In the last centuries a series of requirements for obtaining permanent residence and citizenship have been enacted. In Denmark these integration requirements - regarding labor market participation, language skills, knowledge about society and a clean criminal record - are among the strictest in Europe. The requirements rest on an assumption that immigrants should exert themselves to be citizens, and even that stricter requirements further integration.

We know that a growing number of the population are settled non-citizens and that they therefore for example cannot participate in general elections. What we know little about however, is how the requirements of integration affects the number of settled non-citizens, or which groups have the hardest time meeting the requirements. We have no knowledge of how the requirements affect immigrants’' desire to become a full member of society. Motivation probably interact with the specific benefits of obtaining citizenship, but it could also negatively be affected by the perception of the requirements as difficult and unfair. Finally, we don't know how the requirements impact the integration of immigrants both in the labor market, politically or socially. Maybe some give up when faced with very strict or even impossible requirements?

This research project examines these questions using data from registers, surveys, and in-depth qualitative interviews with settled non-citizens - among both well integrated immigrants that meet the requirements and among immigrants for who the requirements are insuperable.