Denmark Wants Refugees With Over $1450 in Assets to Pay for Their Stay

Summary: Denmark wants refugees with over $1450 in assets to pay for their stay, according to proposed Law No. 87, expected to pass Jan. 26 in Parliament.

Danish Parliament (Folketinget), where a law increasing family reunion application waiting periods and requiring refugees to contribute to the costs of their stay in Denmark is expected to pass on Jan. 26, 2016; the Danish Parliament meets in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen: News Øresund – Johan Wessman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

According to a new law expected to pass in Danish parliament Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, Denmark wants refugees to wait three years after being granted asylum to file family reunion applications and Danish authorities may confiscate assets valued over 10,000 kroner ($1,450) from refugees.

Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has defended national and global criticisms of the pending legislation as stemming from a misunderstanding about why Denmark wants refugees to pay for their stay. The new law expects refugees to meet the same welfare benefit qualifications as those already applied to Denmark’s citizens.

“Looking at the debate, you almost get the impression that we are going to turn people upside down to see if we can shake the last coin out of their pockets. That is completely distorted and wrong,” Prime Minister Rasmussen told the media on Tuesday, Jan. 12, according to international news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The new law increases the waiting period for family reunion applications to three years after a refugee has been granted asylum. Current Danish law imposes a one-year waiting period after granting of asylum.

Zachary Whyte, an asylum and integration researcher at the University of Copenhagen, has concerns about the increased waiting period for family reunion applications. “Human rights organisations have focused more on other elements in the bill,” Whyte explained in The Local’s Denmark issue of Jan. 22. “These include a delay in processing family reunification for some refugees, so that they would have to wait three years from being granted status to first applying. Since asylum case processing is slowing down, this could potentially mean that refugees might have to wait for five years or more before they could bring their spouses and children to safety in Denmark.”

On Thursday, Jan. 21, during the United Nations’ Human Rights Council’s first review of Denmark’s rights record since 2011, representatives from 87 countries declaimed Denmark’s recent migration tightening measures, such as implementing temporary border controls on Monday, Jan. 4. The perception, especially with the pending legislation, is that Denmark wants refugees to reconsider seeking asylum there.

United States representative Keith Harper stated at the Council: “We note with concern the bill pending in the Danish parliament that would permit the Danish authorities to search the belongings of asylum seekers and seize cash and certain objects of value.”

In line with Prime Minister Rasmussen, Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen attributed criticism to misunderstanding. Confiscation will not apply to wedding rings and items of sentimental value. The new law does not exempt refugees from requirements that are imposed upon Denmark’s citizens.

“The Danish welfare state is based upon the very simple principle that the state will provide and pay for those unable to take care of themselves, not for those who are able,” Foreign Minister Jensen explained to the Council. “This simple principle applies for Danes seeking unemployment benefits, as well as to asylum seekers.”

As the smallest and flattest of Scandinavia’s five countries, Denmark has a population of 5.6 million. With 21,000 asylum applications in 2015, Denmark numbers among the top European Union destinations per capita for migrants. In comparison, Sweden, with a population of 9.8 million, received almost 163,000 asylum applications in 2015.

Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen attributes criticism of Denmark's proposed new immigration law to a misunderstanding of a "very simple principle" of the Danish welfare state: The Local Denmark @thelocaldenmark via Facebook Jan. 21, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Danish Parliament: News Øresund – Johan Wessman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christiansborg_Folketingssalen_20120420_0222F_(8188480571).jpg

Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen attributes criticism of Denmark's proposed new immigration law to a misunderstanding of a "very simple principle" of the Danish welfare state: The Local Denmark @thelocaldenmark via Facebook Jan. 21, 2016, @ https://www.facebook.com/thelocaldenmark/posts/1663650507233152

For further information:

Bilefsky, Dan. "Denmark Moves to Make Refugees Hand Over Valuables." The New York Times > Europe. Jan. 13, 2016.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/world/europe/denmark-refugees-confiscate-valuables.html

CCTV News. "Denmark debates plans to seize migrants' valuable." YouTube. Jan. 14, 2016.
Available http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G2NRaieaRo

"Has Denmark's plan to seize goods been misunderstood?" The Local: Denmark's news in English. Jan. 22, 2016.
Available @ http://www.thelocal.dk/20160122/has-denmarks-plan-to-seize-valuables-from-refugees-really-been-misunderstood

TheLocalDenmark @TheLocalDenmark. "As Danes debate, Swiss already seizing refugees' cash." Twitter. Jan. 15, 2014.
Available @ https://twitter.com/TheLocalDenmark/status/688011453899649024

The Local Denmark @thelocaldenmark. "Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen had a rough day in Geneva explaining Denmark's asylum policies." Facebook. Jan. 21, 2016.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/thelocaldenmark/posts/1663650507233152

Marriner, Derdriu. "Scandinavian Border Controls Slow Migrant Flow into Denmark and Sweden." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/01/scandinavian-border-controls-slow.html

"Right-wing Danish MPs claim majority support for plan to take cash & valuables from asylum seekers." RT > News. Jan. 13, 2016.
Available @ https://www.rt.com/news/328704-denmark-refugees-cash-stripping-bill/