The Danish government is establishing a group of experts tasked with assessing a person's commitment to "Danish values" during the application process for Danish citizenship. This decision was a result of unusual action taken by the Danish parliament's citizenship committee.

The establishment of this expert group is not a completely new idea - it is mentioned in legislation current since 2021 - but has not been previously considered because the list of associated practical obstacles and ethical issues is long. 

The unusual action taken prior to the announcement of this decision involved the giving of a week's notice to 3 (of approximately 2 000) applicants for citizenship - who had already met the existing conditions for Danish citizenship - to attend personal interviews with the citizenship committee. These interviews concerned personal opinions the 3 applicants had previously shared on social media including, in one case, a post from 10 years ago. The decision to carry out these interviews came after a member of the public contacted the citizenship committee saying that he had investigated the social media profiles of these 3 applicants and found statements conflicting with what he felt to be "Danish values". Much public debate has ensued on the matter of whether or not such questioning should be deemed relevant, given that this online posting did not break any Danish laws.

Certain politicians have heavily criticised these interviews, including Zenia Stampe from the Danish Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre), and several newspaper editors have issued statements arguing that they pose a threat to one of the most fundamental human rights: freedom of speech. On the other hand, many are in support of the idea, such as Mikkel Bjørn of the Danish People's Party and chairman of the citizenship committee. He argues that in order to become a Danish citizen, one must share the same values as native Danish people. It is worth noting that there is no official, legal definition of “Danish values”.

The procedure for obtaining Danish citizenship is unlike that of any other country. Twice yearly a list is issued, containing the names of those who have already met the strict citizenship criteria, then all members of parliament must vote on whether or not to 'approve' by law citizenship for those named on the list. After questioning the 3 applicants on their online statements, as well as on other issues including Sharia law and democracy, the citizenship committee allowed 1 person to be approved for citizenship. The other 2 were eventually also approved following appeals. The establishment of the new expert group was announced on the same day as those on the list were granted citizenship.

To be approved for the list for citizenship in the first place can take an average of 19 years, as highlighted by the Danish Institute for Human Rights. The citizenship committee, comprised of 17 members from different parties, is usually only involved in cases of dispensation for applicants who do not meet all criteria.