Denmark: A Conservative U-Turn

Denmark has long been considered one of Europe's most foreigner-friendly countries -- at least until recently. About 3 percent of the country's 5 million residents hail from countries outside the European Union, with the remaining 4 percent coming from EU member states. Many came as guest workers from Turkey, Pakistan and the then-Yugoslavia during the 1970s and stayed on. A second wave of immigrants arrived during the mid-1980s, mostly refugees from the Middle East, Somalia and Sri Lanka. The country is also home to a Muslim population of between 130,000 to 150,000 according to sociologist Mustafa Hussain, who has studied minorities in Denmark. In urban areas like Copenhagen, they help to weave a diverse fabric through daily life.

But Denmark has undergone a major political shift in recent years that has seen a rise in less favorable conditions for immigrants.

In 2002, the Danish government, led by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (photo) with the support of the anti-immigration populist Danish People's Party, severely tightened its immigration policies. The new law made it more difficult for families to be reunited and extended the period of time required before immigrants can get permanent residence from three to seven years. It also requires that foreigners demonstrate the success of their integration before obtaining the visa. It made it difficult for foreigners to bring back a spouse they had married abroad as well as tightened restrictions on asylum applications and welfare benefits for foreigners living in the country. The reforms have been as lightning rod for criticism from the European Union.

The government began hardening its immigration policies in 1999 following tensions between Danes and immigrants under growing criticism that foreigners were not sufficiently integrating and that a rise in street crime was linked to that failure, according to the U.S. State Department's annual human rights report. The series of laws are also aimed at improving integration of foreigners. Newcomers over the age of 18 are require to begin participation in a three-year introduction program that includes courses on Danish culture and language within one month of their arrival. After nine years of legal residence, foreigners can apply to become naturalized Danish citizens.