Yes. Denmark has accepted dual citizenship since 1 September 2015, so you can be Danish and American, Canadian, British or Australian at the same time. Danes who take another nationality keep Danish citizenship, and people who naturalise in Denmark no longer have to renounce their old one. What decides most cases for families abroad is a different rule: a Dane born outside Denmark who has never lived there loses Danish citizenship at 22 unless they have ties to Denmark and, usually, apply to keep it between 20 and 22.
The short answer
- Danish and US citizen from birth, born abroad, under 20: you can keep both. Note your 20th and 22nd birthdays: the retention application goes in between them.
- Dane who naturalises in the US since 1 September 2015: keeps Danish citizenship, with no need to notify Denmark.
- Dane who naturalised abroad before 1 September 2015: lost Danish citizenship. The declaration period for getting it back ended on 30 June 2026.
- Grandchild of a Dane: no claim by descent. Danish citizenship passes only from a parent.
Denmark’s 22-year rule
Section 8 of the Danish Nationality Act (indfødsretsloven) says that a Danish national born abroad who has never lived in Denmark, and has not stayed there in circumstances indicating a close connection, loses Danish nationality on reaching 22, unless that would leave them stateless.
Two things set Denmark apart from its neighbours. First, the Danish test is about ties to Denmark, not about whether you hold another citizenship; the only protection for a person with no other nationality is the statelessness exception. Second, there is no simple formal step that keeps it, like Finland’s passport application: your actual time in Denmark is what counts, and the Danish Embassy in Washington strongly encourages all Danes born abroad to apply for retention so that the Ministry rules on it before 22.
What counts as ties to Denmark
Mission pages of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs set out two main ways to qualify. Either is enough:
- Residence. You lived in Denmark before turning 22. A continuous stay of at least three months is generally accepted, as long as you were registered at a Danish address in the Civil Registration System (CPR).
- Visits. Your stays in Denmark from birth until 22 add up to at least 12 months in total. Several shorter visits can add up.
Seven years’ residence in Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden is treated as residence in Denmark. If you meet neither test, the Ministry of Immigration and Integration’s nationality division can still grant retention after looking at your case as a whole: how long and how often you visited, how recently, your Danish (an embassy or consulate may test it in an interview), and other ties such as Danish relatives or membership of Danish associations abroad. It is worth applying even if you are not sure you qualify.
The 20-to-22 application window
- From your 20th birthday. Since 4 October 2024 the application can be made from age 20 (previously 21), so that the assessment is made close to your 22nd birthday.
- Before you turn 22. The application must reach the Ministry, a Danish embassy or a consulate no later than the day before your 22nd birthday.
- Too early doesn’t work. An application made before 20 is processed as an application for proof of Danish citizenship, not retention, and you would have to apply again.
- Fee. Danish mission pages give the Ministry’s processing fee as DKK 1,200, paid by bank transfer with your CPR number or full name as the reference. Embassies and consulates charge their own handling fees on top, and the fee isn’t refunded if the application is refused. Check the current amount on uim.dk before you pay.
After 22: proof, late applications and the EU ruling
If you met the residence or stay conditions before 22 but never applied, you didn’t lose Danish citizenship. You can still apply, as an application for proof of Danish nationality. Only stays before your 22nd birthday count. When a Dane born abroad applies for a passport after 22, the embassy will ask for a certificate of citizenship or proof that the conditions were met.
If you didn’t meet them, citizenship ended at 22. The UK embassy’s guidance is that the only way back for someone who lost Danish nationality under the 22-year rule is naturalisation, and they can’t use the declaration route that former Danes had.
There is one newer exception. On 5 September 2023 the EU Court of Justice ruled in case C-689/21, and the Ministry now assesses whether losing Danish citizenship at 22 is proportionate whenever it would also mean losing EU citizenship, whenever the application was made. Former Danes who turned 22 on or after 1 November 1993, applied after 22 and were refused can ask for their case to be reopened. This generally helps only people who had family or work ties to another EU country before 22, and ties formed after 22 still don’t count.
What descendants claiming by descent need to know
Denmark has no grandparent route. You are Danish only if a parent was Danish when you were born, so the questions that matter are about that parent:
- Was your parent still Danish at your birth? Before 1 September 2015, a Dane who took another nationality lost Danish citizenship, and children born afterwards were not Danish through that parent. A transitional declaration let former Danes reacquire citizenship; the latest period ran from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2026 and has ended.
- Was it your father, and were your parents married? Since 1 July 2014, either parent passes on Danish citizenship regardless of marriage. Before that, a child of a Danish father only was Danish at birth only if born in wedlock. Children born out of wedlock to a Danish father and a foreign mother between 11 October 1993 and 30 June 2014 can apply for Danish citizenship.
