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FAMILY

Denmark ends adoptions from abroad as government sanctions bureau

Denmark’s only international adoption bureau Danish International Adoption (DIA) is to close, effectively ending adoption from abroad to the Nordic country.

Published: 16 January 2024 17:10 CET
A baby's feet.
A baby's feet. Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

DIA’s board made the decision to cease operations after being hit by a string of sanctions by the public regulator Ankestyrelsen and the Ministry of Social Affairs, it said in a press statement.

Because DIA is the only Danish mediation organisation for international adoptions, Danish nationals or residents who want to adopt a child from abroad must do so through DIA.

The bureau is an independent NGO accredited by the Ministry of Social Affairs and regulated through a series of accreditation clauses between DIA and Ankestyrelsen.

Its decision to cease operations will effectively end international adoption to Denmark.

“This was a heavy decision to take for DIA’s board, but we see no alternative,” vice-chair of the board at DIA, Anne Friis, said in the statement.

“International adoption can no longer be operated by an NGO like us under the current conditions in Denmark,” she said.

The Social ministry and Ankestyrelsen are both responsible for oversight of DIA.

Ankestyrelsen last month suspended DIA’s operations in South Africa, the country where the largest share of its activities are based, while the ministry on Monday decided to suspend DIA’s five remaining national arrangements with Taiwan, the Philippines, India, Thailand and Czechia.

The Minister of Social Affairs and Housing, Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil, told broadcaster TV2 that DIA had broken employment regulations.

According to TV2’s reports, Ankestyrelsen ordered DIA to explain why one of its employees was also listed as an employee with South African partner Impilo. It also said two “undocumented payments” had been made to the employee in question.

Broadcaster DR has previously reported irregularities in adoptions from Madagascar mediated by DIA.

Some 36 applicants for adoption are currently on the bureau’s waiting list, divided between its various partner countries.

According to DIA, around 400-500 children were adopted to Denmark from abroad from the 1970s until 2010, but the number has since declined.

The number of partner countries and adoptions is now too low to make ongoing operations viable, DIA board member Mikael Baden said to news wire Ritzau.

“We are in a place where the sustainability of our structure is no longer viable , and it’s no longer viable to operate within the political framework,” he said.

DIA’s involvement in international adoptions is regulated by an accreditation system which must be renewed by Ankestyrelsen annually.

The regulator must also approve all country partnerships and all individual adoptions.

“As part of the accreditation agreement, there’s a contingency plan for any instance in which DIA’s work should cease,” the bureau said in its statement.

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FAMILY

New Danish rules on bringing foreign spouses to apply ‘at point of decision’

Anyone whose application to come to Denmark to join a Danish partner is still outstanding when new rules come into force on July 1st will be treated under the new rules, the Danish Immigration Service has confirmed.

Published: 6 May 2024 10:54 CEST
New Danish rules on bringing foreign spouses to apply 'at point of decision'

This means that they will only have to deposit 57,000 kroner in an account for their local municipality, rather than 114,000 kroner under the existing rules, and also means the Danish partner will not have to prove they have reached Danish 3 or higher in a Danish test if they have worked in Denmark full time for five years or more. 

The new rules, which make small but still significant changes to Denmark’s draconian system of family reunion for spouses, are set for their final vote in the Danish parliament on May 30th.  

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“If the proposal is passed, the new rules will come into force on 1 July 2024,” the service said in a press release. “However, it will also be possible to have an application submitted before this time processed under the new rules when they come into force.”

In the press release, the service said that it planned to contact those who have already submitted applications under existing rules to ask whether they wanted to delay a decision until after the new rules have come into force. 

It also said that people whose applications for family reunion were refused before the proposal was presented to the Danish parliament on April 11th, either because they could not meet the financial guarantee or because of the language requirement, would be able to submit a new application after the rules come into force on July 1st. 

Many spouses who have moved to Denmark under the existing rules still have more than 100,000 kroner sitting in a bank account reserved for the use of their local municipality should they become unemployed, or require other support. 

The Local is waiting for clarification from the agency over whether they can now withdrawn some of the funds — in some cases as much as 57,000 kroner — so that the amount reaches the lower level of 57,000 kroner stipulated in the new rules.  

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