Thanks Brian.
For your perusal:
Having read your link above,i am not sure if this is salient or not.
17 January 2002
A new policy for foreigners
The Government’s policy for foreigners rests on three fundamental considerations.
Denmark’s commitments under international conventions must be honoured.
The number of foreigners coming into Denmark must be restricted, and stricter requirements as to their duty to support themselves must be introduced.
The refugees and immigrants already living in Denmark must be better integrated and get a job faster. Therefore, the incentive to seek work themselves must be enhanced.
On this basis, the Government presents the following proposals for discussion with various players, such as the local councils, which play a major role in carrying out the policies on foreigners and integration. As mentioned in the Government Platform, the Government will introduce bills by 1 March 2002 at the latest.
Asylum and refugees
Fewer refugees to Denmark
The Government will abolish the concept of de facto refugees. Only individuals entitled to protection under international conventions will be allowed to live in Denmark. This will mean an essential and fundamental tightening of the conditions for obtaining asylum, which the Government finds necessary. It is important to approximate the asylum practices of the EU member states. The Government will therefore support the work for common asylum rules in the EU.
Today, Denmark recognises a number of countries as safe third countries that do not, in accordance with the 1951 Geneva Convention, return asylum-seekers to countries where they risk persecution. Asylum-seekers can be refused entry and returned to safe third countries without first having their asylum applications examined. The Government will work for approval of more countries as safe third countries, making it possible to refuse entry to more asylum-seekers.
The Government will abolish the possibility of applying for asylum from embassies abroad.
Refugees are not to become immigrants
Today, refugees are issued with permanent residence permits already after three years. It must be the principal rule that refugees should return to their countries of origin. The Government will therefore change the rules so that a permanent residence permit is only granted after at least seven years in Denmark.
Refugees with no permanent residence permits are to be returned to their countries of origin if the situation changes so that they will no longer be persecuted.
If refugees who have been granted asylum in Denmark because they have ties with family in Denmark marry a person from another country, it must be assessed whether the ties with Denmark are still strong enough. If not, the foreigner is to be returned to the spouse’s country of origin.
Refugees travelling to their country of origin on holiday will automatically have their cases reassessed. If they are no longer persecuted in their countries of origin, their residence permits must be revoked. Therefore, all refugees must have a travel restriction entered in their passports so that they can only travel to their countries of origin after having applied to the authorities to have the travel restriction lifted.
More stringent processing of asylum applications
Nobody who hides from the authorities will have an application for asylum in Denmark examined. This means that it will not be possible to go underground while one’s application is being examined.
Asylum-seekers whose applications for asylum are refused are to leave the country immediately and not, as today, only after 15 days.
The manifestly-unfounded procedure is to be applied in more cases. Cases considered by the Danish Immigration Service to be manifestly unfounded, but incapable of determination by the manifestly-unfounded procedure, are to be determinable by the chairman of the Refugee Board on his own.
It must be made possible to carry out the expedited manifestly-unfounded procedure in one day – for example in case of entry of a large number of asylum-seekers of a nationality normally unable to obtain asylum.
The composition of the Refugee Board is to be changed. Today the Board has five members: A judge, two ministerial representatives, a representative appointed by the General Council of the Bar and Law Society and a representative appointed by the Danish Refugee Council. In future, the Board will only have three members: A judge, a ministerial representative and a representative appointed by the General Council of the Bar and Law Society.
Control with foreigners living as tolerated residents
Foreigners whose applications for a residence permit have been refused due to serious crime will not receive the usual social benefits, and legal authority to order them to reside at the Center Sandholm should be provided. In any circumstances they will have a duty to report to the police. If they contravene the duty to report, it must be possible to detain them.
Increased demands for self-maintenance
Foreigners coming to Denmark must support themselves.
As a point of departure, foreigners who have not been issued with a permanent residence permit must be returned if they cannot manage without public maintenance.
In all cases of reunification of spouses, a maintenance condition must be made.
It will be possible to make reunification of spouses conditional on the provision of a financial security of DKK 50,000 to cover any future maintenance expenses. It must be made possible to enforce claims for repayment of maintenance expenses, etc., borne by public funds.
