Danish passport
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![]() The front cover of a contemporary Danish biometric passport | |
Type | Passport |
Issued by | Kingdom of Denmark |
First issued | 1 January 1985 (first EU format)[1] 1 August 2006[2] (biometric passport) 1 January 2012[3] (version 5) 1 October 2021[4] (current version) |
Purpose | Identification |
Eligibility | Citizens of the Kingdom of Denmark |
Expiration | 2 years and 4 months for children up to the age of 1 5 years and 4 months for citizens aged 2–17 10 years and 4 months for individuals above the age of 18 (All passports can be renewed for 1 year within 2 years of original expiration date) |
Cost |
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A Danish passport (Danish: dansk pas) is an identity document issued to citizens of the Kingdom of Denmark to facilitate international travel. Besides serving as proof of Danish citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Danish consular officials abroad (or other EU consulates or Nordic missions[6][7] in case a Danish consular official is absent).
Different versions exist for nationals of Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands although they do not indicate a different nationality, with all holders being Danish citizens. Danish nationals residing in Greenland can choose between the Danish—EU passport, and the sub-national Danish—Greenlandic passport.[8]
Every Danish citizen (except for nationals residing in the Faroe Islands) is also a citizen of the European Union. The passport entitles its bearer to freedom of movement in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. For travel within the Nordic countries no identity documentation is legally required for Nordic citizens due to the Nordic Passport Union.
According to the July 2024 Visa Restrictions Index, Danish citizens can visit 192 countries without a visa or with a visa granted on arrival.[9]
Physical appearance
[edit]The Danish and Greenlandic versions of the passport have burgundy colour covers, according to the European Union's recommendations, while the Faroese-Danish version is green. All contain the National Coat of arms of Denmark emblazoned in the centre of the front cover, with the word DANMARK (Denmark) above it, and the word PAS (Passport) below. Since 1 August 2006, biometric passports are issued. Above the word DANMARK, the Danish version contains the words DEN EUROPÆISKE UNION (European Union) (as all other EU passports), while in the Greenlandic and Faroese versions the text KALAALLIT NUNAAT (Greenland) or FØROYAR (Faroe Islands) is written. Fields on the bearer's page are in Danish, English, and French, with translations in the official languages of the European Union elsewhere in the document. Instead of French, Faroese or Greenlandic are used in the Faroese and Greenlandic versions respectively. The page contains the following information:[10]
- Photo of the passport holder
- Type (P)
- Passport No.
- Surname
- Given names
- Sex
- Nationality (Danish: Dansk, Danish, French: Danoise)
- Height
- Date of Birth
- Personal Code Number
- Place of Birth
- Date of issue/expiry (validity is 10 years from date of issue for adults and 5 years for children)
- Authority (usually the municipality in which the holder resides)
- Holder's signature
Passports contain a machine readable strip starting with P>DNK for all types.
Different spellings of the same name
[edit]Names containing letters not used in English (æ, ø, å) are spelled the correct way in the non-machine-readable zone, but are mapped in the machine-readable zone, æ becoming AE, ø becoming OE, and å becoming AA. This follows the international machine-readable passport standard.
For example, Gråbøl → GRAABOEL.
Types
[edit]Besides the ordinary passport (with PAS on the cover), also 3 versions of blue service passports (TJENESTEPAS) and a single red diplomatic passport (DIPLOMATPAS) are issued. The latter does not bear the text DEN EUROPÆISKE UNION, KALAALLIT NUNAAT nor FØROYAR.
