Wrestler Turpal Bisultanov, who last week won a bronze medal for Denmark in the Paris Olympics, was almost unable to represent his country at the games because of the long processing time on citizenship applications.
Bisultanov’s story has highlighted the long waiting times applicants must wait before being given citizenship rights, despite fulfilling Denmark’s strict requirements for naturalisation.
Several politicians have subsequently criticised the slow processing times, broadcaster DR reports.
The current average processing time of a citizenship application is 19 months.
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“Waiting several years to have your application processed is far, far too long,” Christina Olumeko of the Alternative party told DR.
“This is simply embarrassing and very demeaning for the people who have spent time and money fulfilling the many criteria. It is not reasonable of Denmark,” she said.
Bisultanov passed the Danish citizenship test in 2022 and was subsequently informed the waiting time on his application was 22 months.
That would have meant he would not have received citizenship in time to represent Denmark at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where he eventually went on to win a bronze medal.
The Danish sports federation DIF subsequently applied for dispensations on the wrestler’s behalf, which reduced the processing time for his case to 14 months.
The vast majority of applicants for Danish citizenship are unable to get their cases expedited in this way.
In DR’s report, another left-wing party, the Red Green Alliance, along with an association for immigration lawyers, Foreningen af Udlændingeretsadvokater, also criticise the current processing times.
Going further back, the centre-right Liberal (Venstre) party said in 2012 that it was taking too long – then 16 months – to process citizenship claims.
On social media X (Twitter) Samira Nawa of the centre-left Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre) remarked on Bisultanov’s case and highlighted another potential Danish Olympian who missed out because of the same issue.
“Turpal got Denmark a bronze in the Olympics. But he almost had to stay at home because of unreasonably long processing times. Crazy citizenship rules and long waiting times have meanwhile prevented Rico Coker from participating in the breakdancing,” she wrote.
Coker, who was born in Denmark to Gambian parents, had to cancel plans to represent Denmark in the Olympic breakdancing competition.
READ ALSO: Do children born in Denmark automatically get Danish citizenship?
Minister for Immigration and Integration Kaare Dybvad Bek told DR in a written statement that he admitted “processing times for naturalisation cases have been long – and too long – for a number of years”.
But he added that “more citizenship cases are currently processed than are submitted”, and that he therefore has “no plans at this time to initiate further measures.”
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