Danish citizenship by descent: who qualifies, the law, and what it takes

Q: Can you claim Danish citizenship through a parent?

Likely. A child of a Danish parent is Danish from birth. Born abroad, you keep it past 22 only by living in Denmark or applying to retain it before then. If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born: possible. If you were born before 2005: possible. If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2005: possible.

Q: Can you claim Danish citizenship through a grandparent?

Unlikely. Danish nationality passes only from a parent who held it at your birth. A parent born abroad usually lost it at 22, and anyone who naturalized elsewhere before September 2015 lost it then, so grandparent lines rarely survive. Without one, the road to Denmark is residence and naturalisation.

Q: Can you claim Danish citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Unlikely. Danish nationality passes only from a parent who held it at your birth. A parent born abroad usually lost it at 22, and anyone who naturalized elsewhere before September 2015 lost it then, so grandparent lines rarely survive. Without one, the road to Denmark is residence and naturalisation.

Through a parentCitizen by birth (§ 1)Through a grandparentNo grandparent route Through a great-grandparentNo grandparent route

Routes: Citizen by birth (§ 1) · Retention at 22 (§ 8) · Declaration for former citizens (§ 4, residence)
Dual citizenship: Kept on every open route
Comes with: EU citizenship: the right to live and work in 27 countries

The stamps assume no one in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born. What changes each answer is below.

On this page

01Who qualifies
02Dates that matter
03Mothers’ lines
04Keeping your citizenship
05The routes and the law
06The documents
07What it takes
08Where the records live
09Law changes
10Other doors
11Sources

01Who qualifies

Who qualifies, generation by generation

LIKELY

Can you claim Danish citizenship through a parent?

Citizen by birth (§ 1)

A child of a Danish parent is Danish from birth. Born abroad, you keep it past 22 only by living in Denmark or applying to retain it before then.

What would settle itWhether your parents were married at your birth, or paternity was established under the rules then in force.

A child acquires Danish nationality at birth if the father, mother or co-mother is Danish. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 1(1)
A Dane born abroad who has never lived in Denmark, nor stayed there in circumstances showing attachment to Denmark, loses Danish nationality at 22 unless that would leave them stateless; seven years' residence in another Nordic country counts as residence in Denmark. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 8(1) and (3)
The ministry grants retention on an application made before 22 where the applicant has lived in Denmark for three consecutive months, spent a year there in total, or can document ties such as language, family and Danish associations. Ministry of Immigration and Integration: keeping Danish citizenship at 22 (bevarelse af dansk statsborgerskab)
Denmark has permitted dual citizenship since 1 September 2015, so retaining Danish nationality does not cost you your other one. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)

What changes the answer

POSSIBLE
If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was bornCitizen by birth
Denmark stopped stripping nationality for taking another one on 1 September 2015. Whether your parent was still Danish when you were born turns on the date they naturalized.
POSSIBLE
If you were born before 2005
A child of a Danish parent is Danish from birth, but nationality lapses at 22 for those born abroad who never lived in Denmark, unless retention was granted first. Whether yours survived is the question.
POSSIBLE
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2005
A child of a Danish parent is Danish from birth, but nationality lapses at 22 for those born abroad who never lived in Denmark, unless retention was granted first. Whether yours survived is the question.

If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born, 2 more cases

UNLIKELY
If you were born before 2015
Before September 2015 a Dane who took another nationality on application lost Danish nationality at that moment, so it did not pass to a child born afterwards. The 2015 reform did not undo earlier losses, and the declaration window for those former citizens closed on 1 July 2026.
UNLIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2015
Before September 2015 a Dane who took another nationality on application lost Danish nationality at that moment, so it did not pass to a child born afterwards. The 2015 reform did not undo earlier losses, and the declaration window for those former citizens closed on 1 July 2026.

UNLIKELY

Can you claim Danish citizenship through a grandparent?

No grandparent route

Danish nationality passes only from a parent who held it at your birth. A parent born abroad usually lost it at 22, and anyone who naturalized elsewhere before September 2015 lost it then, so grandparent lines rarely survive. Without one, the road to Denmark is residence and naturalisation.

What would settle itWhether your parent is still Danish (a current passport, or a retention decision before 22); if so, you are the child of a Danish parent and the parent rule applies.

