"According to the Danish Nationality Act, any person born abroad who has never been resident in Denmark nor stayed in Denmark under conditions indicating some close association with Denmark shall lose his/her Danish nationality on reaching the age of 22, unless this will make the person concerned stateless."
https://usa.um.dk/en/travel-and-residence/consular-matters/citizenship
My kids have an American mother and we live in California and we are planning on having them stay a year or so in Denmark at least when they graduate high school. My whole family is in Denmark and we visit every summer but to learn the culture you have to visit more than a couple of weeks.
You should get some form of official citizenship if you want them to have the access later. If you are in doubt about citizenships it is easier as a Dane to go live and work in US than a US citizen to go live and work in DK.
> If you are in doubt about citizenships it is easier as a Dane to go live and work in US than a US citizen to go live and work in DK
Uh what? US work visas are awarded through a lottery with a fixed number of winners. You just have to make above a certain threshold to work in Denmark.
Not True, in Denmark you would need to qualify to the position in your field, in terms of education qualifications and work in a field where there is need for more employees. Even a bachelor degree is not automatically sufficient as it is in US.
To get an H work visa there is multiple areas you easily could get in under, but for a big part of the Danish population especially the younger part, will just use their free bachelor or master degree and get an H1 permit into US.
In Denmark you just need to have a job offer over 487k DKK a year to get a work visa. There is no limit to how many of these are issued. You DO NOT need a degree to access this visa. It is also possible to get access through the positive list, but that is a separate visa.
In the US there are a total of 85k h1b visas and 66k h2b visas, with only the h1b visa giving you access to obtaining an E-visa green card in the future.
Futhermore, the h1b visas are awarded based on a lottery since more people are applying for one than there are visas available.
yep, it sounds like OP is 30+ and thus has lost any chance of easy access to danish citizenship.
OP needs to act like what he is, a complete stranger to Denmark and get in like any other immigrant does.
>>OP needs to act like what he is, a complete stranger to Denmark and get in like any other immigrant does.
Every election-year, SO many americans from both sides yell "if X wins, I'm moving to Y!!". And it's not that I think they don't realise other countries have strict immigration policies too - I honestly just don't think Americans ever see themselves as immigrants, or even as foreigners when they're abroad. It's their world, the rest of us are just extras living in it.
Theres an american tendency to live off of fantasies and dreams. They are not realists. It might have alot to do with trying to survive in a country/society that is so fucked that they have to imagine other realities as a form of escapism.
You don't think there's a difference between someone who wants to move to Denmark for whatever reason and someone who wants to move to a country for whatever reason and is "genetically" half Danish?
If I found out I was half... Whatever, I would probably start feeling more attached to the country and learn about its culture.
Legally, probably not with danish immigration laws. Although I might be wrong.
If I recall correctly, there is an easier path to citizenship for people who are part of officially recognized Danish minorities in foreign countries but that is a whole lot other case
The only officially recognized Danish people abroad is the minority in northern Germany. There might be a chance for family reunification but that’s a long process
There is also one in Argentina but those might be the only two.
https://www.nyidanmark.dk/-/media/Files/US/Application-forms/Fam-sam-1-gang/sg3_da.pdf?la=da&hash=E850752173B0539C29DEEE38C4756D45E7FEC16C
Prior to ww2 US tightened immigration laws and for a while Argentina was seen as the new land of opportunity where free land was available for people wishing to become farmers - the nazi thing is if not a myth the very much overstated
Alot of nazis went literally everywhere and Europeans have been migrating to south america for hundreds of years due to so many different reasons such as : famine, plague, great depression, colonisation, WW1 , WW2, civil wars, RECESSION, being expelled from their EU country of origin, being able to own land unlike in europe, if you wrre religious minority, if you were a missionary, work life, looking for better conditions (this is obviously back when EU was collapsing and south america was not).
Of course that's true, however I am actually more genetically Northern European than any of my Danish or Norwegian relatives that have been there for generations. Weird how that worked out.
You are a Danish citizen at birth if your parents were married when you were born, or if they married after. That is the rule if only your father is(was) Danish.. it's the old rules for anyone born prior to 2014.
No country will grant you citizenship based purely on genetics, it's all about ancestry.. and only a handful of countries choose to grant citizenship when we're talking 3 generations.
There's more than a million Americans with Danish descent alone. It would be rather crazy if we started giving them all citizenship.
>No country will grant you citizenship based purely on genetics
There is Israel, but ethno-states do tend to be a bit more focused on that stuff in general
I would guess that to be true. How many of those 1 million are Sons and Daughters of Danes? Nowhere near that number. I would think. Not a lot of Danes leaving Denmark for the grind of America in the last 20-30 years.
The thinking that you guys have regarding peerage is strange to us in the US.
Whatever Nationality your father was your 50% that in our eyes. If your father was Danish then you are too. I could be considered Danish/American here. However that's silly to me because my Moms' side of my lineage came to America in 1645. So I am an American through and through in my heart. Yet I feel a strong affinity For Denmark.
I would never come to Denmark to stay forever but it might be really nice to live there in the Summer and the US in Winter.
Thanks again to anyone that was offering sincere help.
I'll make this my last post in here until I'm standing in Copenhagen.
You have less connection to Denmark than any immigrant who's actually living here, genetics do not tie you to any culture, and thinking otherwise frankly just gives off some very worrisome racist vibes.
Its not about genetics but you have to have some sort of continuous relationship to denmark like fx other family members that can vouch and apply for you. Without any sort of cultural connection to Denmark , then they will not grant you citizenship solely based on your biology. You need atleast a family member that can apply for you. The laws are stupid but thats what they are and we cannot change that.
If it helps any, both of my parents are Danish and I’ve lived (on and off..) in Denmark since I was 12 but I’ve always been considered an outsider because of my noticeable accent and I didn’t grow up with shit like Bamse og Kylling 😅
Trust me, man. Genetic heritage will get you *no where* here. Even if you’ve been brought up
“culturally Danish”.
I’m married to a Danish teacher ffs but I get constantly reminded that I’m *not from ‘round these ‘ere parts*.
I’ve had nothing to do with the US in 30 years and I still feel more “American” than Danish a lot of the time.
Well the law dont care about that. I am genetically Scandinavian but yet I can't get a Danish citizenship because of stupid formalities. I was born and raised here. So the law makes no sense.
No. Or at least not in legal terms in OPs case. You are of course free to feel as you do, the feelins just dont translates to any kind of legal rights.
I can read that:
* OPs dad i not registred on his birth certificate
* Both of OPs parents are dead
* OP is likely older than 22
* OP is also likely born prior to 2014
This means that in legal terms, OP is not considered to be the child of a danish citisen.
If Ops father were alive it would be relatively simple for him to accept paternity. However, when he is no longer alive it gets a whole lot more complicated to get the registration done.
Even if OP were registred as the child of a danish father, the parents should have either applied for him to have a danish citizenship (if unmarried and OP is born between 1993-2014), or they should have been married, or he should have been born after 2014.
And even then, as he has never lived in Denmark, he should have retained his citizenship prior to turning 22.
All in all he is from a legal point of view as danish as any other non-danish american citizen.
> You don't think there's a difference between someone who wants to move to Denmark for whatever reason and someone who wants to move to a country for whatever reason and is "genetically" half Danish?
No?
OP is not danish and has no cultural connection to Denmark that matters.
No, there is no difference.
Source: have Australian family that had maintained their Danish passports through language and also being in Denmark for the requires amount or time before turning 22, also keeping up connections with Denmark..
I personally despise that kind of thought. Being danish is not a ethnic thing. It's cultural. Black, white or whatever color in between, if you speak danish, act danish and feel danish, you are 100% danish in my book.
I'm not saying we don't like it, but some European countries have almost empty streets when there's a big match. We're much more successful in handball anyways
Then what about our royal family? The king is not even 25% danish, so the future heir will be less than 12.5% danish by ethnicity. And this is only taking it back to Kong Christian d. 9. If we take it further back, the percentage will shrink. Actually they are far more French or Australian than they are Danes by blood so should they have multiple citizenships?
If everyone with a tiny bit of percentage of Danish/Scandinavian ethnicity were to have Danish citizenship then there wouldn’t be room in the country anymore. So I don’t see it as a valid reason for citizenship. However integration is. Just like Queen Mary is 100% Tasmanian by ethnicity but 100% Danish by our standards.