Visa requirements
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Visa_Requirements_for_Danish_Citizens.svg/800px-Visa_Requirements_for_Danish_Citizens.svg.png)
As of 16 July 2024, Danish citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 192 countries and territories, thus ranking the Danish passport fourth in the world (tied with the passports of Belgium and Great Britain) according to the Henley Passport Index.[13] According to the World Tourism Organization 2016 report, the Danish passport is first in the world (tied with Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Singapore, and the United Kingdom) in terms of travel freedom, with the mobility index of 160 (out of 215 with no visa weighted by 1, visa on arrival weighted by 0.7, eVisa by 0.5 and traditional visa weighted by 0).[14]
As a member state of the European Union, Danish citizens enjoy freedom of movement within the European Economic Area (EEA). The Citizens’ Rights Directive[15] defines the right of free movement for citizens of the EEA. Through bilateral agreements freedom of movement is extended to Switzerland,[16] and all EU and EFTA nationals are not only visa-exempt but are legally entitled to enter and reside in each other's countries.
Controversy
[edit]In 2010, an atheist Danish citizen filed a complaint to the Danish Ministry of Justice, due to the passport's inclusion of a picture of the crucifixion of Jesus as shown on the Jelling Stones, arguing that passports should be free of religious symbols.[17] This argument was rejected by leading Danish politicians, arguing that Christianity is a part of Denmark's cultural history, and Christianity was not depicted exclusively, since the passport also includes an image of a dragon motif, likewise taken from the largest Jelling Stone.[18] The passport design including images from the Jelling Stones was introduced in 1997,[19] when the current burgundy design was introduced. Prior to Denmark's adoption of the common EU passport design and format (along with Italy and Ireland) in 1985,[1] Danish passports had green or beige covers.
Lack of national identity card
[edit]EU rules allow any citizen of a member country to travel anywhere in the EU without a passport, if they have a national identity card stating citizenship and some other standardised information. Denmark and Ireland (and previously the UK) are the only EU countries that do not issue national identity cards; however, Ireland issues passport cards which are treated by law as ID cards by some EU countries. Therefore, Denmark is the only country in the EU whose citizens cannot travel to other nations with ID cards or equivalents. There has been some political support for introducing such cards since the EU rule was introduced, but this has not yet become a reality.[20]
See also
[edit]- Visa requirements for Danish citizens
- Passports of the European Union
- Danish nationality law
- Visa policy of the Schengen Area
- Identity document#Denmark
External links
[edit]- European Community Passport (1989 — 1999) Description and images.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Publications, Europa (1999). The European Union Encyclopedia and Directory (3rd ed.). Psychology Press. p. 63. ISBN 9781857430561.
- ^ "Council of the European Union - PRADO - DNK-AO-04001". consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ "Council of the European Union - PRADO - DNK-AO-05001". consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ "Council of the European Union - PRADO - DNK-AO-06001". consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ "Ansøg om eller forny dansk pas".
- ^ "Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011)". April 2011.
- ^ Article 34 of the Helsinky Treaty (Article 34 p. 8)
- ^ "Passport – Greenlandic and Danish". Sullissivik. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "World's Most Powerful Passport Rankings [2024]". Forbes India. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ "Council of the European Union - PRADO - DNK-AO-05003". www.consilium.europa.eu.
- ^ "Council of the European Union - PRADO - DNK-AO-05002". www.consilium.europa.eu.
- ^ "Council of the European Union - PRADO - DNK-AO-05003". www.consilium.europa.eu.
- ^ "World's Most Powerful Passport Rankings [2024]". Forbes India. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ "Visa Openness Report 2016" (PDF). World Tourism Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ "EUR-Lex - 32004L0038R(01) - EN - EUR-Lex". Eur-lex.europa.eu. 29 June 2004. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ Migration, State Secretariat for. "Free Movement of Persons Switzerland – EU/EFTA". www.sem.admin.ch. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Complaint over passport Jesus". Danmarks Radio website. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ "Jesus skal blive i det danske pas". Dagbladet Information (in Danish). 2 March 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ Adriansen, Inge (2003). Nationale symboler i det Danske Rige (in Danish). Vol. 2. Museum Tusculanums Forlag. p. 369.
- ^ Flertal for nationalt ID-kort (b.dk 2004)