Denmark's Immigration Ministry faces extensive overtime work after a landmark Supreme Court decision. The ruling overturned decades of practice regarding citizenship revocation.
The court declared that individuals who received Danish citizenship by mistake may still retain it. This applies when people acted in good faith for many years. They must have built their lives around being Danish citizens. Removing citizenship would then cause disproportionate harm.
Ministry officials now conduct deep reviews of past cases. They examine both their own files and other archives. The search covers instances where citizens may have lost nationality unjustly.
The case originated from a decades-old administrative error. Denmark's Supreme Court made its ruling nearly two months ago. The decision challenges long-standing immigration service procedures.
This ruling creates substantial administrative challenges for the ministry. It must reevaluate cases that followed now-rejected legal interpretations. The government faces balancing legal certainty with immigration control.
Legal experts note this shifts Denmark's approach to citizenship rights. The court prioritized individual circumstances over procedural purity. This reflects similar trends in European human rights jurisprudence.