Nationality is acquired at birth from a Danish father, mother or co-mother; the Act has no provision for grandparents. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 1(1)
A Dane born abroad who has never lived in Denmark, nor stayed there in circumstances showing attachment to Denmark, loses Danish nationality at 22 unless that would leave them stateless; seven years' residence in another Nordic country counts as residence in Denmark. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 8(1) and (3)
Until 1 September 2015 taking another nationality on application ended Danish nationality, and children born afterwards did not inherit it. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)
Former Danish citizens regain nationality by declaration only after meeting residence conditions in Denmark; otherwise by naturalisation. Ministry of Immigration and Integration: former Danish citizens (tidligere danske statsborgere)

UNLIKELY

Can you claim Danish citizenship through a great-grandparent?

No grandparent route

What would settle itWhether your parent is still Danish (a current passport, or a retention decision before 22); if so, you are the child of a Danish parent and the parent rule applies.

Nationality is acquired at birth from a Danish father, mother or co-mother; the Act has no provision for grandparents. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 1(1)
A Dane born abroad who has never lived in Denmark, nor stayed there in circumstances showing attachment to Denmark, loses Danish nationality at 22 unless that would leave them stateless; seven years' residence in another Nordic country counts as residence in Denmark. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 8(1) and (3)
Until 1 September 2015 taking another nationality on application ended Danish nationality, and children born afterwards did not inherit it. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)
Former Danish citizens regain nationality by declaration only after meeting residence conditions in Denmark; otherwise by naturalisation. Ministry of Immigration and Integration: former Danish citizens (tidligere danske statsborgere)

02Dates that matter

The dates that matter

2015
1 September 2015
Denmark has permitted dual citizenship since 1 September 2015, so retaining Danish nationality does not cost you your other one. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)
2015
1 September 2015
Until 1 September 2015 a Danish national who acquired a foreign nationality on application lost Danish nationality; the amending act removed that rule going forward. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)
2015
1 September 2015
Until 1 September 2015 taking another nationality on application ended Danish nationality, and children born afterwards did not inherit it. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)
2015
1 September 2015
Since 1 September 2015 Denmark permits holding another citizenship alongside Danish nationality. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)
2026
1 July 2026
Former citizens who lost nationality under the old rule could reclaim it by written declaration until 1 July 2026; a former citizen by birth can still declare after two years' residence in Denmark, and otherwise applies for naturalisation. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 5 A and § 4

03Mothers’ lines

How mothers’ lines were treated

In Denmark’s rule, the answer changes when the line runs through a woman:

POSSIBLE
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2005
A child of a Danish parent is Danish from birth, but nationality lapses at 22 for those born abroad who never lived in Denmark, unless retention was granted first. Whether yours survived is the question.

In the law’s words

A child acquires Danish nationality at birth if the father, mother or co-mother is Danish. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 1(1)
A child acquires Danish nationality at birth only if the father, mother or co-mother is Danish at the time. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 1(1)
Nationality is acquired at birth from a Danish father, mother or co-mother; the Act has no provision for grandparents. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 1(1)

04Keeping your citizenship

Dual citizenship with your home country

You keep your citizenship.

On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.

Since 1 September 2015 Denmark permits holding another citizenship alongside Danish nationality. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)
The ministry grants retention on an application made before 22 where the applicant has lived in Denmark for three consecutive months, spent a year there in total, or can document ties such as language, family and Danish associations. Ministry of Immigration and Integration: keeping Danish citizenship at 22 (bevarelse af dansk statsborgerskab)
Denmark has permitted dual citizenship since 1 September 2015, so retaining Danish nationality does not cost you your other one. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)

05The routes

Every route, and the law behind it

Citizen by birth (§ 1)

Open through a parent

LIKELY
Through a parent
POSSIBLE
Through a parent, if you were born before 2005

The law

A child acquires Danish nationality at birth if the father, mother or co-mother is Danish. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 1(1)
A Dane born abroad who has never lived in Denmark, nor stayed there in circumstances showing attachment to Denmark, loses Danish nationality at 22 unless that would leave them stateless; seven years' residence in another Nordic country counts as residence in Denmark. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 8(1) and (3)
The ministry grants retention on an application made before 22 where the applicant has lived in Denmark for three consecutive months, spent a year there in total, or can document ties such as language, family and Danish associations. Ministry of Immigration and Integration: keeping Danish citizenship at 22 (bevarelse af dansk statsborgerskab)
Denmark has permitted dual citizenship since 1 September 2015, so retaining Danish nationality does not cost you your other one. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)

What would settle an unsure case

Whether your parents were married at your birth, or paternity was established under the rules then in force.
Whether you lived in Denmark, or held a retention decision, before you turned 22; if not, the routes back are § 4 declaration after two years' residence, or naturalisation.

