Bora Nika, a 21-year-old student, was born, raised and educated in Denmark. He is currently a business communications student at Syddansk Universitet in Odense.
Nika recently applied to replace his Serbian passport with a Danish one. However, he received a letter from the Justice Ministry that his application was being denied.
“The letter said that currently they can not give me Danish citizenship, and the application was rejected because of a speeding ticket I got in 2012,” Nika told Metroxpress.
“I was shocked, and so were my family and friends.”
A man without a country
Nika – who recently scored 40 out of 40 on the citizenship test – said the letter made him feel “alienated in my own country”.
Nika received the fine in 2012, shortly after getting his driver's licence. He received a clip on his licence and paid the 3,000 kroner fine.
“I had no idea at the time that it would have such far-reaching consequences,” he said.
“I don’t understand how a speeding fine affects my ‘Danishness’. I paid the fine and penalty.”
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Nika can reapply next year when his speeding sentence expires.
“I am baffled. I don’t feel Serbian but I can’t be Danish thanks to a speeding fine.”
Bureaucracy gone wild
Beyond the annoying red tape, there are other repercussions. Nika had planned an extended visit to the US, but getting a visa as a Serbian is a much harder and arduous process than getting the same permission using a Danish passport.
“Now that my application for a Danish passport has been rejected, it could take up to six months before I get permission to enter the United States,” he said.
