Minister for Immigration and Integration Mattias Tesfaye is "open to changing the permanent residence law for young foreigners born in Denmark".“

Minister for Foreigners and Integration Mattias Tesfaye stated that he is open to the idea of changing the permanent residency requirements for young people who were born and raised in Denmark but do not hold Danish citizenship and are under the age of 19.

According to TV2, this statement came after local media circulated the story of student Tajma Mehic (18 years old), whose application for permanent residency was rejected under the current law, after she had spent 4 months without attending school.

In the spring of 2021, Tajma Mehic switched from one course of study to another, resulting in a gap in her educational history of four months, which was considered sufficient reason to reject her application for permanent residency in Denmark at the beginning of last month.

This is not an isolated case, and therefore the Minister for Immigration and Integration, Mattias Tesfaye, now acknowledges the need for more flexible laws, stating: “We have this rule to say that you shouldn’t lie on the sofa at home. But we must also recognize that many young people today are moving around in education. This is perfectly normal and we shouldn’t make it a problem for young people who don’t have a Danish passport.”.

However, the minister remains in favor of general employment requirements, but the talk here is only about young people under the age of 19, as the government has expressed that it is currently open to change.

The current law states that young people under the age of 19 can obtain a permanent residence permit if they are employed full-time or have completed their primary education, in addition to meeting all the conditions except for the employment requirement, including that they must not have debts to the public sector and must pass the Danish test.

Tajma Mehic was born in Horsens, Denmark to Bosnian parents. She described her situation as tragic, as she may lose her chance at permanent residency because she moved from one educational institution to another. In an article in Jyllands-Posten, she wrote that “these rules and requirements should not apply to children who were born and raised here, who love brown sauce and tartlets, who love the fun of Danish Christmas, and who cheered for Denmark during the European Championship in 2021,” just days after receiving the rejection of her permanent residency application in her email inbox.

The post was picked up by several media outlets, and a week earlier, Tajma Mehic had written to Radical Party member Kathrine Oldag on Facebook, saying, “I’ve been in school all my life. I have two jobs now. I can’t do any more.” Then, on Wednesday, Kathrine Oldag invited Tajma Mehic to the Danish Parliament to participate in a debate with Minister Mathias Tesfaye. There, the minister announced that the government was open to amending the laws.

In the hours leading up to the meeting in the parliament hall, the case of Tajma Mehic also took a turn when, on Wednesday night, she suddenly received a letter from the Committee on Repatriation to the Home Country stating that the complaint had reached the committee, meaning that the decision would be appealed, but that did not guarantee that her application for permanent residency would be accepted.

Source: TV2