SUMMARIES OF SELECTED STATEMENTS While the Ombudsman was investigating the case, the man stated that he could have avoided being paid supplementary cash benefit if he had received correct guidance. He informed the Ombudsman, among other things, that his family had previously managed without his cohabitee receiving cash benefit. The Ombudsman recommended that the Immigration Appeals Board reconsider the case. In this connection, the Ombudsman referred to the principle of redress of the adverse effects of guidance errors, the legal principle that a person who has been given erroneous or inadequate guidance by authorities may be entitled to be placed in a position as if he or she had received adequate and correct guidance and followed the guidance. The man was subsequently granted a residence permit of indefinite duration. 2017-32. Processing of cases about proof or retention of Danish citizenship Following two previous investigations of the processing of cases about proof or retention of Danish citizenship and the processing times for such cases, the Ombudsman asked the Ministry of Immigration and Integration in early 2017 for new information and statistics for 2016 about cases concerning proof or retention of Danish citizenship. The Ministry informed the Ombudsman that the average processing time had increased from 12 months in 2015 to 12.8 months in 2016 and that in 2016, the number of applications received by the Ministry exceeded the number of applications on which it made a decision by 188. The Ombudsman noted that 137 pending cases were more than 18 months old as at 1 April 2016. In addition, the number of pending cases which were more than 12 months old had gone up by approximately 37 per cent from 1 April 2016 to 15 March 2017. The Ombudsman stated that the number of pending cases about proof or retention of Danish citizenship was still large – despite the long-standing focus on the area – and that the processing times were generally too long, which he found regrettable. It was stated in Danish passports that an application for retention of Danish citizenship was to be submitted between the applicant’s 21st and 22nd birthdays. 109