Yes, Denmark allows dual citizenship. Since September 1, 2015, Danish law has permitted a person to hold Danish nationality alongside citizenship of another country, whether that second citizenship comes by birth, naturalization, or a prior status you once gave up.1Ministry of Immigration and Integration. Guidance on Nationality What that means in practice depends on how you connect to Denmark and, just as importantly, on whether your other country of nationality also allows it.
What Changed in 2015
On December 18, 2014, the Danish Parliament amended the Danish Nationality Act to permit multiple nationalities, and the change took effect on September 1, 2015.1Ministry of Immigration and Integration. Guidance on Nationality Before that date the rule ran the other way. A Danish citizen who acquired a foreign nationality lost Danish citizenship automatically, and a foreign national who naturalized in Denmark had to renounce their original citizenship first.
That older regime is the reason the 2015 date keeps mattering. It marks the cutoff between people who lost their Danish citizenship by operation of law and people who did not, and it created the pool of former Danes eligible for reacquisition. The Ministry of Immigration and Integration administers all citizenship matters under the current rules.2Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Danish Citizenship
Keeping Danish Citizenship When You Acquire Another
If you are already a Danish citizen and you naturalize in another country today, Denmark does not take your Danish citizenship away. You keep both. This is a straightforward consequence of the 2015 rules and applies regardless of which second nationality you take.
One important limit applies to Danes born outside Denmark. Under the 22-year rule, a Danish citizen born abroad loses Danish nationality at age 22 unless they have lived in Denmark or maintained sufficient ties, such as a continuous registered stay of at least three months or cumulative visits totaling at least 12 months before that birthday.3Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. You Have Already Turned 22 To retain citizenship, you apply between ages 20 and 22, and the application must reach the relevant embassy or the Ministry no later than the day before your 22nd birthday.4Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. 22 Year Rule – Retention – Under 22 If losing Danish citizenship would leave you stateless, you keep it.
Keeping Your Original Citizenship When You Naturalize in Denmark
Foreign nationals who naturalize in Denmark now keep their original citizenship. Denmark no longer asks anyone to renounce.2Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Danish Citizenship
Naturalization itself remains a substantial process. Applicants generally need nine years of continuous residence, a permanent residence permit held for at least two years by the time the naturalization bill passes Parliament, a passing score on Danish Language Test 3 (or Test 2 in some circumstances), a passing score on the Indfødsretsprøven citizenship test, evidence of self-sufficiency, no disqualifying public debts, and a clean enough criminal record.5Life in Denmark. Conditions for Foreign Citizens’ Acquisition of Danish Citizenship Spouses of Danish citizens qualify sooner, at six to eight years of residence depending on the length of the marriage, and Nordic citizens have shorter and simpler routes, including a declaration procedure and a two-year residency track for naturalization.6Life in Denmark. Nordic Citizens and Danish CitizenshipGuidance on How to Apply for Danish Citizenship Naturalization also requires attending a constitution ceremony; skip the ceremony and citizenship does not take effect.7City of Aarhus. Constitution Ceremony – When You Apply for Danish Citizenship
Reclaiming Danish Citizenship You Lost Before 2015
If you lost Danish citizenship before September 1, 2015, because you acquired a foreign nationality under the old rules, you can reclaim it by filing a declaration with the Ministry of Immigration and Integration. An initial five-year window ran from 2015 to 2020, and Parliament renewed the scheme in 2021 for a second window that runs from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026.8Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Reacquisition of Danish Nationality
The June 30, 2026 deadline is firm. Miss it, absent a further extension, and the declaration route closes. The remaining path would be full naturalization, which requires moving to Denmark and meeting the residency, language, and other conditions. When you acquired the foreign citizenship does not matter, only that it happened before September 1, 2015.8Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Reacquisition of Danish Nationality
Children Born to a Danish Parent
A child born on or after July 1, 2014, automatically becomes a Danish citizen at birth if the mother, father, or co-mother is a Danish citizen, regardless of where the birth takes place or the parents’ marital status.9Life in Denmark. The Acquisition of Danish Citizenship by Children If the other parent is a national of a different country and that country grants citizenship by descent as well, the child is a dual citizen from birth.
Starting January 1, 2025, the rule extends to children of a Danish co-father.10Info Norden. Danish Citizenship For children born before July 1, 2014, older rules apply, and outcomes depend on factors such as whether the parents were married and whether the Danish parent was the mother or the father. The narrow historical category of children born to a Danish mother in wedlock between January 1, 1961, and December 31, 1978, has a dedicated application path known informally as the Princess Rule.11Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Guidelines on the Princess Rule
The Other Country’s Rules Matter Too
Denmark permits dual citizenship, but that only settles the Danish side. The other country’s laws determine whether it allows one of its nationals to also hold Danish citizenship, and some countries still require renunciation of other nationalities. Check both sides before you assume dual status will work in practice.
Obligations That Come With Danish Citizenship
Dual Danish citizenship gives you full rights in Denmark, including living and working there, voting, and using public services. It also brings obligations that are easy to overlook from abroad.
Military service is mandatory for male Danish citizens living in Denmark between 18 and 30. As of July 1, 2025, the obligation extends to women who turn 18 after that date. The trigger is residency in Denmark; a Danish citizen living abroad is not required to serve, though volunteering is possible between 18 and 30.12Life in Denmark. Military Service in Denmark A dual citizen who moves to Denmark can therefore acquire a service obligation that did not exist while living elsewhere.
Danish tax is based on residency, not citizenship. If you live in Denmark you pay Danish tax on your worldwide income; if you live abroad, Denmark does not tax you simply for holding a Danish passport. Denmark maintains double taxation agreements with many countries to keep the same income from being taxed twice.13Life in Denmark. Rules on Double Taxation That is a meaningful contrast with the United States, where citizenship alone creates a tax filing obligation.