Denmark ad in Lebanon newspapers warns off migrants

The ad advises would-be migrants and refugees that they will be required to speak and understand Danish to obtain a permanent residency, and that 'all rejected asylum-seekers must be returned quickly from Denmark'.

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BEIRUT // Denmark has placed advertisements in several Lebanese newspapers warning would-be migrants about new and tighter restrictions on those seeking asylum in the country.

The adverts appeared in at least three Arabic-language newspapers and one English-language daily in Lebanon on Monday.

“Denmark has decided to tighten the regulations concerning refugees in a number of areas,” the advert cautions.

It notes that social benefits for newly-arrived refugees are being reduced “by up to 50 per cent” and that family reunification for those with temporary residence permits will not be allowed for the first year after they arrive.

It advises would-be migrants and refugees that they will be required to speak and understand Danish to obtain a permanent residency.

“All rejected asylum-seekers must be returned quickly from Denmark,” it adds.

“There is a special return centre for rejected asylum seekers to ensure [they] ... leave Denmark as quickly as possible.”

In Denmark, immigration and integration minister Inger Stojberg, an immigration hardliner from the right-wing Venstre party, announced the policies on Facebook.

“Today I have, as promised, published advertisements in four Lebanese newspapers informing about the changed conditions for people who apply for asylum in Denmark,” she wrote.

She said the text would also be placed in asylum centres in Denmark in 10 different languages and disseminated on social media.

“The aim is to inform objectively and soberly about [Danish rules], which the government is in the process of tightening,” she added.

Her Facebook post garnered over 5,000 likes, though some left critical comments.

* Agence France-Presse