It will be a condition that the spouse living in Denmark has not received any social benefits for a certain period before the reunification, provided that the spouse in Denmark is capable of working.
Special rules apply to refugees and persons with a protection status.
Family reunification
Fewer family reunifications in Denmark
There will be no statutory right to reunification with a spouse.
Basically, no reunification of spouses will be granted if one of the spouses is under 24 years of age.
The generally more lenient access to reunification with refugee spouses will be abolished in all cases where the marriage was only entered into after the flight to Denmark. In such cases, reunification with a spouse can be refused pursuant to the same rules as those that apply to reunification with a Danish spouse.
The condition that the spouses must have ties with Denmark must be extended to apply also to Danes living in Denmark so that also in these cases reunification with a spouse takes place in the country with which the aggregate ties are greatest. The assessment of whether the condition of ties is satisfied will emphasise several factors, including the ties of the person living in Denmark with family in the intended spouse’s country of origin. When one of or both the parents of the person living in Denmark have come here from the same country as the intended spouse, the person living in Denmark will often have such ties with family in that country that the condition of ties is not satisfied.
The current access to family reunification with parents over 60 years of age will be abolished.
In family reunification cases, the local council will be asked to furnish all information of importance to the family reunification case so that the Danish Immigration Service can take it into account when examining the application for family reunification.
Marriage conditions will be tightened
The general conditions of the Marriage Act for entering into marriage will be tightened so that both spouses have to be lawfully resident in Denmark. This means that persons with unlawful or procedural residence in Denmark – such as asylum-seekers – cannot get married in Denmark.
Combat against marriages of convenience
The marriage authorities must make known to all married couples that marriage in Denmark does not automatically mean that the foreign spouse can obtain a residence permit for Denmark.
If a spouse is not living permanently in Denmark, the couple has to sign a declaration before they marry stating that they are familiar with the family reunification rules and that they know that a marriage of convenience does not confer a right of reunification with a spouse.
The marriage authorities are to report cases of suspected marriages of convenience to the Danish Immigration Service so that such information can be included in the examination by the Danish Immigration Service of any subsequent application for reunification with a spouse.
Tightened conditions for permanent residence permits
It will apply generally to all foreigners that they can only obtain a permanent residence permit after seven years. This means that refugees can be returned if the situation in their countries of origin changes within seven years so that they no longer risk persecution. Also, persons reunited with their family can be returned, for example if they are divorced from the person living in Denmark with whom they were reunited before the seven years are out.
Foreigners who have committed serious crime, such as drug-related crime, people smuggling, homicide, aggravated assault and violence, and rape will not be able to obtain a permanent residence permit. Foreigners who have committed other crimes and have not been expelled will only be able to obtain a permanent residence permit after a prolonged waiting period. The waiting period will be of at least five years if the foreigner was sentenced to imprisonment. The waiting period will increase with the severity of the crime committed by the foreigner.
It will also be a condition for a permanent residence permit that the applicant has no debt due to any public authorities.
Stricter enforcement is required of the condition that the foreigner must have completed an introduction programme offered to him or her in order to obtain a permanent residence permit. This tightening will be effected in connection with the review of the Integration Act in the parliamentary year 2002-2003.
Better control of public benefits
The Government wants the immigration authorities in future to disclose information on the foreigners’ basis of residence to the local councils to prevent them from paying social benefits to ineligible foreigners.
The Government will change the rules on assistance for the maintenance of children living abroad so that the family allowance can only be obtained for children living in Denmark.
Recruitment of qualified labour
The Government will introduce a Green Card-like scheme making it easier to obtain a residence permit for people who have obtained work in fields short of qualified labour.
International initiatives
The Government will work to enhance aid to neighbouring regions of countries suffering from conflicts or civil war. In the further reorganisation of the Danish aid policy, the Minister for Foreign Affairs will draft a proposal for Denmark’s aid to countries that have experienced a large influx of refugees within the framework of the Government’s new focus on the action against poverty in the Danish aid policy. Proposed initiatives will concern both the bilateral aid to single countries and the aid through international organisations and NGOs.