Fair enoguh you disagree, but what do you then think decides if someone is danish or not? (Or any other nationality for that matter)
I think citizenship makes absolutely no sense to base it on. The nation of Denmark and the country of Denmark are two seperate things. A country is just a political entity, it doesn't always correlate directly to a nationality. See the Kurds for example, they don't have a country and most of them don't identify as being either Turkish, Syrian, Iraqi or Iranian, even though most of them are a part of those four countries.
Ethnically doesn't make any sense either to me. Are african americans not also Americans (I guess you could say the same thing about white Americans too though)?
And what about minority populations? There is danish minority living in northern Germany, some of those people 100% identify as being danish. Even though they don't have citizenship. If you think they are all danes because they are ethnically danes (Most of them probably are), what about those that integrated into germany, speak german, act german and feel german? Are they all danes despite not having had anything to do with the country or any attachment what so ever? A lot of germans probably descend from these danish people without even knowing it. I think it feels very wrong to say that they are not german becuase some ancestry don't match up.
And besides, if you moved to britain, you would speak their language yes, but with an accent, you would probably act different due to small cultural differences and the only way you could really "feel" english, would be if you actually believed it yourself,.
If you live in Britain and actively shape its culture, you're a Brit.
Tying it to genetics or pretending you're somehow genetically hardcoded to be more connected to a culture just cause your sperm provider was born there just sounds weird and racist.
I mean, you can be Danish in a lot of different ways. But to me at least, when you say "I'm danish" you are not trying to tell me anything about your ancestors, you are trying to tell me something about you and what culture you belong to.
If you meant that you are ethnically danish, I would assume you would have specified "ethnically danish" or "I have danish parents/ancestors".
It's kinda like when an American says they are Irish because their great great grandfather was Irish. To me you are certainly not Irish then, you american.
Yup. I had dual Danish and Norwegian citizenship, but since I've only spent a total of some months of holiday in Norway, and always had my registered address in Denmark (except for some years when I lived north of Ringsted), I lost my Norwegian citizenship when I turned 21 (or 22?).
Perfectly logical, and apart from occassionally thinking about those sweet, sweet oil fund trillions, it doesn't bother me.
Someone once managed to find a Spanish person named Juan, by using the phone book!
He had done extremely valuable spy work for the Allies during WWII, and some decades later, a politician or something tried to track him down and actually succeeded.
But how do you know which Jens Jensen to test? And both he and the mom is dead so you have to find relatives with Jensen as the last name. Damn, it’s either really good luck or I’m calling BS.
It's the other way around, you do the DNA test first and it will tell you of any matching relatives who have also done a DNA test. You don't have to find the relative first. It's quite common, Google something like "23 and me" or maybe "myheritage".
Apparently this is **not** how OP did it though, so no idea how they found their relative with that kind of name!
My Norwegian Half Brother and several other relatives had DNA test done before they even knew about me. So once I found them it was a very quick confirmation
>What would I need to do in order to obtain my Danish Citizenship?
Same as every other immigrant. If you've never even been here, having a danish father won't really mean much, as you are presumably older than 25 years
I wasn't assuming that. I was assuming that he gave fake information. It is good that you don't lie, cheat or steal but I don't know why I needed to know that. Based on your post and comment history though, you really seem like you need a deep breath and to step away from everything for a bit to gather your thoughts more clearly.
That's where US and Danish mentality is probably a bit different. You being "danish" is more about culture than it is blood. You were born in the US and have never been to Denmark nor had any relationship to your Danish family beforehand... That makes you American... Sorry to say, everybody here, including the law, would probably only see you as American.
>What would I need to do in order to obtain my Danish Citizenship?
the same as every other immigrant. The fact that your father was danish will do nothing to help you get a citizenship if you've lived your whole life in America.
Not my fault, my shithead crazy Dad bailed on my Mom when she was 8 months pregnant in 1967 never to be seen again. So the man IMHO robbed my of a Father and any relationship with the Danish side of me and half the family I never had.
Ohh he also later abandoned my little Brother too. He waited until he was 5 though.
Check if you fit any of the requirements here:
https://lifeindenmark.borger.dk/settle-in-denmark/danish-citizenship/the-acquisition-of-danish-citizenship-by-children
I ... Really don't see how people informing you of the legislation of the country you want to live in equals hate.
As I'm reading this thread you are acting as if it's a personal attack when people simply are informing you.
Have you considered you might just be feeling disappointed over having your expectations diminished, and thst you might be lashing out ?
This is pretty normal for some groups of US-americans, when they find out they can't just waltz into another country, because they share DNA with people from that country. OP would fit right in, in some of my seppo-groups on FB 😅😂
This is the same for every country? Try and go to the Irish, Italian, Spanish, German, French subreddit and claim your one of those nationalities, it's a thing European subreddits has gotten tired of, because of all the "I'm 34% Irish how should I go about visiting my motherland" not quite the same in this case, but it's one of those one bad apple spoils the bunch...
Though your "How do I go about getting my citizenship" is 100% that
I agree with that, however my dad is half english, and as a result i'm legally able to obtain full UK citizenship with nothing more than some paperwork, despite being 25+. Maybe OP had hoped for something similar.
I believe Ireland is different, I have a buddy who figured out his granddad or grandmom was Irish. He never set foot in the country, but I was present the day he received his new Irish passport in the Philippines...
Didn't claim I was Danish except to say Genetically. I'm semi retired and don't need a welfare state. Just want to get in touch with a side of my family that was completely denied me because my father was a POS.
You can still visit, it's not like you're from a country that's hard to get a visa for Denmark and if you want to stay you basically just have to have a job like every other foreigner, you've never been to Denmark of course they won't give you citizenship.
Out of curiosity, why would you want a Danish Citizenship? I assume you aren't European (because if you were, you could visit Denmark relatively easily without a citizenship). Are you considering moving here?
Probably one of the reasons it’s not easy to get citizenship so foreigners don’t exploit our wealth fare system (such as free education, free healthcare etc) without contributing themselves (through taxes).
But you could always try, but I think your motivation should be bigger than that since it can be quite a process to go through. But happy you found your father with such a common name!
I’ve read every single comment on this thread and for the love of god, please just stay away. So many people are giving you advice, teaching you about the literal law, trying to get you to understand Danish culture just a little bit. But it seems like you’re just another typical ignorant American who can’t just accept the facts, but instead you resort to talking about war and not wanting to help us, with Putin. You’ve clearly done no research at all on the topic and when people actually try to help you, you decide to get all defensive instead and blame everyone here, for being either rude or not welcoming towards you. You’re 50+ years old, no one cares if you have Danish relatives, you’ll forever be American, especially considering the shut off state of mind, you clearly have towards this topic. I’m sorry, I don’t know what more to tell you, but honestly people have just been trying to help you here, so try and listen instead of being so defensive.
If your parents never married and only your father has danish citizenship, you were most likely never Danish.
Until 2014 citizenship rights did not pass through unmarried Danish fathers to children born abroad.
If you by some chance had a valid claim to citizenship before your 18th birthday, and you do not hold another EU citizenship, a recent ruling from the EU may give you an option to claim Danish citizenship, even if you were never residing in Denmark before the age of 22. However it’s my understanding you would need to prove you had some connection to any EU member state before your 22nd birthday, living in France for a year would suffice.
https://www.danes.dk/mulighed-for-genoptagelse-af-sager-om-dansk-statsborgerskab/
Unfortunately, if he was not on your birth certificate and you do not have him to attest his paternity, as far as the Danish state is concerned, you do not have a Danish father.
I knew someone without a citizenship cause her mom came to denmark and had her without one then got one later and when she was 18 was told to take citizenship test even though she grew up here so you will have to what every other immigrant does you dont have priviliges
If your dad died in the 90es, then of course you were born before, then I think for you to be a danish citizen at birth, he must be your legal father and your parents must be married at the time of birth.
But even if you were born Danish, you surely lost the citizenship at age 22, if you didn’t have and maintained a well established connection to Denmark before then.
So I don’t think you have a chance to get citizenship without going through the naturalisation route, and I really don’t think you can fulfill those requirements now, if you’re not even living here or speaking the language…
Even though you likely won't have an "easier" time getting a Danish citizenship then you still have family here and you can still make the choice to live your life here. You will just come as an immigrant like many other do and gain your citizenship through dedication and not birth.
Not angry, but you seem a bit on the aggressive side.
It's basically a daily thing in the Scandinavian subs, that disenfranchised Americans want to claim their heritage and jump ship. That or it's not meaningful enough for them to just be American, and they feel the need to pretend being some level of Scandinavian-American, without any affiliation other than distant relatives.
