The citizenship test: what it covers and how to pass first time

Everyone applying for Danish citizenship by naturalisation has to sit the citizenship test. It examines your knowledge of Danish society, culture and history, and it runs twice a year, usually in June and December. Fail it and you wait six months for the next sitting, which is the main reason it is worth preparing for properly.

The format

Forty-five multiple-choice questions. To pass you need:

• at least 36 correct answers, which is 80 per cent
• including at least 4 of the 5 questions on current affairs.

You have 45 minutes, sat at a test centre.

Seven things that make the difference

1. Give yourself six to eight weeks

The syllabus is broad. Cramming the week before is where most failed attempts come from.

2. Work from the official material

The Ministry of Immigration and Integration publishes the textbook the test is set from. Start there rather than with third-party summaries.

3. Keep up with Danish politics

The five current-affairs questions are rewritten every six months and cover recent legislation, the composition of the government and whatever has dominated the political year.

4. Sit practice papers

Official and unofficial practice tests are available online. Take several, and keep a list of the topics you keep getting wrong.

5. Learn the dates

The 1849 constitution, women’s suffrage in 1915, Denmark’s membership of the UN, the EU and NATO, these recur.

6. Know how the institutions fit together

The Folketing, the government, the municipalities and the courts, and what each is responsible for. A working sense of where immigration law sits within that structure is worth having too.

7. Do nothing the day before

The final 24 hours are better spent sleeping than revising. Concentration on the day is worth more than another hour of notes.

If you do not pass

You can sit it again at the next session six months later. There is no cap on attempts, but each one costs a fee and pushes your citizenship application back by the same six months.

The other conditions

The test is one requirement among several. Nine years of residence, the PD3 language requirement, employment, conduct and self-support all apply alongside it. Our FAQ sets out the full picture, and if you are unsure whether you qualify yet, ask us before paying the fee.