Danes will soon be allowed dual citizenship if the new government carries through with its promise to change the current situation. At present Denmark is one of a handful of European countries that does not grant dual citizenship, but that could all change soon, according to a report in newspaper Berlingske Tidende.

Two sentences in the new coalition government’s platform seem to indicate that the contentious issue will soon rise to the fore again as it states: “Denmark is a modern society in an international world. Therefore dual citizenship must be permitted.”

People holding Danish passports have long been denied the right to hold another – a state of affairs that was fiercely upheld by the Danish People’s Party (DF), who are now no longer in a position of power.

“One’s loyalty must not be divided,” said DF spokesman Christian Langballe.

But these sentiments are not echoed by the many Danes who choose to live abroad and find themselves effectively stateless after two years due to the law which cuts off their right to vote in Denmark, as well as other liberties. Many find themselves with no right to vote, buy property or sit on school boards in either the country they live in or the country they were born in.

“When it became clear to me that I could vote in neither Denmark nor Italy, I was completely speechless. I thought it was a lie,” Charlotte Sylvestersen, who moved to Italy in the 1990s, told Berlingske.

“Now I can say ‘when’ instead of ‘if’ I get my Italian passport. There will be howls of joy, but I will of course remain proud to be Danish.”

It is not clear whether these rules will also apply to foreigners living in Denmark.