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May 14, 2026

Denmark Citizenship Reacquisition 2026: The June 30 Deadline You Cannot Miss

Former Danish nationals have until June 30, 2026 to file a reacquisition declaration under section 5A. Who qualifies, what documents Denmark requires, and how to apply.

June 30, 2026 is the hard deadline for the denmark citizenship reacquisition route under section 5A of the Danish Nationality Act. Former Danish nationals who lost citizenship by naturalizing abroad can file a written declaration to reacquire — but only if the packet reaches the ministry on or before that date. After July 1, 2026, the route is gone with no announced extension.

What changed in 2014

Denmark prohibited dual citizenship for most of the twentieth century. Under the old section 7 of the Nationality Act, a Danish national who voluntarily naturalized in another country automatically lost Danish citizenship the same day. Danish emigrants who naturalized in the US, Canada, or Australia in the 1970s-1990s lost their Danish status without always understanding the consequence.

Lov nr. 1496 af 23. december 2014 ended that regime. From September 1, 2015, Denmark permits dual citizenship. The reform also created section 5A: a transitional declaration route for former Danes who had already been stripped, allowing reacquisition without moving back to Denmark. The window was extended in 2021 and again in 2024. The current deadline — June 30, 2026 — is final, with no further extension proposed in the Danish legislature.

Sources: Indfodsretsloven consolidated (LBK 1656/2022) and Lov nr. 1496/2014, both on Retsinformation.

Who qualifies

You are likely eligible under section 5A if:

  • You personally held Danish citizenship at some point.
  • You lost it before September 1, 2015 — typically by voluntarily naturalizing in another country, or (for women married before 1979) by the automatic loss rule then in effect.
  • You are not currently living in Denmark and did not have at least one year of combined stays in Denmark before age 22. (If you do meet that residency bar, use the permanent section 4 route instead — same fee, no 2026 deadline.)
  • You have no unconditional prison sentence between the date you lost Danish citizenship and today.

Section 5A does not cover people who never personally held Danish citizenship. It also does not apply to losses caused by revocation for fraud or treason.

Minor children under 18 in joint parental custody can be included on a parent’s declaration. Children aged 12 or older must personally sign Annex 1. Joint custody requires written consent from the other parent.

What documents Denmark requires

Per UIM’s section 5A guidance page:

  1. Section 5A declaration form — January 2026 version, available at uim.dk. Complete in Danish, wet-sign.
  2. Proof of former Danish nationality — old Danish passport, birth certificate, or CPR registry extract.
  3. Proof of loss — foreign naturalization certificate with date, apostilled, with sworn translation if not in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, or English. For US applicants: Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-560).
  4. Current passport(s).
  5. Criminal-record certificate from your country of residence. US residents need a state-level check plus an FBI Identity History Summary (allow 8-14 weeks).
  6. Annex 1 signed by any child aged 12 or older included in the declaration.
  7. Sworn translations of any non-qualifying-language documents.

Budget 3-4 weeks for translations and apostille processing.

Fee and processing time

Fee: 1,150 DKK per declarant (approximately EUR 155 as of early 2026), per UIM’s published fee schedule.

Processing time: 18-20 months from receipt, per UIM’s own disclosure as of January 2026. A declaration filed in June 2026 will not receive a decision until late 2027 or early 2028 — but Danish citizenship, if approved, is back-dated to the date UIM receives the declaration, not the decision date. Filing before the deadline locks in that receipt date.

The back-dating also matters for children: a parent who is a Danish citizen at a child’s birth opens a section 1 descent claim for that child.

Where to apply

Submit directly to UIM’s Indfodsretskontoret — Danish consulates abroad assist with document authentication only and do not accept declarations.

Three channels:

  • Email: Scanned signed PDF and all supporting documents to Indfoedsret@uim.dk. Receipt date is the inbox arrival date.
  • Postal mail: Udlaendinge- og Integrationsministeriet, Indfoedsretskontoret, Slotsholmsgade 10, 1216 Kobenhavn K, Denmark. Use tracked international courier in the final two weeks of June.
  • e-Boks: Requires a Danish NemID or MitID account — impractical for most non-residents.

File now rather than in late June. UIM expects a surge and the Indfodsretskontoret is a small division. Early filing does not change the receipt date’s legal effect, but it avoids the queue spike.

Sources:

Find out if this applies to you

A free five-minute eligibility quiz tells you whether your background matches the section 5A profile, or whether a different pathway fits better. No signup or paywall.

-> Take the eligibility quiz

This post is informational and not legal advice. Section 5A eligibility turns on specific dates and documents. If your situation involves a criminal record, uncertain loss date, or custody arrangements, consult a Danish immigration attorney before filing.