Government unveils tougher asylum proposal

Integration benefits for asylum seekers almost halved, while those who learn Danish are rewarded

Jul 1, 2015

The Venstre-led government has agreed with blue-bloc parties Dansk Folkeparti, Konservative and Liberal Alliance to make it less attractive for asylum-seekers to come to Denmark.

The agreement means that single asylum-seekers without dependants will in future receive 5,945 kroner per month before tax in integration benefits instead of the 10,849 kroner they are currently entitled to.

Married couples with children will in future be able to obtain 16,638 kroner per month in integration benefits as opposed to the current 28,832 kroner.

“We must tighten up so we can get to grips with the asylum stream to Denmark,” said Inger Støjberg, the new immigration and integration minister. “So on Friday we’ll propose a new integration benefit at an SU level in order to make it less attractive to come to Denmark.”

“At the same time there will be a language bonus for people who actively try to become part of Danish society. This is the first of a number of more stringent laws the government will implement in order to gain control over the immigration arena again.”

September start
The language bonus consists of 1,500 kroner per month if a person has passed the level 2 Danish exam.

The government expects that the deal will save the state about 400 million kroner and Venstre said during its election campaign that it would attempt to secure a billion kroner by tightening up the immigration area.

The proposal will be processed by Parliament for the first time on Friday and is expected to come into effect in September.

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