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DENMARK
Fingerprints
Law No. 291/2003 allows the Police to submit fingerprints or personal pictures, when arranging
removal of foreigners, to the authorities of their home country or any other country without the
authorization of a court. This was the case under the old legislation.
1.4 STATISTICS ON INVOLUNTARY RETURN
Statistics on involuntary returns are currently not available.
1.5 BEST PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED
The government realized that the tools available to the police in the enforcement of removals
were insufficient, and therefore instated a Working Group on the Removal of Rejected Asylum
Seekers and of Aliens expelled by Court Order. The working group concluded a report, which
included some recommendations that were worked into the legal amendments to the Aliens Act
adopted in 2003 (for example Laws No. 291 and 367).
2. ASSISTED VOLUNTARY RETURN
2.1 POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND PROVISIONS
The Danish police have the responsibility for implementing all returns, and the level of compulsion
applied depends largely on the willingness of the individual to cooperate in facilitating their
return. Unsuccessful asylum seekers are encouraged to return to their country of origin independently,
and where they are not in a position to do so, the police may facilitate their return. If
the individual refuses to cooperate, the police can adopt a more forceful approach.
Denmark is committed to the principle of humane and orderly returns, and has adopted a number
of measures to this end. The guiding principle of voluntary return is the Danish Act on Repatriation,
which was adopted by the Danish Parliament on 2 June 1999, and entered into force on
1 January 2000. The overall purpose of the Repatriation Act is to give foreigners residing in
Denmark the best information possible to facilitate their decision to return voluntarily, and to
support such an initiative. A statute on the voluntary return of rejected asylum seekers came into
effect in May 2003.
The law applies to foreigners with residence permits on humanitarian grounds and other immigrants
who wish to return to their home countries. Persons who have been reunited on the basis
of family ties with an alien falling under one of these three categories are also included. Citizens
of the Nordic and EU countries, as well as nationals of countries in the European Economic