Danish Parties Agree to Tighten Immigration Rules Amid Refugee Crisis

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Denmark’s center-right Venstre government on Monday secured the support of four political parties to push through tougher naturalization rules and increase the difficulty in obtaining Danish citizenship, the Migration and Integration Ministry said.

The new regulation comes after Denmark said it would refuse to participate in the European Commission's quota plan to distribute mostly Syrian refugees throughout the European Union, in a bid to lighten the burden of the EU border countries.

The new rules require applicants to demonstrate a good command of Danish through the administration of a difficult language test and a high score to pass a citizenship test. Applicants must prove they have supported themselves financially for 4.5 years, instead of the current 2.5 years. Applicants with a criminal record will be barred from applying for a longer period of time.

The new requirements will come into force on October 15 and will apply to all citizenship requests, regardless of their submission date.

Last month, Denmark’s Integration Minister Inger Stojberg, a migration hardliner, had notifications published in several Arab-language newspapers that warned would-be immigrants of the country’s refugee policy changes.