processing of applications for Danish citizenship by naturalisation from applicants

covered by the UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of 1961(the 1961 Convention), and who PET (the Danish Security and

Intelligence Service) assesses as a potential threat to national security, or who are charged or indicted for offences against national

security or a criminal offence that can result in imprisonment of 5 years or more,

16 August 2018, available at:

https://bit.ly/2Dgjmyo.

The reasonable time requirement derives directly from the Art. 10 of the ECN concerning the processing of applications relating to the

acquisition, retention, loss, recovery or certification of nationality.

UNHCR,

Letter from UNHCR to the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration,

28 August 2018, available

at:

https://www.ft.dk/samling/20171/almdel/IFU/bilag/152/1935206.pdf.

Act No. 729 of 25 June 2014, amending Section 1 of the Nationality Act. Note that under Danish law, Danish citizens born and resident

abroad are subject to nationality retention requirements. For a discussion of these rules,

see

section 4.3.4,

infra.

See above note 255.

The Consolidated Nationality Act No. 422 of 7 June 2004.

Under Section 2 of the Danish Nationality Act, a child born out of wedlock to a Danish father and an alien mother and who has not

acquired Danish nationality at birth will acquire Danish nationality through the subsequent marriage of the parents. To benefit from this

rule, the child must be unmarried and under 18 years of age at the time of the marriage of the parents.

279

280

281

282

283

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on the naturalization bill, regardless of whether the father shared the parental authority and, importantly, the effect

was retroactive for all the children born after 11 October 1993 who had not acquired Danish citizenship before.

285

In sum, Danish law, prior to 31 December 2018, allows for transmission of Danish nationality to all children born to

at least one Danish national, irrespective of whether the child would otherwise be stateless or of whether the child

was born in the territory of a Contracting State. It is thus over-compliant with Article 4 of the 1961 Convention, and

Denmark is to be commended.

4.2.1.3 Other path to naturalization

Under Section 6(2), cf. Section 5 of the Danish Nationality Act, children of naturalizing parents may acquire Danish

nationality simultaneously with the parent. This provision could benefit some stateless children of among others

refugee parents who naturalize.

4.2.1.4 Foundlings

Article 2 of the 1961 Convention provides, “A

foundling found in the territory of a Contracting State shall, in the

absence of proof to the contrary, be considered to have been born within that territory of parents possessing the

nationality of that State.”

It has been argued that this rule has become an international customary norm and it has

been reiterated in other international and regional conventions.

286

At a minimum, the safeguard for Contracting

States to grant nationality to foundlings is to apply to all young children who are not yet able to communicate

accurately information pertaining to the identity of their parents or their place of birth. This flows from the object

and purpose of the 1961 Convention and also from the right of every child to acquire a nationality. A contrary

interpretation would leave some children stateless.”

287

Under Section 1(2) of the Danish Nationality Act, a child found abandoned in Denmark will, in the absence of

evidence to the contrary, be considered a Danish national. A foundling’s automatic acquisition of nationality at birth

is based on the presumption that at least one of the parents is Danish. Under Danish law, if “proof to the contrary”

is established (i.e., if it is proved that neither parent was a Danish citizen), the acquisition of Danish nationality at

birth

ex lege

is deemed null and void. This interpretation follows from the Danish constitution establishing that

nationality must be granted by the legislature. When considered that the prerequisite for acquisition of Danish

nationality (assumption of descent from a Danish parent) was not present, then nationality was never acquired.

The situation may be seen as a ‘loss of conditional citizenship’,

288

or as ‘quasi-loss’ of nationality because of the

change in personal status.

289

Still, such a situation of statelessness may be remedied by the Danish Parliament/the

Naturalization Committee, which, upon application, may grant Danish nationality by naturalization irrespective of

whether the normal conditions for naturalization are fulfilled. According to a practice introduced in 2013, problems

of statelessness and protection of legitimate expectations are normally solved this way.

290

In spite of this, formal legal safeguard against statelessness in relation to loss of nationality are not applicable

to these situations, since the person is not protected against statelessness under Danish nationality legislation.

285

Section 16 of the Naturalization Circular. Note that also before May 2013 a child born abroad and out of wedlock to a foreign mother and

a Danish father could be naturalized irrespective of whether the child could fulfill the general naturalization criteria if the father had part

in the parental authority of the child. In May 2013 the Naturalization Circular was amended repealing the prior condition on the father’s

parental authority as contrary to the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in

Genovese,

cf. note 255.

Waas, L.V.,

Nationality Matters,

pp. 70-71 and 90.

UNHCR Guidelines No. 4, para.

58.

See Gerard-René de Groot and Maarten Peter Vink:

A comparative Analysis of Regulations on Involuntary Loss of Nationality in the

European Union

(December 2014), available at:

https://bit.ly/2WZkzRu.