During the Danish EU Presidency, Denmark will work for enhanced understanding for the importance of a neighbouring region strategy. In that connection, Denmark will ensure continuation of the work in the EU concerning the conclusion of agreements under which third countries undertake to take back their own nationals and other persons who have previously resided in such country for a certain period if their applications for asylum are refused, and the like.
Developing countries who will not accept expelled own nationals or nationals refused entry will be deprived of any Danish aid.
Integration in the labour market
More people are to work, and fewer people are to be on public maintenance. It must pay to work, and the employment policy will be adapted to effectively motivate and equip the individual person for ordinary jobs in the labour market. This applies to foreigners coming to Denmark, and it applies to Danes.
The Government will introduce an action plan “More People in Work” next autumn in the light of an analysis of the overall employment policy. Foreigners coming to Denmark have resources not used actively today in the Danish labour market. Integration into the Danish society is best effected through employment ties, while a larger influx to the workforce is needed in the coming years. The action plan will therefore have a special section on further initiatives aimed at the labour market for “Immigrants in Employment”.
The increased requirements of self-maintenance will provide a strong incentive for foreigners to enter the labour market.
Qualifying principle for full cash benefits
As a point of departure, foreigners will not be maintained by public funds. In some cases it is necessary to deviate from this principle. This applies above all to the foreigners who obtain a status of protection.
In these cases the Government will introduce a qualifying principle for cash benefits so that only persons who have resided in Denmark for at least seven out of the preceding eight years are entitled to full cash benefits. Persons coming to Denmark in future will be subject to the new rules. This applies to both foreigners and Danes.
The Government finds that an adjustment of the rates has long been needed. So far, typically, newly arrived foreigners have received such high cash benefits that the earned income that they could otherwise obtain has been far from measuring up to this level of maintenance. With the current rates of cash benefits, two providers who both receive cash benefits receive a total amount of DKK 21,044 per month before tax. If only one of the spouses gets a job, the monthly wage before tax must be DKK 22,874 in order to correspond to the couple’s total cash benefits. The wages of about two-thirds of adult wage earners in the industrial sector are below this level.
If various other benefits, such as special assistance for high housing expenses, etc., housing subsidies and reduced payment by parents for child care institutions, are taken into account, the wage has to be even higher to reach the cash benefit level.
It is important for the Government that the future rates are at a level that means that it will always pay to leave the public maintenance system and get an ordinary job.
Persons falling within the new rates during the seven-year period will, as a minimum, be certain of benefits corresponding to the level of the benefits granted to students in Denmark for their maintenance.
The new rates and disposable amounts appear from the table below. The disposable amount is the monthly amount available to the households in the selected family types for clothing, food and other daily necessities after payment of tax, housing expenses, child care institution, etc.
Current rates, new rates during the seven-year period and disposable amounts, 2002-PL
Examples of family types Current rules During seven-year period Disposable amount per month under current rules Disposable amount per month during seven-year period
Person living at home under 25 years of age 2,463 2,103 2,463 2,103
Person living away from home under 25 years of age 5,103 4,231 1,938 1,403
Single non-provider over 25 years of age 1) 7,919 5,103 3,770 2,138
Couple, non-providers over 25 years of age 15,838 8,462 7,688 3,306
Single with 1 child 1) 10,522 6,379 7,589 5,442
Single with 2 children 1) 10,522 7,655 9,936 8,433
Couple with 2 children 21,044 10,578 11,378 8,208
Couple with 4 children 2) 21,044 10,578 13,256 9,669
1) For singles over 25 years of age, the rate during the seven-year period corresponds to the current cash benefit rate for persons living away from home under 25 years of age.
2) A provider supplement (family allowance) is granted to the household for each child, the maximum being two provider supplements per household.
During the seven-year qualifying period, the large majority of family types will be sure of maintenance benefits constituting amounts in the order of 50-70 per cent of current cash benefit rates.
As the table shows, the incentive to take work is considerably enhanced by the new rates. The new rates have been fixed at a level at which, for all family types, it should be a financial advantage if only one of them accepts a job at the minimum wage level.
