Alien's passport for residents from Afghanistan, Belarus and Eritrea

The government changes rules to help residents from Belarus get an alien’s passport, but Afghans are told to apply for asylum if they are scared to travel to their home country for a new passport

Lukashenko's Belarus and the Taliban's Afghanistan have a lot in common. They both hold their populations in an oppressive iron grip and do not tolerate criticism. Citizens from the two countries residing in Denmark now also have the same problem: their national passport cannot be extended, so they have to travel back to their home country to get a new one when it expires. And a valid passport is a prerequisite for keeping your residence permit in Denmark if you are here as a family member or on a work scheme. But both nationalities can, with good reason, be quite nervous about returning, especially if they have been away for many years and/or have expressed criticism of the ruling regime.

Residents from the two nations, however, encounter quite different degrees of hospitality from the Danish government.

Resident citizens of Belarus

In November 2024, the government amended part of the Aliens Regulation (Udlændingebekendtgørelsens § 7, stk 5) to make it easier to obtain alien's passports – with a particular focus on resident Belarusians. In connection with the change, the Ministry of Immigration and Integration prepared a practice note that describes when it is considered particularly difficult for a foreigner to obtain a passport or other travel identification, but "targeting the special situation in which certain Belarusian citizens find themselves".

Immigration and Integration Minister Kaare Dybvad Bek stated:

"Denmark cannot live with the fact that supporters of the Belarusian opposition's fight for democracy, freedom and human rights risk losing their residence permit in Denmark because they have difficulty getting a new passport issued. That is why I am also happy with this solution. It is a very focused initiative that seeks to solve a very specific problem for the group of Belarusians.”

The approx. 1,200 Belarusians who live in Denmark thus meet with a great deal of goodwill from the government, and the Danish Immigration Service has been told to be understanding towards the fact that it may be dangerous for them to return home, even if they do not have an actual need for asylum, and to issue alien's passports according to a more lenient assessment.

Resident citizens from Afghanistan

It looks different for the nearly 22,000 Danish-Afghans, all of whom must be considered to be in strong opposition to the Taliban. Two months earlier, the Danish Immigration Service had put out a notice to resident Afghan citizens that Denmark would no longer recognize Afghan passports which had been extended. No explanation for the reason, but we found an official Afghan statement saying that extensions made in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia will no longer be accepted. A clarification statement says, however, that one of the German embassies is exempt, which makes the Danish reaction a little incomprehensible.

After releasing this article, new information has come out that the Afghan consulate in Dubai will issue a new passport if you send the old one to them. This has not been confirmed yet.
 
Resident Afghans must therefore, according to Danish authorities, travel to their home country to obtain a new passport before the current one expires. However, the Danish authorities will not issue alien's passports for that reason:

"[You] will only be able to get an alien's passport if you can document that you are unable to get an Afghan national passport. If it requires you to travel back to Afghanistan to obtain an Afghan national passport, we will normally direct you to do so.”

And further: "If you believe that you cannot go back to Afghanistan due to asylum law conditions, you can apply for asylum."
 
We therefore wrote to the Danish Immigration Service after the amendment in November aimed at Belarusians and asked whether the amendment would also have an impact on Afghans who had shortly before found themselves in a similar situation. An official from the agency's management secretariat referred to the new practice note, and replied that, as a general rule, Afghans (like everyone else) must travel to their home country – or apply for asylum if they fear returning home. So no special understanding for them.

Women and girls from Afghanistan cannot travel back without a close male family member accompanying them. On the other hand, they will undoubtedly get asylum if they apply for it. However, that will make it impossible for them to return to visit their home country, perhaps forever.

Resident citizens from Eritrea

Some of the approx. 8,400 Eritreans living here have been in a similar situation for many years, although their problem is somewhat different. Family reunified persons from Eritrea cannot obtain a national passport, nor can they obtain an alien's passport from the Danish authorities. This is not about extensions, but rather the fact that very few Eritreans are ever issued a passport or allowed to leave the country. For that reason, the Danish embassy will issue a temporary travel document which allows them to enter Denmark if granted a permit for family reunification.

If they later apply at the Eritrean embassy in Sweden for a passport, they must pay 2% of their income back to 1992 and forward, as well as sign a "letter of remorse" for having left the country illegally and accept a possible penalty. A practice which the UN Security Council latest condemned in resolution No. 2023 in 2011.

Refugees Welcome has unsuccessfully approached the Danish authorities several times over the years and drawn attention to the absurdity of the Danish side referring Eritreans who have left the country illegally and who are married to a refugee to seek out an embassy with a practice which the UN Security Council warns against.

As a family member of a refugee living here, you don't have much of a desire to contribute to the dictatorship that has forced both you and your spouse to flee. As an Eritrean, however, you are almost certain to get asylum if you apply for it, both as a man and a woman (92% got asylum in 2024), and then you get a convention passport. So the problem is solved, as long as the asylum practice does not change.

Who can get a passport from the Danish authorities?

If you have been granted asylum in Denmark, you can no longer use a passport from your home country – if you ever had one. You may not travel back to your home country either. Instead, you can get a convention passport (blue) or an alien's passport (grey) issued by the Danish authorities, depending on the asylum status.

Family reunified people (also to refugees) and residents on work schemes have most often arrived with a valid national passport, and can only get an alien's passport in very special cases – and only if they can document that they cannot get a national passport. However, children who are family reunified to a parent who has asylum can usually get a foreigner's passport.

If you originally came with a nationality passport, but are seriously afraid of being arrested or subjected to abuse if you return, you can apply for asylum. However, it is a long process which often ends with a refusal. Furthermore, it implies that one is completely excluded from returning for at least 10 years. If you were close to meeting the requirements for permanent residence, but loose your residence permit for a period before getting a new one, you have to start all over.

For many, it is a complicated situation with difficult considerations for and against when you can no longer extend your passport at an embassy. Not to mention what happens if the passport has already expired or if you lose it?