See Gerard-René de Groot and Patrick Wautelet:

Reflections on Quasi-loss of nationality in comparative, international and European

Perspective

(August 2014), available at:

https://bit.ly/39xlu0u.

See Eva Ersbøll: Loss of Nationality in the Nordic Countries, in

European Citizenship at the Crossroads, The Role of the European Union

on Loss and Acquisition of Nationality

(2015), p. 202 f.

286

287

288

289

290

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This implication must be considered in relation to the protection against statelessness in Article 5(1) of the 1961

Convention and Article 7(1)(f) of the ECN.

291

Article 2 of the 1961 Convention, by its plain text, requires not only that a State Party presume that a foundling was

born to parents possessing the nationality of that State, but also that the foundling was born within that territory.

Thus, even if it were, eventually, proved that a foundling had been born to non-Danish nationals, Article 2 still

requires that a State Party presumes – absent evidence to the contrary – that the foundling was born within that

State’s territory.

292

Assumedly, Danish law will be interpreted in accordance with the requirements of Article 2 of the 1961 Convention,

establishing a safeguard against statelessness for foundlings.

4.2.2 Birth on a ship or aircraft

Article 3 of the 1961 Convention provides that a “birth

on a ship or in an aircraft shall be deemed to have taken

place in the territory of the State whose flag the ship flies or in the territory of the State in which the aircraft is

registered, as the case may be.”

The provision should be interpreted as referring to all vessels registered in the

state. In addition, the provision applies equally to ships that are within the territorial water or a harbor of another

state as well as to an aircraft at an airport of another state.

293

No provision governing births aboard a ship or aircraft exists in Danish law. According to the Ministry of Justice

294

no such situation has ever occurred in practice,

295

but that if such a case should present itself, there is “every

probability” that it would be dealt with in accordance with the 1961 Convention.

296

It is therefore assumed here that Denmark would interpret its own laws in accordance with Article 3 of the 1961

Convention and thus deem a birth aboard a Danish-flagged ship or aircraft as having occurred on Danish territory,

although there seems to be a gap in Danish law with respect to such births.

A related problem concerning birth during a journey has been dealt with in Danish practice. A stateless woman

gave, prematurely, birth to a child on a one-day trip from Denmark to Sweden. The mother and the child returned

to Denmark the day after the birth, and the child’s birth registration was deleted from the Swedish registers. The

child did not acquire a nationality from the father either. The Danish Minister of Justice did not find that the child

was comprised by the CRC since the birth had not taken place in Denmark, while the Naturalization Committee of

the Parliament later granted the child Danish nationality in line with the object and the purpose of the CRC and the

1961 Convention.

291

Article 5(1) of the 1961 Convention allows loss as a consequence of a change in personal status as long as it does not lead to

statelessness. Article 7(1)(f) of the ECN allows for the loss of nationality on this ground but Article 7(3) ECN states that such loss of

nationality may not take place if it leads to statelessness.

Such a presumption would trigger the Article 1 requirements if the foundling were stateless.

UNHCR Guidelines No. 4,

paras. 62 and 63.

As of 28 November 2016 the Nationality Division is part of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.

This information was given during an interview with employees in the Nationality Division of the Ministry of Justice.

This information was given during an interview in August 2012 with the Nationality Division of the Ministry of Justice.

292

293

294

295

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4.2.3 Avoidance of statelessness upon change in civil status

Article 5(1) of the 1961 Convention provides:

1. If the law of a Contracting State entails loss of nationality as a consequence of any change in the personal

status of a person such as marriage, termination of marriage, legitimation, recognition or adoption, such

loss shall be conditional upon possession or acquisition of another nationality.

Although there is no express provision in Danish legislation providing for the loss of Danish nationality upon a

change in civil status, in practice, the termination of a family relationship that was the basis of acquisition of Danish

nationality can lead to a determination that Danish nationality was never acquired, e.g. in a situation where the

registered Danish father was found not to be the father. The acquisition of Danish nationality is considered null and

void. However, in such situations, the Danish Parliament/the Naturalization Committee may remedy situations of

statelessness by granting citizenship regardless of whether the normal naturalization criteria are fulfilled.

297

Still, it should be further examined whether the lack of legislation on prevention of loss of nationality in the context

of termination of family relationships could be at variance with Article 5(1) of the 1961 Convention.

4.2.4 Avoidance of statelessness in the context of

renunciation, loss or deprivation of nationality

National terminology regarding loss or deprivation of nationality varies among states. Because the distinctions are

often unclear, and the consequences are the same, loss and deprivation of nationality are discussed together. Both

mechanisms must be analyzed in terms of relevant international norms and standards.