- Was it your mother, married to a foreign father, between 1961 and 1978? Children born in wedlock to a Danish mother and a foreign father from 1 January 1961 to 31 December 1978 did not become Danish at birth. If the mother didn’t make a declaration for them, they can apply under the so-called Princess Rule, which still requires a conversational level of Danish and meeting the 22-year retention conditions.
For the full picture, including passports and records, see the Danish citizenship by descent guide.
The US side
The State Department says US law does not require a US citizen to choose between US citizenship and another nationality. You must use your US passport to enter and leave the United States.
Practical steps
- Before 20: get a Danish passport through the embassy and start keeping a record of every stay in Denmark: travel dates, school or course certificates, CPR registrations.
- Between 20 and 22: unless you are clearly resident in Denmark, file the retention application with your evidence and the fee. Don’t leave it to the last weeks.
- Keep the decision with your passport; you will need it for later passport applications.
- Over 22 and unsure? Apply for proof of Danish citizenship and let the Ministry decide.
To check whether you have a claim at all, use our free citizenship by descent checker. For how Denmark compares with other countries, see dual citizenship by descent, country by country, and the Nordic neighbours’ rules on Norwegian dual citizenship and Finnish dual citizenship.
Frequently asked questions
Does Denmark allow dual citizenship with the USA?
Yes. Since 1 September 2015, Danes who become US citizens keep Danish citizenship and don't need to tell the Danish authorities, and Americans who naturalise in Denmark no longer have to give up US citizenship. US law doesn't make you choose either. If you were born abroad, though, the 22-year rule decides whether you stay Danish.
What is Denmark's 22-year rule?
A Dane born outside Denmark who has never lived there, and hasn't stayed there in circumstances showing a connection, loses Danish citizenship automatically at 22, unless that would leave them stateless. You can avoid it by applying to keep your citizenship between your 20th birthday and the day before you turn 22, with evidence of your ties to Denmark.
How much time in Denmark do I need to keep Danish citizenship?
Either residence in Denmark before 22, generally a continuous stay of at least three months registered at a Danish address in the CPR register, or visits that add up to at least 12 months between birth and 22. Seven years in another Nordic country counts as residence. If you fall short, the Ministry can still look at your visits, Danish and other ties.
Can Americans get Danish citizenship through a grandparent?
No. Danish citizenship passes only from a parent who is Danish when the child is born. A Danish grandparent gives no claim on their own, and the remaining route is naturalisation, which normally requires nine years' residence in Denmark plus language and citizenship tests.
My parent lost Danish citizenship by becoming American. Can they get it back?
Not by the simple route any more. Former Danes who lost citizenship by acquiring another nationality before 1 September 2015 could reacquire it by declaration during a transitional period that ended on 30 June 2026. The Ministry of Immigration and Integration lists the conditions on which former Danes can still regain citizenship.
I missed the deadline. Have I lost Danish citizenship?
Not necessarily. If you met the residence or stay conditions before 22, you kept it, and you can apply for proof of Danish citizenship after 22; only stays before 22 count. If you didn't, citizenship ended at 22 and the only way back is naturalisation. An EU-law review may apply if you had family or work ties to another EU country.
How much does it cost to keep Danish citizenship?
Danish mission pages give the Ministry's processing fee as DKK 1,200, paid by bank transfer with your CPR number or full name as the reference. Applying through an embassy or consulate adds consular handling fees. The fee is not refunded if the application is refused, so check the current amount on uim.dk before you pay.
Official sources
- Embassy of Denmark in the USA: Danish citizenship (dual citizenship since 2015, the 22-year rule, unmarried fathers, the Princess Rule, the declaration period that ended 30 June 2026)
- Embassy of Denmark in Australia: You have not yet turned 22 (residence and visit tests, discretion, the 20-to-22 window, DKK 1,200 fee)
- Embassy of Denmark in the UK: Danish nationals born abroad (applying after 22, late applications, naturalisation as the only route back)
- Embassy of Denmark in Brazil: Reopening of retention cases after the EU Court of Justice ruling (in Danish; case C-689/21)
- Ministry of Immigration and Integration (uim.dk): Dobbelt statsborgerskab (in Danish; dual citizenship since 1 September 2015)
- US Department of State: Dual nationality
Checked against these sources on 29 October 2026. The um.dk and uim.dk pages were read directly; the State Department page could not be opened that day, so its position is as its published wording states it. The retention fee is as Danish mission pages give it; uim.dk’s own fee list wasn’t available to us, so confirm the amount there. Only the Ministry of Immigration and Integration can decide your case.