Citizen by birth

Open through a parent

POSSIBLE
Through a parent, if someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

The law

A child acquires Danish nationality at birth only if the father, mother or co-mother is Danish at the time. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 1(1)
Until 1 September 2015 a Danish national who acquired a foreign nationality on application lost Danish nationality; the amending act removed that rule going forward. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)
Former citizens who lost nationality under the old rule could reclaim it by written declaration until 1 July 2026; a former citizen by birth can still declare after two years' residence in Denmark, and otherwise applies for naturalisation. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 5 A and § 4

What would settle an unsure case

Your parent's naturalization date against 1 September 2015 and against your birth.
Whether your parent kept Danish nationality by a retention decision or a Nordic exception; the ministry's case file would show it.

No grandparent route

Closed: no open answer on this route

UNLIKELY
Through a grandparent
Danish nationality passes only from a parent who held it at your birth. A parent born abroad usually lost it at 22, and anyone who naturalized elsewhere before September 2015 lost it then, so grandparent lines rarely survive. Without one, the road to Denmark is residence and naturalisation.

The law

Nationality is acquired at birth from a Danish father, mother or co-mother; the Act has no provision for grandparents. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 1(1)
A Dane born abroad who has never lived in Denmark, nor stayed there in circumstances showing attachment to Denmark, loses Danish nationality at 22 unless that would leave them stateless; seven years' residence in another Nordic country counts as residence in Denmark. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 8(1) and (3)
Until 1 September 2015 taking another nationality on application ended Danish nationality, and children born afterwards did not inherit it. Act No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)
Former Danish citizens regain nationality by declaration only after meeting residence conditions in Denmark; otherwise by naturalisation. Ministry of Immigration and Integration: former Danish citizens (tidligere danske statsborgere)

What would settle an unsure case

Whether your parent is still Danish (a current passport, or a retention decision before 22); if so, you are the child of a Danish parent and the parent rule applies.

06The documents

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by birth (§ 1)

Through a parent

Your parent's Danish passport or birth certificate
Your birth certificate
Your parents' marriage certificate, if any

Through a parent, if you were born before 2005

Your parent's Danish passport or birth certificate
Your birth certificate
Your parents' marriage certificate, if any
Any retention decision or Danish passport issued to you

Citizen by birth

Through a parent, if someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

Your parent's naturalization certificate
Your birth certificate

Most countries also want proof that no one in the line became a citizen elsewhere before the next birth: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter that none exists.

07What it takes

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by birth (§ 1)

Time: 4–8 weeks for a first Danish passport once citizenship is confirmed; longer if the retention question at 22 needs a ruling from the immigration ministry first.
Cost: About $200–400: certified copies, apostilles and the passport fee.
The hard part: If you were born abroad and are past 22, showing you lived in Denmark, stayed there enough to show attachment, or applied to keep citizenship before turning 22.
Who decides: The Danish consulate for your address, or Udlændingestyrelsen (the Danish Immigration Service) for a retention ruling.
The first record: Your parent’s Danish birth record, from Rigsarkivet (the Danish National Archives), or the CPR (Det Centrale Personregister) for a living record. Search Rigsarkivet’s digitized parish registers (kirkebøger) by name and parish for records before the 1968–91 civil registration; for a current record, order a personattest via borger.dk with the CPR number if known. sa.dk

How it’s filed

Where: The Ministry of Immigration and Integration, through the Danish embassy or consulate for your address office list
How: In person; no appearance needed
Form: Application for confirmation of Danish citizenship / retention past 22
Fee: No fee
Decision: 1–9 months

What goes in the file (4)

Your parent's Danish birth record or passport history
Your own birth certificate
Your parents' marriage certificate, if any
Evidence of residence or ties to Denmark, if you are past 22 and were born abroad

What goes wrong (1)

A retention decision under § 8 is free and can be requested before turning 22; a case with no retention issue is essentially a passport application.

Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

Citizen by birth

Time: 3–6 months once the naturalization dates are documented; this is the reformed rule applying to a parent who naturalized on or after 1 September 2015.
Cost: About $200–500 in certified copies and translations.
The hard part: Fixing the exact date your parent naturalized abroad against 1 September 2015 and against your birth.
Who decides: The Danish consulate for your address.
The first record: Your parent’s Danish birth record, from Rigsarkivet (the Danish National Archives), or the CPR (Det Centrale Personregister) for a living record. Search Rigsarkivet’s digitized parish registers (kirkebøger) by name and parish for records before the 1968–91 civil registration; for a current record, order a personattest via borger.dk with the CPR number if known. sa.dk

How it’s filed

Where: The Ministry of Immigration and Integration, through the Danish embassy or consulate for your address office list
How: In person; no appearance needed
Form: Confirmation of citizenship, or declaration for a former citizen (§ 4, after two years' residence)
Fee: Not confirmed: no official fee was found
Decision: 3–12 months

What goes in the file (3)

Your parent's Danish birth record
Your parent's naturalization certificate abroad, with its date
Your own birth certificate

What goes wrong (1)

This is the reformed-era case: a parent who naturalized abroad on or after 1 September 2015 did not lose Danish nationality, so the filing turns on documenting the date.

Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

Estimates are honest ranges from official fee tables and what families report; where a fee or time could not be confirmed, it says so.

08Where the records live

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

birth
Rigsarkivet (the Danish National Archives) for parish registers before civil registration; the CPR (Det Centrale Personregister) for a current record
For a person still on the Danish population register, order a personattest via borger.dk; for older entries, Rigsarkivet's digitized kirkebøger cover most parishes.
Ask
Online, in Danish · request page ↗
Takes
1–4 weeks
Good to know (1)
- Rigsarkivet's parish registers are free to search online; a certified extract from the CPR is faster than an archival search.
Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

Translations

Into: Danish
Who may translate: Any certified translator
About: $20–$40 a page

Danish missions generally accept documents in English without translation; other languages need a certified translation into Danish or English.

Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

The passport

Where: The Danish embassy or consulate for your address, or a Borgerservice office if you live in Denmark.
Fee: Not confirmed
Time: 2–8 weeks

Unverified: the exact current consular passport fee for an application filed from the U.S.; Denmark's domestic fee is published but consular surcharges vary by mission.

Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

09Law changes

Recent and pending changes

The legislative watch has no pending bill or recent ruling recorded for Denmark.

Already in the rule

Former citizens who lost nationality under the old rule could reclaim it by written declaration until 1 July 2026; a former citizen by birth can still declare after two years' residence in Denmark, and otherwise applies for naturalisation. Consolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022, § 5 A and § 4

The watch re-reads the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person re-checks the rule before anything here moves.

10Other doors

If descent doesn’t reach you

5 residence programs lead to Denmark without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.

11Sources

Every source on this page

4 laws and official pages behind the answers, then the offices and pages behind the records and filing. Records and filing checked 26 September 2026.

LawConsolidated Act on Danish Nationality (indfødsretsloven), LBK nr 1656 af 23/12/2022 · § 1(1); § 8(1) and (3); § 5 A and § 4
LawMinistry of Immigration and Integration: keeping Danish citizenship at 22 (bevarelse af dansk statsborgerskab) · checked 26 September 2026
LawAct No. 1496 of 23 December 2014 amending the Act on Danish Nationality (dual citizenship, in force 1 September 2015)
LawMinistry of Immigration and Integration: former Danish citizens (tidligere danske statsborgere) · checked 26 September 2026
RecordsRigsarkivet (the Danish National Archives), or the CPR (Det Centrale Personregister) for a living record: Your parent’s Danish birth record · checked 26 September 2026
RecordsTranslations into Danish · checked 26 September 2026
RecordsThe passport: where, the fee and the wait · checked 26 September 2026

Not legal advice. Postern’s rulebook is written from the statutes and tested against documented cases; where the law is unsettled, the answer says “possible” or “unsure” rather than guess.

Who qualifies, generation by generation

Can you claim Danish citizenship through a parent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim Danish citizenship through a grandparent?

Can you claim Danish citizenship through a great-grandparent?

The dates that matter

How mothers’ lines were treated

In the law’s words

Dual citizenship with your home country

Every route, and the law behind it

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by birth (§ 1)

Citizen by birth

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by birth (§ 1)

How it’s filed

Citizen by birth

How it’s filed

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

Translations

The passport

Recent and pending changes

Already in the rule

If descent doesn’t reach you

Every source on this page

Check your family for Denmark.