298

Articles 7, 8, and 9 of the 1961 Convention contain detailed provisions governing the loss, renunciation, and

deprivation of nationality. Article 7(1) generally prevents states parties from permitting renunciation of nationality

“unless the person concerned possesses or acquires another nationality.” Article 7(2) contains a similar safeguard

against statelessness applicable in situations where the person concerned is seeking naturalization in a foreign

country. Article 7(3) establishes safeguards against statelessness for nationals abroad. In addition, Article 7(6)

prohibits automatic loss of nationality if it would render the person stateless, with certain enumerated exceptions.

Article 8 governs deprivation of nationality. Article 8(1) provides, “A

Contracting State shall not deprive a person of

its nationality if such deprivation would render him stateless.”

Articles 8(2) through 8(4) contain certain enumerated

exceptions, as well as important procedural safeguards.

Article 9 provides in its entirety: “A

Contracting State may not deprive any person or group of persons of their

nationality on racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds.”

Renunciation of Danish nationality is possible in cases where a person wishes to become a foreign national. The

renunciation is accepted on the condition that the person acquires the other nationality within a certain timeframe.

If a Danish national is also a foreign national and resides abroad, release cannot be denied, according to Section

297

298

Cf. above in section 4.2.1.4. about the practice introduced in 2013.

See

Human Rights Council, Twenty-fifth session, Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports

of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, “Human rights and arbitrary deprivation of nationality: Report of the

Secretary-General,” 19 December 2013, A/HRC/25/28. (discussing the ambiguity of terms and noting, “A common approach, which is

applied in the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, is to refer to “loss” with regard to the automatic lapse of nationality,

ex lege

and without State interference, and “deprivation” for administrative and judicial acts of competent national authorities invoking a

stipulation of the nationality law to withdraw nationality. While “loss” and “deprivation” cover two distinct processes, they both lead to the

same outcome: the person concerned is no longer considered a national by the State, and if he or she does not hold another nationality,

this leads to statelessness.”)

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9(2) of the Nationality Act.

299

If the person who wishes to be released from Danish nationality resides in Denmark,

renunciation is only accepted if the person in question has a justified reason for the renunciation.

Until 1 September 2015, Danish nationality was lost in cases when a Danish national acquired a foreign nationality

upon application or with his or her express consent, or where a Danish national acquired a foreign nationality by

entering the public service of another country (Sections 7(i) and 7(ii) of the Nationality Act). Unmarried children

who became foreign nationals together with their parents would also as a rule in such cases lose their Danish

nationality.

300

As of 1 September 2015, dual nationality is accepted. In addition, a transitional reacquisition provision will apply

for former Danish citizens who have lost their Danish nationality by acquisition of a foreign nationality. It is a

requirement that they have not been sentenced to imprisonment in the period between their loss of Danish

nationality and the submission of the declaration for reacquisition. They (and their children) may reacquire Danish

nationality by submitting a declaration to that effect within five years to the State Administration.

301

According to Section 8 of the Nationality Act, any person born abroad who has never lived nor been staying in

Denmark under circumstances indicating some association with the country, will lose his or her Danish nationality

automatically on attaining the age of 22 unless this will make the person stateless. The Ministry of Immigration

and Integration may however grant an application for retention of Danish nationality – if submitted before the

applicant’s 22nd birthday.

Deprivation of Danish nationality is possible in cases where the Danish nationality is acquired by fraudulent conduct

(Section 8A) and where a person is convicted of violation of Part 12 or 13 of the Criminal Code concerning crimes

against the state (Section 8B). In the latter case, deprivation of nationality may not take place if it makes the person

stateless. Cases of deprivation of nationality are resolved by court order, and the proceedings are governed by the

rules of administration of justice. Until now, courts have deprived a number of Danish nationals of their nationality

pursuant to Section 8A, while only six Danish nationals have been deprived of their Danish nationality pursuant to

Section 8B.

302

Predominantly, Danish nationality law is compatible with the international standards concerning loss, renunciation

and deprivation of nationality.

4.2.5 Reduction of statelessness

4.2.5.1 Naturalization

Article 32 of the 1954 Convention provides in full: “The

Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate

the assimilation and naturalization of stateless persons. They shall in particular make every effort to expedite

naturalization proceedings and to reduce as far as possible the charges and costs of such proceedings.”

303

299

Ibid.

It should also be noted that if the person who wishes to be released from Danish nationality resides in Denmark, renunciation is only

accepted if the person in question has a justified reason for renunciation.

Such children would however not lose Danish nationality if the child’s other parent remained Danish and had part in the parental authority

of the child, see former Section 7(iii) of the Nationality Act.

See Section 3 of the Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Nationality Act by providing for the acceptance of dual nationality.

See among other cases, the case referred in U 2009.2296Ø (on crimes against the state), U 2003.1600V and U 2010.3061Ø (on fraud).

These judgments are published at the website of EUDO, available at:

https://bit.ly/331VHwr.