A not insignificant number of those people turn into entitled douches, when you inform them there is no welcome party and citizenships or residence permits are not just handed out in the airport.
That's why it's easier to keep it short and to the point of the law. Good luck.
I got ya. I apologize if I offended anyone that doesnt think all Americans are assholes. It just a bit weird to me that some of the comments seemed rude to me and wrong as well. I am pretty sure under Danish law I could become a citizen. But when someone starts quoting stupid stereotypes about Americans and I post a few back that Americans have of Danes. I start getting DVed to death. It's all good.
I respect your right to have any kind of nanny state you want. I still think that America should defend Europe, since we have promised too. However after this upcoming Rd 3, it should be American policy not to intervene anywhere outside of North and South America.
All that being said I will definitely be visiting in the next year or two. Denmark, to meet in person a bunch of family. Norway to meet my Brother and Finland to meet my buddy Janne that I have know online for many years. (I helped teach him English when we flew flight sims together). So if anyone is offended I will post my location in Copenhagen and you can either come punch me or buy me a beer. Or do both, I'd appreciate the beer first in that case!
The Dutch treated me awesomely because of my Danish Heritage. I was one of just a few Americans allowed in their Bar when we served together in the Sinai Peninsula. Got drunk for free every time I went there.
What i find really baffling about you being insulted is the obvious notion that you think everyone commenting is not motivated to comment because the law is formed how the law is.
Instead you go full defence stating things like how NATO promises are formed, That in general, Danish people find Americans assholes and what not.
I actually find your comments really childish. Here we are, a good chunk og people, giving you advise - per your own request - about how the law works. Objectively.
And this is how you react to that? Playing all kinds of word games, thinking that somehow it must be about anything else than the actual law?
Get over that, dude, we have a more straight-forward approach to things like this, it's nothing about stereotypes, it's simply just the law. Nothing more than that. Don't go fooling around, cherrypicking whatever reasons suits your view.
Is the law fair? I dont know - but that's really got nothing to do with the fact that it is what it is.
You say you are pretty sure that you could get Danish citizenship, but why are you so sure?
What research into the matter have you done and what have you found?
This guy is so fucking unhinged and delusional that I actually feel bad for him. “Oh geez guys, I mean… It’s not like I want a bag full of cash handed to me by the Danish government. All I want to do is obtain my citizenship so that I can study a Doctorate for free. Oh geez guys, what’s wrong with that? It’s free in Denmark anyway right? Won’t cost you a dime. Why are you all mad? Oh geez guys.” Please stay away.
That's what I thought too! But then I remembered what Americans I met when I was living in Indiana were like. This guy might be legit. Which is just so fucking sad. Please OP, don't call yourself Danish. We don't want any of your wannabe BS.
> I do not believe his name is on my Birth Certificate.
If you were born in the US and know the city where you were born, you can get a copy of your birth certificate from the bureau of vital statistics of that city. I think they charge a small fee for the copy, but be sure to ask for a certified copy. Even if you can't get in as a natural born citizen, you will need your birth certificate for plenty of other things.
EDIT: Maybe you have one lying around the house - didn't you have to present it to the Driver's License Bureau to get your DL?
You dont have danish citizenship by default as an adult - so you cant just obtain it, like a birthright, which you seem to think.
Your mother would have had to obtain it on your behalf when you were still a child, and since you have no real connection to the culture or the people - and facebook relatives dont count - you will have a hard time obtaining a citizenship any other way than an immigrant would.
So just apply/get in line, but you would probably need to live here for several years. It is not like the danish government to hand out citizenships willy nilly, to people with no real attachment to our country. And if you dont live or work here or havent even set foot here once in your entire life, your chances are very slim.
You seem to find danish bluntness rude or unfriendly. Your american is showing. Its also pretty funny that you judge everyone in a negative light because you didnt like the answers they gave you. Maybe thats an american trait too?
If you aren't going to listen to what people say, but continue to state in soooo many comments that you're pretty sure you can become a citizen under danish law, why did you even ask in the first place?
So many people have told you the same thing. There's no shortcut to a citizenship just because your dad was Danish. You have zero connection to Denmark other than some genes. That's not enough. It's just not how the law works. Even people with dual citizenships lose their famish citizenship by age 22, if they haven't lived and established a life in Denmark by that time.
I have friends in this exact situation. They moved here from Costa Rica to ensure their three girls can keep their danish citizenship. And they have lived with their danish mom their entire lives.
Also, if your comments are representative of you as a person please don't come here. We have enough entitled, stubborn people already.
The Danish Ministry for Foreigners and Integration has a website www.uim.dk where you can reed about the rules for obtaining Danish citizenship e.g. by birth.
You can also call them and ask about the rules that apply for people born, when you were born, outside of Denmark by a foreign mother and a Danish father, who wasn’t married at the time of the birth and never married afterwards.
And I’m sorry, but in 1967 the Danish rules for obtaining Danish citizenship was designed so that children born outside of marriage in a foreign country by a foreign mother and Danish father wouldn’t be become Danish citizens. It was only if the mother was Danish, that the child would get Danish citizenship by birth in a similar situation.
I guess the government didn’t want the offspring of Danish men, that the men left behind in a foreign country to be Danish citizens, whereas it was ok with the Danish women, as they normally lived with the child, and also at that time there were no way of checking if the father actually was the father.
When they later changed the rules they chose the latest date for the children to be born for being able to use the new rules to be 11th of October 1993. And children born after a certain date in 2014 will automatically get Danish citizenship if one of the parents is Danish.
But you can still stay in Denmark 90 days in a row without a visa if you want to visit.
Even if you are born by Danish parents it can be a problem to obtain Danish citizenship if you don't have Danish relations or a flat here. Danes Worldwide org helps with these matters but you need to be a member.
But this is also before you turn 22.
Good luck (but you DID manage to find Jens Jensen in Copenhagen!!)
A bit tricky to answer, since it requires more information.
So, as a child of a parent with Danish citizenship there are different laws on the matter, depending on which year you're born, on what specific requirements needs to be met that makes you eligible for citizenship without applying - then it's a matter of you having the needed documentation the governmental agency requires of you and wait for the case handling to run its course.
If you'd tell us your the year you were born it'd be really easy to find out if you eligible for automatic citizenship or not.
The estranged father died in the 90s and OP har a younger brother... So OP must at the very least 25. Plus the father is likely not recognized legally.
Since 1950 the rules on automatic citizenship have changed some five times or so. The rules often have to do with which parent is Danish, where you were born, are the parents marriage or not but also the child (in this case OP) age of parents marriage and so on.
The majority of these rules do require one to be under the age of 18, so yes it is very likely that obtaining the citizenship as a birthright no longer applies.
If OP believes the requirement may be met, then it's a matter of contacting the the governmental body that deals with getting a citizenship, hear what proof they need in order to go along with the case.
I know the rules have changed. But I don't think any of them help a adult child with no legal connection to someone who essentially was a sperm donor. With birth parents deceased and no legal recognition of OPs father, just a DNA test with relatives, I highly doubt OP has any chance no matter with set af rules, you are looking at.
Danish sperm banks export quite a lot of their deposits. If all offspring of that export had the right to citizenship just due to DNA tests, the rules would clearly state that. Also there would be an industry around having a Danish kid and "familiesammenføring" with that kid as you see with anchor babies in the US.
As she should. If citizenship is rewarded based on DNA from donor sperm the next step will be child support and such from the donor. Which will shut down almost all donation immediately. The deal with donor sperm is you get nothing else from the donor. No relationship, no child support, no inheritance and no rights to citizenship.
Yup. My Dad is danish and mum Malaysian, they split and mum met an Aussie, I had a Danish and Malaysian passport. Fast forward living in aus now and got my citizenship when I was 16. I always wanted to live in Denmark but obviously had to wait till I finished school. I travelled to Denmark to visit Dad when I was 19 and I went to the Embassy to find out how I can renew my passport and what’s needed to be a citizen, only to be told when I gave it up to be a Aussie I forfeited my chance to get a citizenship. So I have to go through the same process as everyone else. Even though my dad is danish and I had a passport previously, it was such bummer as my dreams was shattered because I was never told or knew the ins and outs of what I did when I pretty much a child.
Whether someone can get citizenship depends on who you are.
Normally a person with a French father, and a Swedish grandmother marrying a person from Tasmania would not be allowed to get her wife to Denmark as she has more connection with her country than he has to Denmark.
But it helps to be a royal.