To further increase the incentive to seek work – including part-time work – people will be allowed to keep a larger part of their earned income during the seven-year qualifying period before their benefits are subject to deduction. The cash benefits will only be reduced by the part of the ordinary work income that lies beyond DKK 28 per hour against DKK 11.50 under the current rules. So in future it will also pay to take a part-time job.
The Government will also change the rules for rehabilitation benefits so that persons subject to the seven-year rule will not obtain a higher income by entering the rehabilitation system rather than receiving the new, lower cash benefit rates.
The reduced rates are an essential first step towards increasing the incentive to work for persons who have stayed in Denmark for less than seven out of the preceding eight years. Despite the reduced rates, families with children will in many cases continue to have rather large amounts at their disposal after payment of fixed expenses. This is due to other benefits, such as housing subsidies, child allowance and reduced child care institution prices. The Government will therefore review these rules carefully in connection with the analysis of the overall employment policy for the purpose of “More People in Work”.
Better introduction for newly arrived foreigners
It is crucial that the foreigners who receive public maintenance are quickly introduced to the principle on which the Danish maintenance system is based. The individual has rights and duties, and in return he or she is sure of a basis of maintenance until self-maintenance is possible through ties with the labour market. Therefore, an individual agreement must be concluded between the foreigner involved and the local council. The agreement must clearly state the elements that are included in the introduction course and the demands for completion that are made on the foreigner. The agreement concluded will thus describe both the needs of the individual for, for example, Danish courses, upgrading courses or job training, as well as sanctions in the form of reduction of benefits in case of absence.
The municipal introduction programmes for newly arrived foreigners must thus be made more work-related. It must be clear from the start that the goal is that each foreigner enables himself or herself to work and finds a job. The duties of the local council and the newly arrived foreigner must appear in detail, and it must be clarified what sanctions apply to the newly arrived foreigner in case of absence without good cause.
The Government will discuss with the local councils how to provide better incentives for the local councils to carry out an efficient activation effort.
The Danish courses must be improved and made more work-related. The Government will check whether the financing system can be reorganised to provide better incentives for pupils, language centres and local councils to carry out efficient Danish courses.
The qualifications of the newly arrived foreigner must be clarified more easily and faster. This must be done, for example, by testing their working capacity in enterprises, by courses in educational institutions and by approval of qualifications at the Danish Centre for Assessment of Foreign Qualifications.
Effort for better integration of children and young people
The Government will propose an amendment to the Act on Independent Schools to make it clear that also these school must prepare the pupils for living in a society with freedom and democracy, and that the tuition must strengthen the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Government will also enhance the inspection of the schools.
The Government will discuss with the local councils how to ensure that all children can speak Danish when they start in school.
Nationality
The conditions for obtaining Danish nationality must be tightened to correspond more accurately to society’s expectations of the individual applicant’s efforts to become part of Danish society.
The applicants’ knowledge of Danish will be more emphasised. It will be a condition that applicants can speak and read Danish so that they can have a job and function actively as citizens. Another condition for obtaining Danish nationality is knowledge of the Danish society, principles of law and values.
Fulfilment of these conditions must be proved by a certificate from a special test. The test can be done at the national language centres independently of courses, but against a fee to cover the costs of the test.
The current possibility of exemption from the language condition for persons over 65 years of age will be abolished.
All applicants for Danish nationality must sign a statement declaring that they will observe Danish legislation and honour fundamental Danish principles of law, including the human rights.
It will become more difficult for persons who have committed crimes to obtain Danish nationality. Crime resulting in two years’ imprisonment or more will completely preclude the person from Danish nationality. For persons sentenced to a lesser punishment, the waiting period will be extended compared to current rules. The waiting period will be at least two years and will increase with the severity of the crime committed by the foreigner.
It will be a main rule that foreigners can only obtain Danish nationality when they have had a permanent residence permit for at least two years. This means that foreigners can normally only obtain Danish nationality after nine years. However, stateless persons, refugees and persons married to Danes will only need a permanent residence permit for one year. This means that these persons can normally obtain Danish nationality after eight years.
It will no longer be possible for a person to obtain Danish nationality if he or she is in debt to public authorities.
or anybody else from this forum... 