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Denmark - Born abroad

You have given birth to a child in Denmark, what does it mean nationality-wise? Do you have to register your child? Where and how? Learn about your right and obligations as a parent in Denmark

Being born in Denmark does not mean acquiring automatically Danish citizenship.

The child must have at least one Danish National as parent to become a Danish citizen.

Danish Citizenship is acquired by virtue of the birth of
- a legitimate child whose father or mother is Danish,
- an illegitimate child, whose mother is Danish.

A child of unknown parentage found in this country shall be deemed to be a Danish citizen until information to the contrary is provided.

If a Danish man and a non-Danish woman have children together before they marry, they can acquire Danish citizenship on the marriage of their parents in so far as the children are unmarried and under the age of eighteen years.

If you wish to know more about Danish citizenship click here

Registering your child in Denmark

After birth you can wait up to six months to name your child born in Denmark.

Naming can take place in combination with baptism in the state church or in another authorised religious community, or by notifying the parish priest or the church office.

[If you want the child to be baptised in the state church, you should contact the parish priest or the church office in the parish where you want your child baptised. If you want your child baptised in another religious community you should contact the priest of the religious community in which you want the baptism to take place. If you want your child named without baptism you should fill in a form, which can be obtained from the parish priest or the church office in the parish where you live.

In Southern Jutland naming always occurs by way of notifying the local authority (the personal register) regardless of whether the child will be baptised or not.

The childs name

A child must have at least 1 first name, but it may have several.

In general, you must give your child a name that has been approved by the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs. The list of approved names can be seen at the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs website (Kirkeministeret) or at the parish priests or the church office.

If you want to give your child a name not on the list, the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs must approve it. Parents who are or have been foreign nationals are allowed to give their child a name that is not approved in Denmark, as long as the name is approved as first name in the country of the parents nationality.

If the parents have the same family name the child will automatically get this name. If the parents have different family names they can choose to give the child the mothers or the fathers family name. The child can get the other family name as a middle name.