1961 Convention would be included in future Bills for naturalization submitted to Parliament, regardless of their compliance with the general conditions for naturalization.35 The idea, as referred to in the preparatory works of the bill, was to comply with the 1961 Convention obligation in relation to persons born stateless in Denmark, but only to the minimum, making acquisition of nationality subject to all conditions allowed in Article 1(2)(a) to (d) of the Convention. However, as will be explained below under 2.1.1.2, subsequent applications from persons who were born stateless in Denmark and fulfilled these conditions were refused.36 Due to an amendment of the Nationality Act in 2014, persons with foreign background who were born and raised in Denmark became again, under certain (more strict) conditions, entitled to Danish nationality by making a declaration to that effect. The declaration should be made before they turned 19 years.37 The Centre-Left government that came into office in 2011 introduced the new provision that turned out to be short-lived as it was repealed after a new change of government, as of 1 March 2016.38 Among other important developments dual nationality was fully accepted by Denmark as of 1 September 2015.39 Moreover, as of 1 April 2016, as a rule, applicants for Danish nationality must submit their applications for naturalization by a digital application procedure.40 2.1.1.2 The “statelessness case” In 2010, the Minister of Integration informed the Parliament that the Ministry had for some years wrongfully denied applications for Danish nationality from persons born stateless in Denmark entitled to Danish nationality under the 1961 Convention and the CRC. The Minister noted that, pursuant to explanatory notes to the 1999 and 2004 amendments to the Nationality Act, Danish law was supposed to be interpreted in line with these conventions. In 36 cases, the Ministry had wrongly refused applications for Danish nationality made by persons born stateless in Denmark. In 22 cases, applicants who were entitled to Danish nationality under the 1961 Convention (by virtue of birth in Denmark) had had their applications denied. There were an additional 14 cases in which children born stateless in Denmark, who were entitled to Danish nationality under the CRC, had been wrongly denied nationality. Unlike the 1961 Convention, the CRC was expressly referred to in the Naturalization Circular of 2008, however, in vague terms.41 14 35 In Denmark, following the amendments referred to in 2004, naturalization to Danish born stateless persons is granted by statute, adopted in Parliament. The general naturalization criteria are included in a circular, but until 2013, the circular did not mention the right to Danish nationality for stateless persons born in Denmark, as regulated in the 1961 Convention. Thus, after the 1999- and 2004-amendment of Section 3 of the Nationality Act, there was not an effective implementation of Article 1 (on the entitlement to Danish nationality for persons who fulfil the requirements of Article 1), since this right did not any longer find expression in any Danish regulation. 36 The obligations were not any longer reflected in any law or guideline on naturalization and hereafter it turned out that the case workers were not aware of the obligations in the administrative practice. 37 See amendment of the Nationality Act by Act No. 730 of 25 June 2014. 38 See amendment of the Nationality Act by Law No 110 of 8 February 2016. 39 Act no. 1496 of 23 December 2014. 40 Act no. 534 of 29 April 2015. 41 Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides in its entirety: 1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents. 2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless. Section 17 of the Naturalization Circular implemented Article 7 of the CRC in relation to children who were born stateless in Denmark. Accordingly, Section 17 states: “In accordance with the 1989 UN Convention children born stateless in Denmark may be listed in a naturalization bill if they are residing (in Dnaish: ‘bopæl’) in Denmark.” For an earlier English version of the Circular, see Circular Letter No. 61 of 22 September 2008, available at: https://bit.ly/2D7KLCn. Mapping Statelessness in Denmark