Immigration to Denmark
[2] This shift in demographics has posed challenges to the nation as it attempts to address cultural and religious differences, labour shortages, employment gaps, education of immigrants and their descendants, spatial segregation, crime rates and language abilities.
[3][4] In Prehistoric times, Denmark experienced at least three major immigration waves: Firstly, the tribes of relatively small and dark-skinned hunters and gatherers that entered the country after the last ice age around 8,000 BCE.
Through generations most of the early Danish bishops were immigrants, as were the monks that founded the first monasteries and many of the skilled artisans that were in charge of building the major churches and cathedrals in Denmark.
As both townsmen and noblemen made out a very small part of the population, the German immigration was numerically modest, but culturally and technically it had important and lasting impact upon Danish society.
After the Reformation in Denmark in 1536, for several hundred years only Lutherans were allowed to settle permanently in the country, though in some cases the authorities made exceptions for specific groups.
Christian IV of Denmark during the 17th century actively invited Calvinist Dutch specialists in ship-building and some other trades to settle down, granting them special privileges of freedom of religion.
In 1682, the town of Fredericia granted freedom of settlement for Jews and non-Lutheran Christians as opposed to the rest of Denmark, creating a special atmosphere of religious diversity and tolerance.
People like Adam Gottlob Moltke from Mecklenburg and Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, originally from Hanover, had leading offices in the Danish government.
The scientist Carsten Niebuhr, the botanist Georg Christian Oeder, the historian Paul Henri Mallet, the architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin and the sculptor Jacques Saly were other important examples.
[6] During the Industrial Revolution in Denmark in the 19th century, many workers, in particular from Germany and Sweden, immigrated to take part in large construction activities like railroads, dikes and the fortification of Copenhagen.
[11] In 1983 a large majority in Folketinget passed a new immigration law which gave asylum seekers and other refugees clearer legal rights.
[14] When Danes were surveyed in 2001 about the most important issues politicians should address in the coming election, 51% of respondents listed immigrant and refugee populations.
In addition, the Danish immigration authorities were tasked with assessing if each member of the couple applying for spouse reunification had a greater attachment to Denmark or to another nation.
[17] According to a 2012 report published by the Danish Immigration Service, the most common reasons for receiving a Danish residence permit were: In the 2010s, the hold period for a family reunification was extended from one year to three, social welfare for asylum seekers was reduced, the duration of temporary residence permits decreased and efforts to deport rejected asylum claimants intensified.
[21] In the period 2019-2023, the government led by Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made migration policy still stricter.
[25][26] In 2022, the then Minister of Integration, Mattias Tesfaye, himself the son of an Ethiopian refugee, said the following: "If you look at the historical background, it is completely normal that left-wing politicians like me are not against migration, but want it to be under control.
[44] The expert's also stressed that laws like the ones on Denmarks "ghettos" also called "parallel societies" stigmatizes and target's minority groups violating their human rights.
[52] A 2007 study of religious pluralism in Denmark describes the 0.7% of the population practicing Hinduism as being primarily Tamil immigrants from Sri Lanka and Southern India.
In addition, the average immigrants had a short education and a relatively low level of work experience from a labor market similar to that of Denmark.
Additional reasons mentioned are lack of language skills, too little knowledge of the Danish labor market and bad health, not least for women.
[64] Denmark offers relatively high unemployment benefits compared to some other OECD countries, which have been argued to act as a disincentive for labor market participation, particularly within low-skilled immigrant populations.
[64] At the same time, a 2019 study from the Rockwool Foundation found mixed effects of lowering welfare benefits for immigrants: A short-run increase in employment was coupled with a strong female labor force withdrawal and a decrease in the performance in language tests and the years of education of affected children.
[81] The 1998 legislation also tied immigrant introductory programs and welfare benefits to residing in their assigned municipality in order to discourage relocation.
This legislation aimed to balance housing waiting lists in cities such as Copenhagen with existing vacancies in geographic regions such as Jutland.
[83]In 2004, the government announced a "strategy against ghettoisation",[84] and in the following years several other initiatives were directed specifically towards the prevailing patterns of settlements of non-western immigrants in some social housing areas.
[85] In 2018, the Lars Løkke Rasmussen III Cabinet published a proposal titled "Ét Danmark uden parallelsamfund - Ingen ghettoer i 2030" ("One Denmark without parallel societies - No ghettos by 2030").
[88][89] After a change of government, the newly appointed minister of housing Kaare Dybvad stated in July 2019 that he would in future avoid using the word "ghetto".
[48] The following section explores the conceptual and numeric economic costs and gains that Denmark has experienced as its immigrant population has increased in recent years.
In February 2014, the Danish Minister of Justice suggested that child support be cut to immigrant families with youth found guilty of a crime.
When correction for the greater proportion youth among non-Western migrants are taken into account and is adjusted for, the crime rate was two and half times that of the general male population.
