Migration – What we can learn from the Danes

Denmark has permanently reduced its asylum rate since 2015, sometimes with harsh measures. The country sees itself as a strong welfare state, but the credo is: work should always be the most attractive option. In Denmark there are major barriers to social assistance for migrants. To be fully entitled, you must have lived in the country for nine out of ten years and worked for a total of two and a half years.

In addition, there is generally a restrictive immigration policy. The government is taking tough action against parallel societies; social mixing is imposed by the state. There are forced relocations in ghettos and it is expected that all ghettos in Denmark will be closed by 2030. The displaced families are offered replacement apartments and the move and furniture are financed. Some cities are doing a lot to avoid being put on the resettlement list in the first place. In Odense – home of fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen – convicted criminals were given around 2,000 euros to leave voluntarily. In Aarhus, unemployed people even received up to 6,700 euros.

Under the law, certain crimes committed in these areas can be punished twice as severely by the courts. Parents are obliged to send their children to kindergarten from the age of 1 so that they learn language and values. The figures speak for themselves: in 2023 there were only 2,000 asylum seekers. The broad political consensus in Denmark is that integration can only be successful if migrants have as much contact as possible with Danish society.

“We are doing a lot to prevent the formation of parallel structures, we are trying to disperse the migrants. But this is only possible if you have a small number. The higher the share of foreigners, the more difficult this becomes. We are also convinced that we need to talk about repatriations and that we need to develop further here in Europe. The countries of origin must take back their citizens,” said Dybvad Bek in an interview with the “Krone”.

“We look at migrants based on where they come from. Over the past fifteen years we have understood that the determining factor is not social background, but rather origins. Poor migrants from Sri Lanka or Bosnia – we have 20,000 each – are very well integrated. In contrast, poor immigrants from Somalia are less integrated. They have higher crime rates and women don’t go to work. This means that it is a matter of origin and culture. You also see the same with the children. They are more extreme and isolate themselves from local society.”

Another example is the Ukrainians: of the 35,000 Ukrainians in Denmark, 55 percent of women have a job after just a year and a half. Of the women who came from Syria in 2015, only 30 percent are still working after eight years. It is similar in Austria.

Austrian Interior Minister Karner has much to gain from the Danish model. “The most important point on which Denmark is playing a pioneering role is the Rwanda model. “Denmark and Austria have brought this into the discussion in the EU and more and more European countries want us to change the rules to make this possible,” Karner said. The Rwanda model prescribes that asylum seekers, regardless of their origin, are taken to a third country and await their asylum procedure there.

“Denmark is also a pioneer when it comes to cooperation with third countries. They are very strong there and invest a lot of money. And they depend exclusively on benefits in kind and not on money. We have already implemented some of this. In federal healthcare institutions we only have benefits in kind. Another element is the waiting period: full social assistance only after five years. Minister Susanne Raab is encouraging this model in Austria. The current situation is this: someone in a federal healthcare institution receives a maximum of 40 euros in pocket money every month. When he is subsequently released and placed on welfare, he will receive 1,080 euros instead of 40 euros. This leap is too big. We want to change that,” said Karner.