See also the Supreme Court’s judgment of 29

November 2016 on deprivation of nationality pursuant to section 8A, available at

https://bit.ly/2BzELSq

and the two cases on deprivation

of nationality pursuant to section 8B: the Supreme Court judgment of 8 June 2016 available at

https://bit.ly/3hKiqBe

and the Supreme

Court judgment of 14. November 2017 available at

https://bit.ly/3hGu3ZQ.

Because special rules – both under international law and Danish law – govern stateless persons

born in

the territory of the State Party,

provisions in Danish law addressing such persons are discussed separately.

See

section 3.4.1.1.,

supra.

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301

302

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In Denmark, the naturalization criteria are not contained in the Nationality Act. Instead, they are agreed upon by

a majority among the political parties in Parliament and included in a Circular on Naturalization. It is fair to say

that the general naturalization criteria are strict, and almost all criteria apply for refugees and stateless persons

as well. According to the Circular, the only facilitation of these persons’ access to nationality (required by the 1951

Convention, the 1954 Convention and the ECN) is a slight reduction of the general residence requirement: the

general requirement of residence of nine years is reduced to residence of eight years.

304

As explained above, stateless children born in Denmark may be naturalized without fulfilling the regular

requirements for naturalization according to Section 17 of the Circular, stating that in accordance with the CRC,

children who are born stateless in Denmark may be listed in a Naturalization Bill if they are residents in Denmark.

Moreover, a provision implementing Article 1 of the 1961 Convention is now included in Section 26 of the Circular.

Otherwise, in order to obtain Danish nationality, a stateless person must satisfy the general conditions laid down

by (a majority among) the political parties in the Parliament and administered by the Ministry of Immigration and

Integration. Applicants for naturalization, who satisfy the conditions codified in the Naturalization Circular, will

be listed in a Naturalization Bill to be adopted by the Parliament.

305

The Naturalization Bills are introduced in

the Parliament, normally twice a year, in spring and in autumn. When a Naturalization Bill has been passed by

Parliament, the persons listed in the Bill, and as a rule their children, will acquire Danish nationality.

306

Ordinary naturalization is the most important mode for acquisition of Danish nationality after birth. As provided

for in Section 6 of the Nationality Act and the Naturalization Circular, foreigners may be naturalized if they have a

permanent residence permit and have resided in Denmark for nine years – or eight years in the case of stateless

persons and refugees – and fulfil other rather strict requirements. Among those requirements are proof of good

conduct and of the absence of a public debt, a certification of knowledge of the Danish language, passing of a

citizenship test and proof of having been self-supporting during the past two years and during four years and 8

months in total within the last five years.

Hence, the only “facilitation” of naturalization available today in Danish legislation and practice of stateless persons

and refugees, pursuant to Article 32 of the 1954 Convention and Article 34 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, is the

reduction of one year of the general residence requirement, from nine to eight years.

307

For many refugees and stateless persons this facilitation may be irrelevant insofar as they may not be able to

meet the other rather strict requirements for naturalization. It is questionable whether the limited reduction of the

residence requirement is sufficient to meet the obligation to ‘facilitate’ naturalization, considering among other

things that many refugees and stateless persons with limited school attendance (see, by way of example, the case

of Bhutanese refugees as explained above) are excluded from acquiring Danish nationality, as they cannot meet

the language and naturalization test requirements.

In this context, UNHCR would like to note that “[b]est

practices in European countries to facilitate naturalization

of immigrants, refugees and stateless persons include waiving language proficiency requirements and reducing

the number of years of lawful residence required.”

308

The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has long

recommended that each state should facilitate the naturalization of stateless persons, in particular reduce the

required period of residence for stateless persons; not make language requirements stringent; ensure accessibility

304

305

306

307

308

Section 7 of the Naturalization Circular.

See the Naturalization Circular section 7.

The Immigration Service, ‘Statistical Overview: Migration and Asylum 2011’ (English version), p. 46.

See the Naturalization Circular.

UNHCR intervention at the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Paris, 12

November 2012, para 22, available at:

http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/50f53c5d2.pdf.

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of procedures, avoid delay, and reduce fees; and ensure that offenses, when relevant to the acquisition of

nationality, not unreasonably prevent stateless persons from acquiring nationality.

309

Statistics Denmark provides information on the number of foreigners, including stateless persons, who have

obtained Danish nationality through naturalization each year in the period 2006-2017. They are included in figure

20.

