The recent influx in refugees and asylum-seekers flocking to Denmark led to an inordinate number of people being expelled last year.
According to a report from the immigration services Udlændingestyrelsen (in Danish), almost 4,300 people were forced to leave Denmark and return to their home nations in 2015.
“We were in an extraordinary situation, and now the majority of the foreigners illegally in Denmark have left the country again,” said Inge Støjberg, the immigration and integration minister.
“A casefile build-up occurred, and it’s taken a lot of effort to get through it, but I think we’ve come a long way. The quality of the case processing hasn’t been compromised, and should a similar situation occur in the future, I trust in the Udlændingestyrelsen and the police being able to handle it.”
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Of the 4,300 people expelled, 2,778 were done so administratively, while 1,520 of the cases followed a conviction. As of April this year, 2,763 of the 4,300 had left Denmark.
The news came in the wake of police figures that revealed the number of foreigners committing crime in Denmark had more than doubled since 2009. Last year, 12,566 charges were brought in cases involving foreigners.
According to the police, it is primarily criminals from eastern European nations – particularly Romania, Lithuania and Poland – who are pushing up the figures.
