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EUROPEAN UNION

Danish government outlines no-deal Brexit advice for British residents

Denmark’s Ministry of Immigration and Integration has advised certain steps for British citizens in anticipation of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a withdrawal agreement.

Published: 22 January 2019 17:40 CET
Danish government outlines no-deal Brexit advice for British residents
File photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

The Danish government has prepared for all possible outcomes of the ongoing political tumult in the UK over Brexit, including a no-deal scenario, according to a message posted on the immigration ministry’s website on Tuesday.

“Necessary measures have been set in motion to enable authorities to manage the possible no-deal scenario from March 30th onwards,” the ministry wrote.

The following information relevant to Denmark-based British residents, should a no-deal Brexit occur, was outlined by the immigration authority:

  • British citizens living in Denmark who have not already obtained an EU registration certificate (EU-registreringsbevis), or have not already applied for one, are strongly advised to do so prior to March 29th.
  • Family members of Denmark-based British citizens required to apply for Danish residence via their family member’s status are also advised to do so before this date.
  • British citizens who qualify for permanent residency (tidsubegrænset ophold) in Denmark in accordance with EU rules are also advised to apply for this prior to March 29th.

“This will make it easier for you to prove you have the right to reside (in Denmark)” while enabling Danish authorities to see that residency had been approved prior to March 29th, the ministry wrote.

Applications for EU registration certificates and residency permits should be made to the State Administration (Statsforvaltningen), where more information on EU free movement residency rules is also available.

The ministry also advised persons with questions regarding residency and rights connected to Brexit to contact the Ministry of Immigration and Integration via email.

Although Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has previously moved to reassure Denmark-based British citizens over their future status in the event of a no-deal Brexit, no official approach has yet been made clear.

But the ministry moved to provide the information via its website on Tuesday.

“Great Britain’s decision to leave the EU creates general uncertainty about the future for all parties. At the same time, the potential outcome of a no-deal scenario is a cause of concern for Denmark-based British citizens as well as their families,” the ministry wrote.

The website post notes that the agreement reached between British Prime Minister Theresa May and EU negotiators in November sought to “ensure that British citizens who, prior to Brexit, were legally resident in the EU under free movement rules, can continue to live in the EU after March 29th, 2019 under conditions that generally follow those in place today.”

That agreement was, however, rejected by an overwhelming majority in the British parliament last week, and has seen extensive criticism from both pro-Remain and pro-Leave voices in parliament and society alike in the UK. It remains unclear whether any agreement will be approved.

If no agreement is voted through, the default outcome is a no-deal British withdrawal on March 29th.

The ministry made its position over the agreement clear in the statement published on its website.

“It is still the hope of the Danish government that the withdrawal agreement currently on the table will be approved. That would undoubtedly be best for all parties and not least for citizens who have taken advantage of free movement to and from the United Kingdom, and their families,” the message read.

“What will happen is still unknown. That depends on the United Kingdom,” the ministry also wrote.

READ ALSO: Up to Brits to come up with Brexit solution: Rasmussen

EUROPEAN UNION

Denmark joins countries calling for asylum centres outside EU

Denmark is one of 15 EU member states who have sent a joint letter to the European Commission demanding a further tightening of the bloc's asylum policy, which will make it easier to transfer undocumented migrants to third countries, such as Rwanda, including when they are rescued at sea.

Published: 16 May 2024 16:08 CEST
Denmark joins countries calling for asylum centres outside EU

The letter, sent to the European Commission on Thursday, comes less than a month before European Parliament elections, in which far-right anti-immigration parties are forecast to make gains.

The letter asks the European Union’s executive arm to “propose new ways and solutions to prevent irregular migration to Europe”.

The group includes Italy and Greece, which receive a substantial number of the people making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to reach the EU — many seeking to escape poverty, war or persecution, according to the International Organization for Migration.

They want the EU to toughen up its recently adopted asylum pact, which introduces tighter controls on those seeking to enter the 27-nation bloc.
That reform includes speedier vetting of people arriving without documents, new border detention centres and faster deportation for rejected asylum applicants.

The 15 proposed in their letter the introduction of “mechanisms… aimed at detecting, intercepting — or in cases of distress, rescuing — migrants on the high seas and bringing them to a predetermined place of safety in a partner country outside the EU, where durable solutions for those migrants could be found”.

They said it should be easier to send asylum seekers to third countries while their requests for protection are assessed.

They cited the example of a controversial deal that Italy has struck with non-EU Albania, under which Rome can send thousands of asylum seekers plucked from Italian waters to holding camps in the Balkan country until their cases are processed.

The concept in EU asylum law of what constitutes “safe third countries” should be reassessed, they continued.

Safe country debate

EU law stipulates that people arriving in the bloc without documents can be sent to a third country, where they could have requested asylum — so long as that country is deemed safe and the applicant has a genuine link with it.

That would exclude schemes like the divisive law passed by the UK, which has now left the EU, enabling London to refuse all irregular arrivals the right to request asylum and send them to Rwanda.

Rights groups accuse the African country — ruled with an iron fist by President Paul Kagame since the end of the 1994 genocide that killed around 800,000 people — of cracking down on free speech and political opposition.

The 15 nations said they wanted the EU to make deals with third countries along the main migration routes, citing the example of the arrangement it made with Turkey in 2016 to take in Syrian refugees from the war in their home country.

The letter was signed by Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania.

It was not signed by Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban has resisted EU plans to share out responsibility across the bloc for hosting asylum seekers, or to contribute to the costs of that plan.

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