TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Norway proposes stricter asylum rules

Norway's Minister of Immigration and Integration Sylvie Listhaug talks, during a press conference in the Ministry of Justice, in Oslo, Tuesday

The Jakarta Post
Stockholm
Wed, December 30, 2015

Share This Article

Change Size

Norway proposes stricter asylum rules

N

span class="inline inline-center">Norway's Minister of Immigration and Integration Sylvie Listhaug talks, during a press conference in the Ministry of Justice, in Oslo, Tuesday. Norway'€™s center-right government on Tuesday proposed tightening the country'€™s asylum rules to avoid what the immigration minister described as '€œviolent consequences'€ for the country'€™s welfare system. (Haakon Mosvold Larsen /NTB scanpix via AP)

Norway's center-right government on Tuesday proposed tightening the country's asylum rules to avoid what the immigration minister described as "violent consequences" for the country's welfare system.

The measures, which would need parliamentary approval, include making it more difficult for refugees to bring family members to Norway and raising the requirements for permanent residence permits.

The move comes after more than 30,000 asylum-seekers sought shelter this year in the wealthy country of 5.1 million people. Immigration Minister Sylvie Listhaug, of the right-wing Progress Party, noted that's one of the highest numbers in Europe in relation to population size.

She said 10,000 to 100,000 people are expected to apply for asylum in Norway in 2016.

"If we are anywhere near the latter number it could have violent consequences for our welfare society," Listhaug was quoted as saying by Norwegian news agency NTB.

Refugees are entitled to many of the same welfare benefits as Norwegians.

The government's proposals met fierce criticism from refugee rights advocates.

"It is very serious that politicians are using punitive measures that would make life more difficult for a number of asylum-seekers who are entitled to protection," Andreas Furuseth, of the Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers, told NTB.

The coalition government also called for restrictions on who can get refugee status, which comes with more rights and benefits than other forms of protection.

Currently Norway grants refugee status to a wider group of people than those considered refugees under U.N. standards, including people who would be at risk of the death penalty in their home countries.

Listhaug told public broadcaster NRK that the measures would "make it less attractive" for asylum-seekers to come to Norway, whose offshore oil and gas resources have made it one of the world's richest countries on a per-capita basis. (kes)(+)

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.