Figure 20: Stateless persons obtaining Danish nationality (2006-2017)

2006 2007 2008 2009

Stateless

persons

All persons

Share of

stateless in

total

161

7,961

4,150

1.7%

126

6111

463

2010

246

2011

248

2012

128

3,671

2013

1,863

2.7%

2014

163

4,786

3.4%

2015

149

4,498

3.3%

2016

415

15,028

2.8%

2017

274

7,272

3.8%

6,869 3,833 4,467

6.7%

6.4%

5.5%

Source: SD (People, who changes into Danish citizenship by sex, age and former citizenship (DKSTAT) recorded

ultimo 2006-2017)

Figure 20 indicates that between 50 and 463 stateless persons were granted Danish nationality each year in the

period 2006-2017. In most years, less than 250 stateless persons were naturalized, while the number was only 69

persons in 2007 and 50 persons in 2013.

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The number of naturalized stateless persons increased dramatically in

2009 when 6.7 percent of all naturalized persons in Denmark were formerly stateless.

When comparing the numbers of stateless persons to the total number of foreign nationals who naturalized,

there is likewise a slight increase in the percentage of stateless persons obtaining Danish nationality in 2009 and

onwards. In the period 2006-2008, the percentage was around 1-2 per cent, while during the period between

2009 and 2011 the figure increased to encompass between 5-7 per cent of the total number of grants of nationality

to foreigners. Since 2012, the percentage has again decreased. In 2017, the share of stateless persons was 3.8

percent of all naturalized persons.

An increase in numbers of naturalized stateless persons in 2009 cannot be explained as an effect of the so-called

‘statelessness case’ (see Section 2.1.1). The latter may have caused a number of stateless persons to apply for

naturalization but most likely only as of 2011 when the rights of Danish born stateless persons became publicly well

known. The fact that the grants of nationality to stateless persons peaked already in 2009 may be explained as a

coincidence. The Nationality Division of the Ministry of Justice

311

has shared their impression that many applicants

were informed about Danish born stateless persons’ entitlement to nationality from other applicants, and that the

information was passed by word-of-mouth.

312

The increased number of naturalizations in 2016 is reflected in the

increase in the number of naturalized stateless persons in 2016.

313

309

Council of Europe, Committee of Ministers,

Recommendations No. R (99) 18 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the

avoidance and reduction of statelessness (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 15 September 1999 at the 679

meeting of the

Ministers’ Deputies),

available at:

http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/510101e02.pdf.

In 2007, as a consequence of the general election, only one Naturalisation Bill was adopted; consequently, in 2008, three Naturalisation

Bills were adopted, see Eva Ersbøll: On trial in Denmark, in Ricky van Oers, Eva Ersbøll and Dora Kostakopoulou:

Are-definition of

Belonging, Language and Integration Tests in Europe

(2010), p. 140.

As of 28 November 2016 the Nationality Division is part of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration.

The theory was explained during an interview on 29 August 2012 with the Nationality Division.

In 2015, only one naturalization bill was adopted, since the bill presented in Parliament 2015 was annulled due to a parliamentary election

this year; consequently, the following year, three naturalization bills were adopted by Parliament.

310

311

312

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According to the ministerial report of 2011 on the ‘statelessness case’, stateless children born in Denmark made up

a substantial part of the applicants who had been listed in Naturalization Bills in 2009 due to their fulfilment of all

the requirements in the Naturalization Circular. Stateless children born in Denmark made up between 9 and 16 per

cent of all applicants listed in the two Naturalization Bills in 2009 (121 and 254 children respectively). Likewise, in

the first half of 2010, before the re-establishment of a naturalization practice in accordance with the Conventions,

stateless children born in Denmark made up 10 per cent of all listed applicants (89 stateless children out of 913

applicants).

314

Figure 21 illustrates the number and legal grounds on which stateless persons have been listed in Naturalization

Bills from October 2010 to the end 2016.

315

Figure 21: Stateless persons listed in Naturalization Bills (2010-2016)

Oct

2010

Convention on

the Rights of the

Child

Convention on

the Reduction of

Statelessness

Standard

requirements

Total per bill

121

Apr

2011

Nov

2011

Apr

2012

Oct

2012

Apr.

2013

Oct.

2013

Apr.

2014

Oct.

2014

2015

2016

Total

492

(38%)

107

(8%)

701

(54%)

1,300

177

137

346

388

103

180

Source: Information from the Ministry of Immigration and Integration to the DIHR in letters of 29 April 2016 and

14 June 2017, and Naturalization Bills submitted to the Danish Parliament October 2010 – October 2014 (L38

316

L192

317

, L11

318

, L163

319

, L42

320

, L211

321

, L53

322

, L179

323

and L45

324

The figure indicates that up to 2014, around half (51 per cent) of stateless persons who had been included in Danish

Naturalization Bills since October 2010 were included on the basis of the CRC (358 persons). A relatively smaller

part of stateless persons (14 per cent) were included based on the 1961 Convention (106 persons), while around

a third (34 per cent) has obtained Danish nationality by fulfilling the general requirements applicable to stateless

immigrants applying for naturalization in Denmark (252 persons). In the period from October 2010 to October 2014,

732 stateless persons in total had been listed in Naturalization Bills. Among them, 480 persons had been listed on

the basis one of the two aforementioned Conventions.

