The new rules are designed in part to deter Islamic clerics from establishing Islamic communities in Denmark and instead encourage Muslims to integrate into the broader society. The rules however, would apply to any religious group.

Denmark's 170,000 Muslims account for about 3 per cent of the population and are the second largest religious group after the Lutheran Protestant Church, which is followed by four-fifths of the country's population of 5.3 million.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish Prime Minister, said yesterday: "Access to obtaining a Danish residence permit for foreign missionaries has been too easy up until now.

"That is why we now put forward new requirements for residing in the country, like the demand that imams and others have an education and that they be financially self-sufficient."

The proposed changes, which parliament is expected to quickly pass into law, are part of a deal reached in September between the Liberal-Conservative government, the Danish People's Party (DPP), its far-right ally, and the opposition Social Democrats.

Once passed into law, the immigration rules would demand that any person coming to Denmark on a religious visa would have to demonstrate that they were a "worthy" candidate to stay, were educated, financially self-supporting and connected with an established group already in the country.

The DPP, which first proposed the new rules, confirmed they were aimed to curb the activities of Muslim clerics, or imams.

Peter Skaarup, a spokesman for the DPP, said: "In theory, these rules concern all clerics from all religions. But in practice, they target the imams."

The Government also said yesterday that it intended to strengthen the measures that can be taken against people who help to hide rejected asylum seekers in order to prevent them being expelled from the country.

Mr Rasmussen said: "The fines inflicted on those who break the law by hiding refugees have been insufficient. We therefore propose more severe sanctions against the offenders."

The proposed changes to the immigration laws could also affect refugees who have been given asylum in Denmark, because they would risk losing their residence permits if they decide to return to their home countries for a holiday or to visit relatives.

The Government has also proposed a ten-year "quarantine period" for refugees convicted of domestic violence against a former wife or girlfriend, before they can bring their current spouse to Denmark as part of the country's family reunification programme.