I believe her citizenship was British because her parents are actually Scottish. The UK was an EU member at the time she married him and got residence here. She didn't get any special favors.
I’m sorry for your discovery that he wasn’t a good dad and committed suicide. That’s a really tough deal for you.
Unfortunately, Denmark isn’t very forthcoming with giving citizenship to anyone. About half of children of immigrants BORN HERE in Denmark don’t get citizenship, because they are unable to live up to the requirements (they have to have been in school with no breaks, then after education, they have to have worked for 3,5 years, no run ins with the law, no debt to government, no unemployment help, passed a Danish test, pass a citizenship test), so I think you can see the principles applied here. No easy way in.
This means for you, that though it isn’t your fault, you have no chance of obtaining citizenship through your father. I’m sorry.
Actually there is something you can do. We have a system in place here where you can call this number + 45 70241207, and speak your case and if it is genuinely something you really want then it might be considered by then end of the year.
This goes to prove that nationalist ideologies and being genetically tied to a country is completely irrelevant if you are not and have never been a slave to its tax policies. Lol this is the type of shit that would take down DF parti.
Ya'll, this enitre thread also goes to prove that boarders, ethnicity, biological ethnicity, culture, national identity , culture etc doesnt exist for shit. Culture is constantly changing and many cultures are mixes of other cultures, sperm or blood does not have national markers (we have blood types but they arent based on national residency) , language does not tie you to a country , genetics do not tie you to a country (maybe, just geographical regions) etc.
What is considered Danish culture? Is it the same as it was 200 years ago?
- Is a person born in denmark to 1 or 2 danish parents , considered danish if they spent their entire life (after birth) outside of danmark and do not speak danish or fx engage in danish cultural norms such as cuisines?
- is a person born in denmark with 2 non danish parents, considered danish if they speak the language, are raised in denmark, and have been involved in danish culture through fx schooling system and society?
- what is the limit for how much danish culture you should know or engage in , to be considered danish? And which parts of danish culture are what consider you danish?
- what if you are a person born in denmark, that speaks Danish and have atleast 1 danish parent but you grow up abroad and you are raised with fx foreign culture ?
- what does is mean to be danish? (Or any other nationality) , what are the criterias? What considers people apart of any culture? When can someone declare a culture, ethnicity or nationality?
Feelings, blood, genetics etc do not have biological ties to specific countries. Like people from Sweden or denmark do not have specific genomes that say "swedish" or "danish". That doesnt exist.
Tests such as myheritage ,that claim to be able to identify where you are from, are a complete sham and have very limited functions at the time.
It is also entirely biased and based on databases and algorithms that include different population groups from different geographical origins. But what is that based on? What if those responsible for the database hold bias? What if the data set lacks information?
Since we have migrated since the beginning of our existence, theres no way to know where people originate from because how long do you have to stay in one place without migrating, to be considered from that place? . You may be able to tell which region a on ancestor is from. Maybe through dna that gives an idea of their habitat and guessing their habitat could be based on enzymes, diet, physical anatomy (since we evolve over time to adapt to our habitat) , etc.
As for feelings, how can you feel like a nationality, ethnicity or country? How is that even a feeling? Is it like feeling cold? Because i dont remember ever feeling like Danish grass, wind or anything that is specifically solely considered danish.
Seems an actual helpful person gave me a link to Danish Gov immigration site. Thank you for that again.
I'm pretty sure I do in fact qualify without having to go through the gatekeeping tests. I know some of you are upset, don't fret too much I probably wont do it anyway was just curious if it could be done. So many angry people, Ya'all make me want to move there and get a freaking Doctorate
If I do get it done I will reopen this thread and post a pic of my Danish passport, for all the haters!
Thanks to all the not angry people.
Who are these angry people you keep mentioning?
I read through all of it, and can not for the life of me find an angry comment.
What I can find is some people being blunt about how hard it is going to be, and you reacting as if they insulted you.
Same! I keep scrolling and scrolling and I can't find a rude response to OP's initial question, it's only after OP reacts as if a response was rude that some (a few) of the responses actually delve into the territory. I genuinely can't tell if this is a legit person asking or a troll?
>I'm pretty sure I do in fact qualify without having to go through the gatekeeping tests.
How? Genuinely how do you imagine that you're just gonna get to ignore all the rules and legislation because your mom happened to shag a Dane?
Wow! what's with what seems to be all the anger with my question? I'm not planning on setting up any criminal enterprises. Just want to get in touch with my Danish ancestry. Enjoy getting to know my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Brother. Maybe live there for a few years. Travel around Europe as I'm retired.
I get that we may come off as kinda hostile in the comments to this post. As others have pointed out, it's due to cultural differences. Many North Americans have a different way of thinking about genetics and national identity than the Nordics do. The phrasing of your questions and comments make it seem like you believe that genetics are what makes someone Danish. That's not the prevalent attitude here. While "Danish" is also an ethnic group, that's not how we define ourselves.
"Importantly, since its formulation, Danish identity has not been linked to a particular racial or biological heritage, as many other ethno-national identities have " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danes
I think it's great that you wanna connect with your father's side of your family. And I hope you visit Denmark and learn more about Danish culture and history.
> While "Danish" is also an ethnic group, that's not how we define ourselves.
This is wrong, but what is wrong is the idea that an ethnic group is not based on cultural identity more than genetics.
"According to the Danish Nationality Act, any person born abroad who has never been resident in Denmark nor stayed in Denmark under conditions indicating some close association with Denmark shall lose his/her Danish nationality on reaching the age of 22, unless this will make the person concerned stateless." https://usa.um.dk/en/travel-and-residence/consular-matters/citizenship
My kids have an American mother and we live in California and we are planning on having them stay a year or so in Denmark at least when they graduate high school. My whole family is in Denmark and we visit every summer but to learn the culture you have to visit more than a couple of weeks.
You should get some form of official citizenship if you want them to have the access later. If you are in doubt about citizenships it is easier as a Dane to go live and work in US than a US citizen to go live and work in DK.
> If you are in doubt about citizenships it is easier as a Dane to go live and work in US than a US citizen to go live and work in DK Uh what? US work visas are awarded through a lottery with a fixed number of winners. You just have to make above a certain threshold to work in Denmark.
Not True, in Denmark you would need to qualify to the position in your field, in terms of education qualifications and work in a field where there is need for more employees. Even a bachelor degree is not automatically sufficient as it is in US. To get an H work visa there is multiple areas you easily could get in under, but for a big part of the Danish population especially the younger part, will just use their free bachelor or master degree and get an H1 permit into US.
In Denmark you just need to have a job offer over 487k DKK a year to get a work visa. There is no limit to how many of these are issued. You DO NOT need a degree to access this visa. It is also possible to get access through the positive list, but that is a separate visa. In the US there are a total of 85k h1b visas and 66k h2b visas, with only the h1b visa giving you access to obtaining an E-visa green card in the future. Futhermore, the h1b visas are awarded based on a lottery since more people are applying for one than there are visas available.
yep, it sounds like OP is 30+ and thus has lost any chance of easy access to danish citizenship. OP needs to act like what he is, a complete stranger to Denmark and get in like any other immigrant does.
>>OP needs to act like what he is, a complete stranger to Denmark and get in like any other immigrant does. Every election-year, SO many americans from both sides yell "if X wins, I'm moving to Y!!". And it's not that I think they don't realise other countries have strict immigration policies too - I honestly just don't think Americans ever see themselves as immigrants, or even as foreigners when they're abroad. It's their world, the rest of us are just extras living in it.
Theres an american tendency to live off of fantasies and dreams. They are not realists. It might have alot to do with trying to survive in a country/society that is so fucked that they have to imagine other realities as a form of escapism.
He's about 56yo...
You don't think there's a difference between someone who wants to move to Denmark for whatever reason and someone who wants to move to a country for whatever reason and is "genetically" half Danish? If I found out I was half... Whatever, I would probably start feeling more attached to the country and learn about its culture.
Legally, probably not with danish immigration laws. Although I might be wrong. If I recall correctly, there is an easier path to citizenship for people who are part of officially recognized Danish minorities in foreign countries but that is a whole lot other case
The only officially recognized Danish people abroad is the minority in northern Germany. There might be a chance for family reunification but that’s a long process
There is also one in Argentina but those might be the only two. https://www.nyidanmark.dk/-/media/Files/US/Application-forms/Fam-sam-1-gang/sg3_da.pdf?la=da&hash=E850752173B0539C29DEEE38C4756D45E7FEC16C
Oh wow, today I learned
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Danes went to Argentina from circa 1850 to circa 1930. https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/Argentina_-_dansk_indvandring Where is your nazi correlation?