However, in 2015, this picture changed with a significant increase of stateless applicants acquiring Danish nationality,

predominantly by fulfilling the standard requirements of naturalization. The fact that many more foreigners

314

See the report, Ministry of Integration, ‘Redegørelse

til statsministeren om Integrationsministeriets behandling af ansøgninger om

indfødsret fra statsløse personer født i Danmark’,

7 March 2011, available at:

https://bit.ly/2X10pGE.

In October 2010, the first Naturalization Bill was submitted to the Danish Parliament comprising a number of stateless applicants who did

not fulfil the general naturalization requirements.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20101/lovforslag/l38/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20101/lovforslag/L192/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20111/lovforslag/L11/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20111/lovforslag/L163/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20121/lovforslag/l42/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20121/lovforslag/l211/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20131/lovforslag/l53/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20131/lovforslag/l179/index.htm.

http://www.ft.dk/samling/20141/lovforslag/l45/index.htm.

315

316

317

318

319

320

321

322

323

324

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naturalized in 2016 than the preceding years can explain that also more stateless persons were naturalized that

year.

325

In any case, there has been a decrease in the annual number of stateless persons born in Denmark who have

been naturalized based on the 1961 Convention and the CRC. From statistics, it appears that many (520) Danish

born stateless children are entitled to Danish nationality, but have not naturalized.

326

The higher numbers of

naturalizations of Danish born stateless children and young people in the wake of the so-called “statelessness

case” can be seen against the background of the direct information that Danish born stateless persons received in

individual letters from the authorities in March 2011 about their entitlement to Danish nationality.

327

Since then, no

such direct information has been given.

Some difficulties are experienced with regard to naturalization. Decisions taken by the Parliamentary Naturalization

Committee do not contain reasons in writing, and the right to a review is not generally recognized (no administrative

review and courts may rule on possible human rights violations, but cannot revoke refusals of naturalization).

Moreover, historically, the fee for naturalization of every stateless child (who applies independently) may, especially

in large families, have been an obstacle for naturalization. As of 1 September 2015, however, all children are

exempted from the requirement of paying a fee for naturalization.

The Danish-Palestinian Friendship Association explained in 2012 that even after the “statelessness-case”, some of

the stateless persons who were entitled to Danish nationality were met with a refusal from the police who had not

been sufficiently informed about the new practice on naturalization of Danish stateless persons who do not fulfil

the general requirements. The association established an organization, ‘the Nationality Organization’ (in Danish

‘Statsborgerforeningen’) for stateless persons born in Denmark. The organization advised stateless persons about

their entitlement to Danish nationality. Seventeen stateless persons took legal action against the Danish state and

the then Minister for Integration concerning damages for pain and suffering due to the wrongful refusals of their

applications for Danish nationality. The case against the ministry has been settled by the Eastern High Court that

in a judgement of 21 December 2016 decided that seven of the applicants were entitled to compensation, DKK

20,000 (2667 €) for the wrongdoings.

328

The case against the former Minister for Integration is pending.

4.2.5.2 Other modes

Filial extension of nationality by naturalization is conditioned on the parent(s) having custody over the child, the

child being unmarried and under the age of 18 and residing in Denmark.

329

In addition, if a child is over the age of

15, among others, the normal requirement regarding the lack of a criminal record applies.

330

Some adopted children acquire Danish nationality automatically through adoption. According to Section 2A(1) of

the Nationality Act, as amended in December 2014, this applies to an alien child under 12 years of age adopted

through a Danish adoption order if the child is adopted by a married or cohabiting couple where at least one of

the spouses or the cohabiting partners is a Danish national, or by a single Danish national. The same applies in

cases where the child was adopted by a decision taken abroad which is valid under the Danish Act on Adoption of

Children (Section 2A(3) of the Nationality Act).

331

325

326

327

Due to the parliamentary election in Spring 2015, only one naturalization bill was adopted in 2015, while three bills were adopted in 2016.

Information from Statistic Denmark on the number of stateless children born in Denmark, as of 1 July 2017.

As mentioned in section 2.1.1, in a letter of 3 March 2011, the 378 stateless persons born in Denmark were informed that the 1961

Convention and the CRC, under certain conditions, entitle persons born stateless in Denmark to the nationality of their country of birth.

The letter listed the conditions to be applied in Danish practice and informed about the use of an application form and an application fee.

See about the judgement at

https://bit.ly/305psKC.

Section 6(2) of the Nationality Act, cf. section 5.

See information about this condition that is applied in practice on the website of the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, available at:

https://bit.ly/30WJeam.

See the latest amendment of Section 2A(1), available at:

https://www.retsinformation.dk/forms/r0710.aspx?id=167302.

