Syrian refugees speak to a Danish police officer at the southern border of the Scandinavian country | BAX LINDHARDT/AFP/Getty Denmark tightens citizenship rules Language and financial requirements changed as Danes get tough on asylum seekers.

Denmark is to make it harder to acquire citizenship, with tougher language and financial requirements being introduced.

Inger Stojberg, the interior minister, Monday said that "acquiring Danish citizenship is something very special, and therefore it [is] also reasonable that we now raise the bar for when a person can call themselves a Danish citizen."

The raising of the bar will require applicants to meet new requirements on language skills, and be financially self-sufficient for four-and-a-half of the past five years. At present, the requirement is two-and-a-half years out of five.

Applicants will also have to answer correctly at least 80 percent of questions about Danish current affairs, up from 73 percent.

"There are too many people who have been granted citizenship who can't speak Danish," said Astrid Krag, of the Social Democrats.

The rules will come into force on October 15 after a deal was struck between Venstre, the far-right Danish People's Party, the Conservatives, the Liberal Alliance and the Social Democrats.

On July 1, Denmark cut benefits for asylum seekers almost in half in a bid to reduce the number of refugees coming to the country.

This article was updated to correct Astrid Krag's political party affiliation.