Cash seized from five Iranians under law that allows police to confiscate property to cover costs of their accommodation

Denmark has seized valuables from asylum seekers for the first time, five months after passing a law that allows police to take cash and jewellery worth over 10,000 kroner from them.

Police took 79,600 kroner (£8,900) from five Iranians who flew into Copenhagen airport on Tuesday and immediately claimed asylum, the Danish immigration police said in a statement.

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Since the five had travelled on false passports, they were arrested for forgery and searched – at which point their money was found and most of it confiscated.

Asylum seekers in Denmark can keep cash and valuables worth less than 10,000 kroner – anything more can be taken to pay for their care, according to the controversial legislation enacted in early February.

The law drew fierce criticism when it was first debated in January, with some critics drawing comparisons with how Jews were treated in Nazi Germany. The Danish government said such claims were “ludicrous”, adding refugees were treated little differently to Danish welfare claimants.

The Danish police said on Thursday that they were rigorously enforcing the law. In a statement, Per Fiig, the head of Denmark’s immigration police centre, said: “Danish police every day look out for asylum seekers and foreigners staying illegally who could have valuables that could help finance the cost of their stay.”

In reality, campaigners say the law has merely been symbolic – “to send a message that people weren’t welcome here”, said Michala Clante Bendixen, the chair of the Danish branch of Refugees Welcome.

Some of the other 37 changes to asylum legislation were much more dangerous, Bendixen said on Thursday. Most problematic was the law forcing refugees to wait three years until they can apply for their children to join them.

“It’s absurd to have this delay,” said Bendixen. “In terms of integration, it’s crazy. You’re breaking people up, you’re destroying families. The children sometimes refuse to talk to their fathers on the phone because they’re so disappointed. In the eyes of the child, their father has left them and doesn’t care about them. They don’t understand that it’s the state that creates this waiting time.”

Nevertheless, Bendixen said it was extreme to compare the law to nazism. “It’s serious enough without talking about the Nazis,” she added.

Five Syrian refugees have appealed against the restrictions on family reunification and will meet Danish officials in mid-July to discuss the issue.