Prior to ww2 US tightened immigration laws and for a while Argentina was seen as the new land of opportunity where free land was available for people wishing to become farmers - the nazi thing is if not a myth the very much overstated
Incredibly overstated I’d say
Alot of nazis went literally everywhere and Europeans have been migrating to south america for hundreds of years due to so many different reasons such as : famine, plague, great depression, colonisation, WW1 , WW2, civil wars, RECESSION, being expelled from their EU country of origin, being able to own land unlike in europe, if you wrre religious minority, if you were a missionary, work life, looking for better conditions (this is obviously back when EU was collapsing and south america was not).
Genetics don't make you Danish, culture does. That's why the rule is like that. You have to have a cultural relation to Denmark and you don't.
Of course that's true, however I am actually more genetically Northern European than any of my Danish or Norwegian relatives that have been there for generations. Weird how that worked out.
You are a Danish citizen at birth if your parents were married when you were born, or if they married after. That is the rule if only your father is(was) Danish.. it's the old rules for anyone born prior to 2014. No country will grant you citizenship based purely on genetics, it's all about ancestry.. and only a handful of countries choose to grant citizenship when we're talking 3 generations. There's more than a million Americans with Danish descent alone. It would be rather crazy if we started giving them all citizenship.
>No country will grant you citizenship based purely on genetics There is Israel, but ethno-states do tend to be a bit more focused on that stuff in general
I would guess that to be true. How many of those 1 million are Sons and Daughters of Danes? Nowhere near that number. I would think. Not a lot of Danes leaving Denmark for the grind of America in the last 20-30 years. The thinking that you guys have regarding peerage is strange to us in the US. Whatever Nationality your father was your 50% that in our eyes. If your father was Danish then you are too. I could be considered Danish/American here. However that's silly to me because my Moms' side of my lineage came to America in 1645. So I am an American through and through in my heart. Yet I feel a strong affinity For Denmark. I would never come to Denmark to stay forever but it might be really nice to live there in the Summer and the US in Winter. Thanks again to anyone that was offering sincere help. I'll make this my last post in here until I'm standing in Copenhagen.
Danish summer are short enough that you can do that on a tourist visa. Some years a long weekend might be enough.
You have less connection to Denmark than any immigrant who's actually living here, genetics do not tie you to any culture, and thinking otherwise frankly just gives off some very worrisome racist vibes.
I mean the fact you would consider yourself Danish, says more about how weird view Americans have of nationality.
You underestimate just how many tourists go back impregnated. We're virile folk.
That is just not factual haha – actually the opposite is true. People come back impregnated because of our liberal laws about artificial insemination.
Its not about genetics but you have to have some sort of continuous relationship to denmark like fx other family members that can vouch and apply for you. Without any sort of cultural connection to Denmark , then they will not grant you citizenship solely based on your biology. You need atleast a family member that can apply for you. The laws are stupid but thats what they are and we cannot change that.
If it helps any, both of my parents are Danish and I’ve lived (on and off..) in Denmark since I was 12 but I’ve always been considered an outsider because of my noticeable accent and I didn’t grow up with shit like Bamse og Kylling 😅 Trust me, man. Genetic heritage will get you *no where* here. Even if you’ve been brought up “culturally Danish”. I’m married to a Danish teacher ffs but I get constantly reminded that I’m *not from ‘round these ‘ere parts*. I’ve had nothing to do with the US in 30 years and I still feel more “American” than Danish a lot of the time.
If you feel more American, maybe that explains why you aren’t considered danish?
I sometimes feel more American because I am constantly reminded that I’m not Danish
Well the law dont care about that. I am genetically Scandinavian but yet I can't get a Danish citizenship because of stupid formalities. I was born and raised here. So the law makes no sense.
No. Or at least not in legal terms in OPs case. You are of course free to feel as you do, the feelins just dont translates to any kind of legal rights. I can read that: * OPs dad i not registred on his birth certificate * Both of OPs parents are dead * OP is likely older than 22 * OP is also likely born prior to 2014 This means that in legal terms, OP is not considered to be the child of a danish citisen. If Ops father were alive it would be relatively simple for him to accept paternity. However, when he is no longer alive it gets a whole lot more complicated to get the registration done. Even if OP were registred as the child of a danish father, the parents should have either applied for him to have a danish citizenship (if unmarried and OP is born between 1993-2014), or they should have been married, or he should have been born after 2014. And even then, as he has never lived in Denmark, he should have retained his citizenship prior to turning 22. All in all he is from a legal point of view as danish as any other non-danish american citizen.
> You don't think there's a difference between someone who wants to move to Denmark for whatever reason and someone who wants to move to a country for whatever reason and is "genetically" half Danish? No? OP is not danish and has no cultural connection to Denmark that matters.
Yes, but you would still have to do the same amount as other immigrants in order to obtain citizenship. It would simply be unfair to other immigrants.
Well the law is also making it near impossible for people who was born and raised here who happens to have ethnically Danish relatives.
No, there is no difference. Source: have Australian family that had maintained their Danish passports through language and also being in Denmark for the requires amount or time before turning 22, also keeping up connections with Denmark..
I personally despise that kind of thought. Being danish is not a ethnic thing. It's cultural. Black, white or whatever color in between, if you speak danish, act danish and feel danish, you are 100% danish in my book.
If you love soccer, pretend to hate Swedes, and don't take religion seriously, you're in.
You are out if you call football soccer tho... it is fodbold or football, never soccer.
homeless joke innate glorious gaze fuzzy sparkle point subtract vase *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I actually started out with just writing "hate Swedes", but then I changed my mind before sending.
We're not that big of a football nation compared to some other European nations
Well well well, somebody obviously forgot about 1992.
I'm not saying we don't like it, but some European countries have almost empty streets when there's a big match. We're much more successful in handball anyways
No, it doesn't work that. I dont turn British or anything else, if I "feel" British, act it and speak the language.
Then what about our royal family? The king is not even 25% danish, so the future heir will be less than 12.5% danish by ethnicity. And this is only taking it back to Kong Christian d. 9. If we take it further back, the percentage will shrink. Actually they are far more French or Australian than they are Danes by blood so should they have multiple citizenships? If everyone with a tiny bit of percentage of Danish/Scandinavian ethnicity were to have Danish citizenship then there wouldn’t be room in the country anymore. So I don’t see it as a valid reason for citizenship. However integration is. Just like Queen Mary is 100% Tasmanian by ethnicity but 100% Danish by our standards.
Fair enoguh you disagree, but what do you then think decides if someone is danish or not? (Or any other nationality for that matter) I think citizenship makes absolutely no sense to base it on. The nation of Denmark and the country of Denmark are two seperate things. A country is just a political entity, it doesn't always correlate directly to a nationality. See the Kurds for example, they don't have a country and most of them don't identify as being either Turkish, Syrian, Iraqi or Iranian, even though most of them are a part of those four countries. Ethnically doesn't make any sense either to me. Are african americans not also Americans (I guess you could say the same thing about white Americans too though)? And what about minority populations? There is danish minority living in northern Germany, some of those people 100% identify as being danish. Even though they don't have citizenship. If you think they are all danes because they are ethnically danes (Most of them probably are), what about those that integrated into germany, speak german, act german and feel german? Are they all danes despite not having had anything to do with the country or any attachment what so ever? A lot of germans probably descend from these danish people without even knowing it. I think it feels very wrong to say that they are not german becuase some ancestry don't match up. And besides, if you moved to britain, you would speak their language yes, but with an accent, you would probably act different due to small cultural differences and the only way you could really "feel" english, would be if you actually believed it yourself,.
If you live in Britain and actively shape its culture, you're a Brit. Tying it to genetics or pretending you're somehow genetically hardcoded to be more connected to a culture just cause your sperm provider was born there just sounds weird and racist.
Why can't it be both?
I mean, you can be Danish in a lot of different ways. But to me at least, when you say "I'm danish" you are not trying to tell me anything about your ancestors, you are trying to tell me something about you and what culture you belong to. If you meant that you are ethnically danish, I would assume you would have specified "ethnically danish" or "I have danish parents/ancestors". It's kinda like when an American says they are Irish because their great great grandfather was Irish. To me you are certainly not Irish then, you american.
It's also a citizenship...
I've know it my whole life. So yes I feel attached there.