328

329

330

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Adopted children over the age of 12 years may acquire Danish nationality by naturalization after two years of

residence before their 18

birthday.

332

Other conditions apply, among others the requirement of the lack of a

criminal record.

333

4.3

Conclusions and recommendations

Denmark has taken commendable steps by (re)introducing some of the provisions of the 1961 Convention and

the CRC relating to every child’s right to a nationality and prevention of childhood statelessness in its nationality

legislation. In principle, Denmark has relatively strong standards in place with regard to preventing stateless, but

certain gaps in Danish nationality legislation allow situations where a child might be left stateless for an extended

period of time. Therefore, in order to ensure full compliance with the requirements set out in the 1961 Convention,

and with related provisions in the CRC and ICCPR, it is recommended that Denmark considers introducing automatic

acquisition of nationality at birth for those children who are born stateless in the country.

If Denmark opts to continue to grant its nationality through an application procedure, it is recommended that

stateless children who are born in Denmark and who reside in the country habitually without having a lawful

residence, are allowed to submit their application as soon as possible after birth in order not to be left stateless for

an extended period of time.

In any event, it is recommended that Danish born stateless children and young persons who are entitled to Danish

nationality are informed about the entitlement individually.

Due to the specific Danish naturalization process where nationality is granted by the legislature, there is a lack of

procedural guarantees for applications for nationality to be processed within a reasonable time, to be subject to

appeal or judicial review, and to be reasoned. It is therefore recommended that Denmark assesses to what extent

the existing procedure might be discretionary and whether the right to acquire nationality for those children born

in Denmark who would otherwise be stateless should be incorporated in the Nationality Act in order to ascertain

full compliance with Article 1 of 1961 Convention and relevant international standards.

Moreover, fees should not be charged in case of stateless persons who are entitled to Danish nationality; thus,

the exemption for paying fees ought to also comprise stateless persons born on the territory who have turned 18.

A real, substantial facilitation of naturalization should also be provided for stateless persons not born stateless

in Denmark. Specifically, an exemption from the language and nationality tests could be provided for elderly

stateless persons, who may otherwise be prevented from acquiring Danish nationality like their family members.

In addition, it is recommended that the Nationality Act be amended in such a way that children of parents with

unknown nationality are treated like foundlings and thus considered Danish nationals as long as they have not

been established as nationals of a foreign state.

Finally, it is recommended that the Nationality Act is amended in such a way to include safeguards against

statelessness in case of loss and deprivation of nationality in any form, including when a nationality is considered

never to have been acquired because conditions for the acquisition of nationality are deemed not to have been

met in the first place (‘quasi

loss’).

332

333

According to Section 14 of the Naturalization Circular.

See conditions applying to children who may apply for nationality independently on the website of the Ministry of Immigration and

Integration, available at:

https://bit.ly/2P3gnM8.

UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries

IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

CONCLUDING REMARKS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

Since 2011, a number of positive changes to Danish aliens and nationality legislation, as well as in administrational

practices, have been adopted. A statelessness registration procedure was introduced in 2011, and the Danish

nationality legislation has been amended in such a way that it now prevents statelessness when it comes to acquisition

of Danish nationality by descent (all children with a Danish parent acquire Danish nationality automatically at birth).

Overall, statelessness as a distinct human rights issue, which has consequences for the individuals concerned, and

for States like Denmark, which are Parties to the 1954 and 1961 Conventions, is generally well perceived among

government authorities, NGOs, and the public at large.

It is also noteworthy that Denmark is a party to most conventions adopted with a view to protect stateless persons

and reduce, and prevent statelessness. Provisions from the CRC and the 1961 Convention have been incorporated

in the Naturalization Circular, and the Nationality Act’s provisions on loss, renunciation and deprivation of Danish

nationality include legal safeguards and protection against statelessness (except in the case of deprivation due to

fraud as well as

quasi-loss

of nationality).

Moreover, the Danish Supreme Court has established that refusals of Danish nationality may be subject to judicial

review in terms of possible human rights violations.

However, certain gaps have been identified, among others with regards to ensuring that stateless persons can

enjoy the rights they are entitled to and that stateless persons born in Denmark do not remain stateless for an

extended period of time, as well as in compiling and maintaining data and statistics on stateless people. Therefore,

in order to facilitate Denmark’s full compliance with its obligations under the 1954 and 1961 Conventions, as well

as other relevant international standards as set in instruments such as the CRC and ICCPR, and to ensure that

stateless persons are able to enjoy the rights to which they are entitled, UNHCR makes the following suggestions

and recommendations with the aim at improving the current legal framework, practice and administrative capacity.

Identiﬁcation and registration of statelessness

It is recommended that:

•

Data collection between various government institutions in charge of registering stateless persons is

harmonized

in order to ensure a consistent approach and data covering stateless persons in Denmark.

