Danish Parliament Approves Bill that Tightens Rules on Asylum Applications Tuesday January 26,2016

 

The Danish parliament on Tuesday January 26,2016 has approved a series of controversial proposals aiming to make the country a less attractive destination Refugees and Migrants

Lawmakers in Copenhagen,Denmark voted 81-27 in favor of the new austerity measures, aimed to make the country less attractive for refugees and migrants

The measures were passed by an overwhelming majority with the main centre-left opposition Social Democrats voting in favour as Denmark's political landscape shifts to the right thanks to the popularity of anti-immigrant Danish People's Party 

Measures include confiscating migrants' valuables in order to finance their upkeep while they seek asylum, and making it harder to bring family members to Denmark once they have a right to remain.

Under the law, Danish police will now be able to search luggage of asylum seekers and seize cash and any individual items worth over 10,000 Danish kroner, or about 1,452 U.S. dollars. Wedding rings and any other items of sentimental value are exempted.

It also favors delaying family reunifications for some refugees by up to three years instead of one year, and making it harder for refugees to obtain permanent residency and to shorten temporary resident permits.

The bill also includes a 10-percent cut on benefits for asylum seekers and the abolition of the possibility for asylum seekers to live outside of asylum centres.

The proposals have been severely criticised by the United Nations as well as international media, where the measures have been compared to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany.

Note

In 2015, Denmark received about 21,000 refugees, making it one of the top EU destinations per capita for migrants after Finland, Austria, Germany and Sweden.

The new bill is scheduled to come into force next week after it is officially signed by Queen Margrethe II.