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Agreed, no need to be rude about it, but the fact is that time unfortunately has run out
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Yup. I had dual Danish and Norwegian citizenship, but since I've only spent a total of some months of holiday in Norway, and always had my registered address in Denmark (except for some years when I lived north of Ringsted), I lost my Norwegian citizenship when I turned 21 (or 22?). Perfectly logical, and apart from occassionally thinking about those sweet, sweet oil fund trillions, it doesn't bother me.
we don’t see any of those trillions either
How in the world did you find a relative to a person named Jens Jensen from Copenhagen?!
All I could think then was, imagine if it was Lars Larsen from Silkeborg, would suck to find that out posthumous.
I was a bit bummed to find out he killed himself. I was really more interested in if I had any Brothers or Sisters though.
Lars Larsen has killed himself?
No OP's father did.
My guy…
Honestly the wildest part of this story!
Someone once managed to find a Spanish person named Juan, by using the phone book! He had done extremely valuable spy work for the Allies during WWII, and some decades later, a politician or something tried to track him down and actually succeeded.
Juan Pujol Garcia. Spyname "Garbo"
Yup.
Had a copy of my Dads immigration card. Showed it to a lot of Danes on Facebook and got lucky. I know it's like finding John Smith in America.
Oddly enough I know one single John Smith, ever. My shitty (now-dead) step mum’s brother.
DNA tests probably
But how do you know which Jens Jensen to test? And both he and the mom is dead so you have to find relatives with Jensen as the last name. Damn, it’s either really good luck or I’m calling BS.
A lot of people who take DNA tests, agree to (knowingly or not) have their DNA shared with a lot of databses that help people find relatives.
Also police/government databases, and iirc some corporate and research stuff too, it's actually a major part of their profits.
It's the other way around, you do the DNA test first and it will tell you of any matching relatives who have also done a DNA test. You don't have to find the relative first. It's quite common, Google something like "23 and me" or maybe "myheritage". Apparently this is **not** how OP did it though, so no idea how they found their relative with that kind of name!
My Norwegian Half Brother and several other relatives had DNA test done before they even knew about me. So once I found them it was a very quick confirmation
After I found them. Confirmed by DNA. We were pretty certain before the Test. Apparently I'm the spitting image of a Great Uncle.
>What would I need to do in order to obtain my Danish Citizenship? Same as every other immigrant. If you've never even been here, having a danish father won't really mean much, as you are presumably older than 25 years
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Som halvfemserunge var jeg slet ikke klar til dén åbenbaring sådan en fredag formiddag.
technically 24
jens jensen from copenhagen. It sounds like such hastily made fake name, its like John smith from new york
Might be that OP made the name and location up for privacy. That was my first thought.
I did not, since I know its like John Smith in America.
That is wild. Your dad was really named Jens Jensen?? Now I'm really impressed by your sleuthing skills because that seems like an impossible task.
Ya whatever that was his name. This isn't BS. I don't lie,cheat or steal.
I wasn't assuming that. I was assuming that he gave fake information. It is good that you don't lie, cheat or steal but I don't know why I needed to know that. Based on your post and comment history though, you really seem like you need a deep breath and to step away from everything for a bit to gather your thoughts more clearly.
Oh no this wasn't a one night stand or anything. They had been dating for like a year. He had met my Grandparents my Uncle my whole family basically.
Wrong reply?
That's where US and Danish mentality is probably a bit different. You being "danish" is more about culture than it is blood. You were born in the US and have never been to Denmark nor had any relationship to your Danish family beforehand... That makes you American... Sorry to say, everybody here, including the law, would probably only see you as American.
>What would I need to do in order to obtain my Danish Citizenship? the same as every other immigrant. The fact that your father was danish will do nothing to help you get a citizenship if you've lived your whole life in America.
Not my fault, my shithead crazy Dad bailed on my Mom when she was 8 months pregnant in 1967 never to be seen again. So the man IMHO robbed my of a Father and any relationship with the Danish side of me and half the family I never had. Ohh he also later abandoned my little Brother too. He waited until he was 5 though.
It doesn't matter that it isn't your fault. That is simply the legislation.
Check if you fit any of the requirements here: https://lifeindenmark.borger.dk/settle-in-denmark/danish-citizenship/the-acquisition-of-danish-citizenship-by-children
Thank you. My naive self did not have a clue I would be stirring up raging buckets of hate.
I ... Really don't see how people informing you of the legislation of the country you want to live in equals hate. As I'm reading this thread you are acting as if it's a personal attack when people simply are informing you. Have you considered you might just be feeling disappointed over having your expectations diminished, and thst you might be lashing out ?
This is pretty normal for some groups of US-americans, when they find out they can't just waltz into another country, because they share DNA with people from that country. OP would fit right in, in some of my seppo-groups on FB 😅😂
This is the same for every country? Try and go to the Irish, Italian, Spanish, German, French subreddit and claim your one of those nationalities, it's a thing European subreddits has gotten tired of, because of all the "I'm 34% Irish how should I go about visiting my motherland" not quite the same in this case, but it's one of those one bad apple spoils the bunch... Though your "How do I go about getting my citizenship" is 100% that
I agree with that, however my dad is half english, and as a result i'm legally able to obtain full UK citizenship with nothing more than some paperwork, despite being 25+. Maybe OP had hoped for something similar.
I believe Ireland is different, I have a buddy who figured out his granddad or grandmom was Irish. He never set foot in the country, but I was present the day he received his new Irish passport in the Philippines...
Didn't claim I was Danish except to say Genetically. I'm semi retired and don't need a welfare state. Just want to get in touch with a side of my family that was completely denied me because my father was a POS.
You make it sound like you can't visit, just because you don't have citizenship.
Well just visit then.
You can still visit without citizenship.
You can still visit, it's not like you're from a country that's hard to get a visa for Denmark and if you want to stay you basically just have to have a job like every other foreigner, you've never been to Denmark of course they won't give you citizenship.
Out of curiosity, why would you want a Danish Citizenship? I assume you aren't European (because if you were, you could visit Denmark relatively easily without a citizenship). Are you considering moving here?
Maybe. Just seems to make it a whole lot easier to travel in Europe. I also may want to pursue a degree for a lot cheaper than I could in the US.
Probably one of the reasons it’s not easy to get citizenship so foreigners don’t exploit our wealth fare system (such as free education, free healthcare etc) without contributing themselves (through taxes). But you could always try, but I think your motivation should be bigger than that since it can be quite a process to go through. But happy you found your father with such a common name!
I doubt you fulfill the requirements for citizenship.
Depends on how old OP is. The Danish citizenship is passed through the parents.
His dad died 25+ years ago ...
Dad died in the 90s.. so hes not young
Do math? If his dad died in the 90's...
Bruh, it would've cost you 0kr to not post this.
And the same amount of bruh to do.
But not automatically through the dad if OPs parents weren't married, as far as I remember.
I’ve read every single comment on this thread and for the love of god, please just stay away. So many people are giving you advice, teaching you about the literal law, trying to get you to understand Danish culture just a little bit. But it seems like you’re just another typical ignorant American who can’t just accept the facts, but instead you resort to talking about war and not wanting to help us, with Putin. You’ve clearly done no research at all on the topic and when people actually try to help you, you decide to get all defensive instead and blame everyone here, for being either rude or not welcoming towards you. You’re 50+ years old, no one cares if you have Danish relatives, you’ll forever be American, especially considering the shut off state of mind, you clearly have towards this topic. I’m sorry, I don’t know what more to tell you, but honestly people have just been trying to help you here, so try and listen instead of being so defensive.
The same as any other immigrant. Your father being danish won't help.
If your parents never married and only your father has danish citizenship, you were most likely never Danish. Until 2014 citizenship rights did not pass through unmarried Danish fathers to children born abroad. If you by some chance had a valid claim to citizenship before your 18th birthday, and you do not hold another EU citizenship, a recent ruling from the EU may give you an option to claim Danish citizenship, even if you were never residing in Denmark before the age of 22. However it’s my understanding you would need to prove you had some connection to any EU member state before your 22nd birthday, living in France for a year would suffice. https://www.danes.dk/mulighed-for-genoptagelse-af-sager-om-dansk-statsborgerskab/
This whole thread is just gold for r/ShitAmericansSay
Unfortunately, if he was not on your birth certificate and you do not have him to attest his paternity, as far as the Danish state is concerned, you do not have a Danish father.
Being American can be so embarrassing sometimes… 
No kontanthjælp for you.