•

Further research is undertaken

to provide an updated and full picture of the human face of statelessness in

Denmark, including interviews with stateless persons in Denmark.

•

Information about the possibility to re-register in the CPR system as a stateless person and to acquire Danish

nationality is made available

in languages that the persons concerned understand.

•

Flexibility is considered in relation to documentary requirements

imposed on stateless persons.

Determination of stateless persons and the rights attached to the status

It is recommended that:

•

The statelessness registration procedure is further developed to determine who, within Danish territory,

is stateless, including persons in detention or deportation centres who cannot be expelled (the so-called

“unreturnable”).

The most effective way to ensure Denmark meet its international obligations towards stateless

persons under the 1954 Convention and international human rights law is through the establishment of an

accessible and efficient statelessness determination procedure that identifies stateless persons on Danish

Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

territory, in line with the requirements elaborated in the UNHCR

Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons

and leads to the status of stateless person. Such a procedure could be established within the Danish Immigration

Service, and build upon existing structures and competencies.

•

Provisions guaranteeing applicants, as well as persons recognized as stateless, the respective rights to

which they are entitled under the 1954 Convention are introduced in the legislation.

The UNHCR

Handbook

on Protection of Stateless Persons

describes which rights applicants for the statelessness status are entitled to,

and which are reserved for persons determined to be stateless.

•

A speciﬁc residence permit be introduced for persons recognized as stateless

and that these stateless

persons be granted the “lawfully staying” rights guaranteed by the 1954 Convention, as elaborated in the UNHCR

Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons.

•

The deﬁnition of a stateless person is incorporated in the Aliens Act

in line with Article 1 of the 1954 Convention.

•

The Aliens Act is amended in such a way that a person’s statelessness may give rise to an exemption

from the

requirement that a person is not able to return to another country during 18 months before qualifying for a right

of residence under Section 9(c)(2) of the Aliens Act.

•

Consideration will be given in cases of family reuniﬁcation for stateless persons

on whether the current

guidelines are sufficient to ensure a careful assessment of the parties’ possibilities to enjoy a family life in another

country in cases where the family life may be pursued in the other country, however under living conditions that

are not of an appropriate standard.

•

Denmark withdraws its reservations to the 1954 Convention.

Prevention and reduction of statelessness

It is recommended that:

•

The rights to acquire Danish nationality by children and young persons born on the territory who would

otherwise be stateless are incorporated in the Nationality Act

(and not limited to the Naturalization Circular). In

this regard, it is also recommended to examine whether the current naturalization procedure is discretionary and

thereby incompliant with the requirements under Article 1 of the 1961 Convention.

•

A more inclusive approach is adopted to the implementation of the provisions of Articles 3 and 7 of the CRC

and Article 1 of the 1961 Convention

allowing children who are born stateless in Denmark to acquire Danish

nationality at birth automatically,

ex lege.

Pursuant to Article 1(1)(a) of the 1961 Convention, and Articles 7 and 3 of

the CRC, UNHCR recommends states to grant children born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless

citizenship automatically at birth.

•

If Denmark opts to continue to grant its nationality through an application procedure,

stateless children who

are born in Denmark and who reside in the country habitually without having a lawful residence, are allowed to

submit their application as soon as possible after birth in order not to be left stateless for an extended period of

time.

•

Danish born stateless children and young stateless persons who are entitled to Danish nationality should

be informed

about the entitlement individually, and that the provision in the Naturalization Circular on the

application procedure for Danish born stateless children is amended in such a way that the present condition of

‘lawful residence’ in Denmark is replaced by the condition of ‘habitual residence’, as allowed under Article 1(2) of

the 1961 Convention, and as per UNHCR’s

Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4.

•

The concept of habitual residence is further deﬁned in Danish legislation

in order to ensure consistent

application and interpretation of the concept.

•

Fees are not charged in the case of stateless persons entitled to Danish nationality;

thus, the exemption for

paying fees should also comprise Danish born stateless persons who have turned 18.

UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries

IFU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 59: UNHCR og FN's Flygtningeorganisations rapport Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

•

A real, substantial facilitation of naturalization is provided for stateless persons born outside the territory of

Denmark.

Specifically, it is recommended that an exemption from the language and nationality tests be provided

for elderly stateless persons, who may otherwise be prevented from acquiring Danish nationality like their family

members.

•

The Nationality Act is amended in such a way that children of parents with unknown nationality are treated

like foundlings

and thus considered Danish nationals as long as they have not been established as nationals of

a foreign state.

•

The Nationality Act is amended to include safeguards against statelessness in case of loss and deprivation

of nationality

in any form, including when a nationality is considered never to have been acquired because

conditions for the acquisition of nationality are deemed not to have been met in the first place.

Mapping Statelessness in Denmark

STATELESSNESS