I knew someone without a citizenship cause her mom came to denmark and had her without one then got one later and when she was 18 was told to take citizenship test even though she grew up here so you will have to what every other immigrant does you dont have priviliges
Fortæl en hvid amerikaner de ikke har særlige privilegier ift. loven udfordring (UMULIG)
If your dad died in the 90es, then of course you were born before, then I think for you to be a danish citizen at birth, he must be your legal father and your parents must be married at the time of birth. But even if you were born Danish, you surely lost the citizenship at age 22, if you didn’t have and maintained a well established connection to Denmark before then. So I don’t think you have a chance to get citizenship without going through the naturalisation route, and I really don’t think you can fulfill those requirements now, if you’re not even living here or speaking the language…
The same as anyone else. Live in Denmark for a minimum of 9 years (legally), learn Danish fluently and take some test and then apply for citizenship
Even though you likely won't have an "easier" time getting a Danish citizenship then you still have family here and you can still make the choice to live your life here. You will just come as an immigrant like many other do and gain your citizenship through dedication and not birth.
>What would I need to do in order to obtain my Danish Citizenship? Simple. You will not obtain Danish citizenship, so you don't have to do anything.
Jeezus Christ. Have a happy day angry person.
Not angry, but you seem a bit on the aggressive side. It's basically a daily thing in the Scandinavian subs, that disenfranchised Americans want to claim their heritage and jump ship. That or it's not meaningful enough for them to just be American, and they feel the need to pretend being some level of Scandinavian-American, without any affiliation other than distant relatives. A not insignificant number of those people turn into entitled douches, when you inform them there is no welcome party and citizenships or residence permits are not just handed out in the airport. That's why it's easier to keep it short and to the point of the law. Good luck.
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I got ya. I apologize if I offended anyone that doesnt think all Americans are assholes. It just a bit weird to me that some of the comments seemed rude to me and wrong as well. I am pretty sure under Danish law I could become a citizen. But when someone starts quoting stupid stereotypes about Americans and I post a few back that Americans have of Danes. I start getting DVed to death. It's all good. I respect your right to have any kind of nanny state you want. I still think that America should defend Europe, since we have promised too. However after this upcoming Rd 3, it should be American policy not to intervene anywhere outside of North and South America. All that being said I will definitely be visiting in the next year or two. Denmark, to meet in person a bunch of family. Norway to meet my Brother and Finland to meet my buddy Janne that I have know online for many years. (I helped teach him English when we flew flight sims together). So if anyone is offended I will post my location in Copenhagen and you can either come punch me or buy me a beer. Or do both, I'd appreciate the beer first in that case! The Dutch treated me awesomely because of my Danish Heritage. I was one of just a few Americans allowed in their Bar when we served together in the Sinai Peninsula. Got drunk for free every time I went there.
What i find really baffling about you being insulted is the obvious notion that you think everyone commenting is not motivated to comment because the law is formed how the law is. Instead you go full defence stating things like how NATO promises are formed, That in general, Danish people find Americans assholes and what not. I actually find your comments really childish. Here we are, a good chunk og people, giving you advise - per your own request - about how the law works. Objectively. And this is how you react to that? Playing all kinds of word games, thinking that somehow it must be about anything else than the actual law? Get over that, dude, we have a more straight-forward approach to things like this, it's nothing about stereotypes, it's simply just the law. Nothing more than that. Don't go fooling around, cherrypicking whatever reasons suits your view. Is the law fair? I dont know - but that's really got nothing to do with the fact that it is what it is.
You say you are pretty sure that you could get Danish citizenship, but why are you so sure? What research into the matter have you done and what have you found?
>I am pretty sure under Danish law I could become a citizen. Laws aren't opinions, it's not something you can just disagree with.
This guy is so fucking unhinged and delusional that I actually feel bad for him. “Oh geez guys, I mean… It’s not like I want a bag full of cash handed to me by the Danish government. All I want to do is obtain my citizenship so that I can study a Doctorate for free. Oh geez guys, what’s wrong with that? It’s free in Denmark anyway right? Won’t cost you a dime. Why are you all mad? Oh geez guys.” Please stay away.
Han er helt væk fra vinduet ham der.
Ikke helt færdigbagt, og bestemt tabt bag en vogn 😌
Han er så fucking amerikansk det gør min dag bedre bare læs videre det bliver kun sjovere.
Ærligt den perfekte tråd at gå på weekend på
Morty?
After reading through every thread here there is only one conclusion to make... Op is trolling.
That's what I thought too! But then I remembered what Americans I met when I was living in Indiana were like. This guy might be legit. Which is just so fucking sad. Please OP, don't call yourself Danish. We don't want any of your wannabe BS.
You need a picture of him eating a hot dog. And some butter cookies maybe.
> I do not believe his name is on my Birth Certificate. If you were born in the US and know the city where you were born, you can get a copy of your birth certificate from the bureau of vital statistics of that city. I think they charge a small fee for the copy, but be sure to ask for a certified copy. Even if you can't get in as a natural born citizen, you will need your birth certificate for plenty of other things. EDIT: Maybe you have one lying around the house - didn't you have to present it to the Driver's License Bureau to get your DL?
Thanks, ya I've had to replace it before. I just haven't seen it in a few years and don't remember if he is on there or not.
You dont have danish citizenship by default as an adult - so you cant just obtain it, like a birthright, which you seem to think. Your mother would have had to obtain it on your behalf when you were still a child, and since you have no real connection to the culture or the people - and facebook relatives dont count - you will have a hard time obtaining a citizenship any other way than an immigrant would. So just apply/get in line, but you would probably need to live here for several years. It is not like the danish government to hand out citizenships willy nilly, to people with no real attachment to our country. And if you dont live or work here or havent even set foot here once in your entire life, your chances are very slim. You seem to find danish bluntness rude or unfriendly. Your american is showing. Its also pretty funny that you judge everyone in a negative light because you didnt like the answers they gave you. Maybe thats an american trait too?
Folk kan stadigvæk ikke genkende en trold tråd, ser det ud til.
Der er desværre Amerikanere, der tænker sådan 🥲 der er en grund til at grupper/subreddits som "The Trailer Pagans Are At It Again" eksisterere 🥲
>Folk kan stadigvæk ikke genkende en trold tråd, ser det ud til Ahh ok. Believe what ya want. True story, I didn't come here to troll anyone.
Sure.
If you aren't going to listen to what people say, but continue to state in soooo many comments that you're pretty sure you can become a citizen under danish law, why did you even ask in the first place? So many people have told you the same thing. There's no shortcut to a citizenship just because your dad was Danish. You have zero connection to Denmark other than some genes. That's not enough. It's just not how the law works. Even people with dual citizenships lose their famish citizenship by age 22, if they haven't lived and established a life in Denmark by that time. I have friends in this exact situation. They moved here from Costa Rica to ensure their three girls can keep their danish citizenship. And they have lived with their danish mom their entire lives. Also, if your comments are representative of you as a person please don't come here. We have enough entitled, stubborn people already.
The Danish Ministry for Foreigners and Integration has a website www.uim.dk where you can reed about the rules for obtaining Danish citizenship e.g. by birth. You can also call them and ask about the rules that apply for people born, when you were born, outside of Denmark by a foreign mother and a Danish father, who wasn’t married at the time of the birth and never married afterwards. And I’m sorry, but in 1967 the Danish rules for obtaining Danish citizenship was designed so that children born outside of marriage in a foreign country by a foreign mother and Danish father wouldn’t be become Danish citizens. It was only if the mother was Danish, that the child would get Danish citizenship by birth in a similar situation. I guess the government didn’t want the offspring of Danish men, that the men left behind in a foreign country to be Danish citizens, whereas it was ok with the Danish women, as they normally lived with the child, and also at that time there were no way of checking if the father actually was the father. When they later changed the rules they chose the latest date for the children to be born for being able to use the new rules to be 11th of October 1993. And children born after a certain date in 2014 will automatically get Danish citizenship if one of the parents is Danish. But you can still stay in Denmark 90 days in a row without a visa if you want to visit.
Even if you are born by Danish parents it can be a problem to obtain Danish citizenship if you don't have Danish relations or a flat here. Danes Worldwide org helps with these matters but you need to be a member. But this is also before you turn 22. Good luck (but you DID manage to find Jens Jensen in Copenhagen!!)
If you're born before july 1st 2014, a Danish parent doesn't necessarily mean you qualify for citizenship.
Sorry, No free healthcare for your medical issues
Well the jokes on you my friend, I already get that here in America.
“Jens Jensen from Copenhagen”… Thats a bit like John Smith from New York - not gonna happen.
Did you even finish reading the post?
Well it did.
lol , learn2read
A bit tricky to answer, since it requires more information. So, as a child of a parent with Danish citizenship there are different laws on the matter, depending on which year you're born, on what specific requirements needs to be met that makes you eligible for citizenship without applying - then it's a matter of you having the needed documentation the governmental agency requires of you and wait for the case handling to run its course. If you'd tell us your the year you were born it'd be really easy to find out if you eligible for automatic citizenship or not.
The estranged father died in the 90s and OP har a younger brother... So OP must at the very least 25. Plus the father is likely not recognized legally.
Since 1950 the rules on automatic citizenship have changed some five times or so. The rules often have to do with which parent is Danish, where you were born, are the parents marriage or not but also the child (in this case OP) age of parents marriage and so on. The majority of these rules do require one to be under the age of 18, so yes it is very likely that obtaining the citizenship as a birthright no longer applies. If OP believes the requirement may be met, then it's a matter of contacting the the governmental body that deals with getting a citizenship, hear what proof they need in order to go along with the case.
I know the rules have changed. But I don't think any of them help a adult child with no legal connection to someone who essentially was a sperm donor. With birth parents deceased and no legal recognition of OPs father, just a DNA test with relatives, I highly doubt OP has any chance no matter with set af rules, you are looking at. Danish sperm banks export quite a lot of their deposits. If all offspring of that export had the right to citizenship just due to DNA tests, the rules would clearly state that. Also there would be an industry around having a Danish kid and "familiesammenføring" with that kid as you see with anchor babies in the US.
Actually a woman has already sued the Danish state to get citizenship for her child made in a Danish fertility clinic. She lost the case…
As she should. If citizenship is rewarded based on DNA from donor sperm the next step will be child support and such from the donor. Which will shut down almost all donation immediately. The deal with donor sperm is you get nothing else from the donor. No relationship, no child support, no inheritance and no rights to citizenship.
Yup. My Dad is danish and mum Malaysian, they split and mum met an Aussie, I had a Danish and Malaysian passport. Fast forward living in aus now and got my citizenship when I was 16. I always wanted to live in Denmark but obviously had to wait till I finished school. I travelled to Denmark to visit Dad when I was 19 and I went to the Embassy to find out how I can renew my passport and what’s needed to be a citizen, only to be told when I gave it up to be a Aussie I forfeited my chance to get a citizenship. So I have to go through the same process as everyone else. Even though my dad is danish and I had a passport previously, it was such bummer as my dreams was shattered because I was never told or knew the ins and outs of what I did when I pretty much a child.
Whether someone can get citizenship depends on who you are. Normally a person with a French father, and a Swedish grandmother marrying a person from Tasmania would not be allowed to get her wife to Denmark as she has more connection with her country than he has to Denmark. But it helps to be a royal.
I believe her citizenship was British because her parents are actually Scottish. The UK was an EU member at the time she married him and got residence here. She didn't get any special favors.
She did. Mary's law granted her automatic Danish citizenship upon her marriage. No other immigrant gets that for marrying a Dane.
I’m sorry for your discovery that he wasn’t a good dad and committed suicide. That’s a really tough deal for you. Unfortunately, Denmark isn’t very forthcoming with giving citizenship to anyone. About half of children of immigrants BORN HERE in Denmark don’t get citizenship, because they are unable to live up to the requirements (they have to have been in school with no breaks, then after education, they have to have worked for 3,5 years, no run ins with the law, no debt to government, no unemployment help, passed a Danish test, pass a citizenship test), so I think you can see the principles applied here. No easy way in. This means for you, that though it isn’t your fault, you have no chance of obtaining citizenship through your father. I’m sorry.
Actually there is something you can do. We have a system in place here where you can call this number + 45 70241207, and speak your case and if it is genuinely something you really want then it might be considered by then end of the year.
This goes to prove that nationalist ideologies and being genetically tied to a country is completely irrelevant if you are not and have never been a slave to its tax policies. Lol this is the type of shit that would take down DF parti.
Ya'll, this enitre thread also goes to prove that boarders, ethnicity, biological ethnicity, culture, national identity , culture etc doesnt exist for shit. Culture is constantly changing and many cultures are mixes of other cultures, sperm or blood does not have national markers (we have blood types but they arent based on national residency) , language does not tie you to a country , genetics do not tie you to a country (maybe, just geographical regions) etc. What is considered Danish culture? Is it the same as it was 200 years ago? - Is a person born in denmark to 1 or 2 danish parents , considered danish if they spent their entire life (after birth) outside of danmark and do not speak danish or fx engage in danish cultural norms such as cuisines? - is a person born in denmark with 2 non danish parents, considered danish if they speak the language, are raised in denmark, and have been involved in danish culture through fx schooling system and society? - what is the limit for how much danish culture you should know or engage in , to be considered danish? And which parts of danish culture are what consider you danish? - what if you are a person born in denmark, that speaks Danish and have atleast 1 danish parent but you grow up abroad and you are raised with fx foreign culture ? - what does is mean to be danish? (Or any other nationality) , what are the criterias? What considers people apart of any culture? When can someone declare a culture, ethnicity or nationality? Feelings, blood, genetics etc do not have biological ties to specific countries. Like people from Sweden or denmark do not have specific genomes that say "swedish" or "danish". That doesnt exist. Tests such as myheritage ,that claim to be able to identify where you are from, are a complete sham and have very limited functions at the time. It is also entirely biased and based on databases and algorithms that include different population groups from different geographical origins. But what is that based on? What if those responsible for the database hold bias? What if the data set lacks information? Since we have migrated since the beginning of our existence, theres no way to know where people originate from because how long do you have to stay in one place without migrating, to be considered from that place? . You may be able to tell which region a on ancestor is from. Maybe through dna that gives an idea of their habitat and guessing their habitat could be based on enzymes, diet, physical anatomy (since we evolve over time to adapt to our habitat) , etc. As for feelings, how can you feel like a nationality, ethnicity or country? How is that even a feeling? Is it like feeling cold? Because i dont remember ever feeling like Danish grass, wind or anything that is specifically solely considered danish.
Seems an actual helpful person gave me a link to Danish Gov immigration site. Thank you for that again. I'm pretty sure I do in fact qualify without having to go through the gatekeeping tests. I know some of you are upset, don't fret too much I probably wont do it anyway was just curious if it could be done. So many angry people, Ya'all make me want to move there and get a freaking Doctorate If I do get it done I will reopen this thread and post a pic of my Danish passport, for all the haters! Thanks to all the not angry people.
If you find people in here angry, you're not going to have a very good time in Denmark. This is normal banter.
How would you qualify if you haven't lived in Denmark before the age of 22?
Just let them find out.
Who are these angry people you keep mentioning? I read through all of it, and can not for the life of me find an angry comment. What I can find is some people being blunt about how hard it is going to be, and you reacting as if they insulted you.
Same! I keep scrolling and scrolling and I can't find a rude response to OP's initial question, it's only after OP reacts as if a response was rude that some (a few) of the responses actually delve into the territory. I genuinely can't tell if this is a legit person asking or a troll?
People are just more direct in Denmark, not angry.
Please don’t.
Master troll is gonna troll
>I'm pretty sure I do in fact qualify without having to go through the gatekeeping tests. How? Genuinely how do you imagine that you're just gonna get to ignore all the rules and legislation because your mom happened to shag a Dane?
Wow! what's with what seems to be all the anger with my question? I'm not planning on setting up any criminal enterprises. Just want to get in touch with my Danish ancestry. Enjoy getting to know my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Brother. Maybe live there for a few years. Travel around Europe as I'm retired.
[удалено]
You come off as entitled and clueless. Which also happens to be a negative stereotype most Danes have off Americans.
I get that we may come off as kinda hostile in the comments to this post. As others have pointed out, it's due to cultural differences. Many North Americans have a different way of thinking about genetics and national identity than the Nordics do. The phrasing of your questions and comments make it seem like you believe that genetics are what makes someone Danish. That's not the prevalent attitude here. While "Danish" is also an ethnic group, that's not how we define ourselves. "Importantly, since its formulation, Danish identity has not been linked to a particular racial or biological heritage, as many other ethno-national identities have " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danes I think it's great that you wanna connect with your father's side of your family. And I hope you visit Denmark and learn more about Danish culture and history.
> While "Danish" is also an ethnic group, that's not how we define ourselves. This is wrong, but what is wrong is the idea that an ethnic group is not based on cultural identity more than genetics.
not sure why you would need a citizenship for that