Norway tightens control over Ukrainian refugees to reduce pressure on municipalities
Kyiv • UNN
Norway will introduce stricter rules for Ukrainian refugees to reduce pressure on municipalities, including work requirements and restrictions on financial assistance to those living outside of refugee centers.
Stricter rules for Ukrainian refugees will soon come into force, and will include changes such as the introduction of work activities, regulation of eligibility for assistance and coverage of services.
This was reported by UNN with reference to Schengen Visa Information.
Details
Norway continues to strongly support Ukraine through financial assistance and military contributions, but the government is seeking to improve the conditions for accepting migrants to ensure that pressure on municipal systems is reduced.
The Norwegian Ministry of Labor and Inclusion added the following aspects to the above:
The Norwegian government will not provide financial assistance to Ukrainians who choose to live in a place they have secured for themselves instead of refugee centers. Norway will no longer cover the cost of pets for newly arrived Ukrainian asylum seekers.
At the same time, a requirement to reside in Norway for at least five years should be introduced to receive free dental services for persons aged 19-24 who have temporary collective protection.
A 12-month residency requirement has been introduced to qualify for the one-time allowance.
According to the new changes that will soon come into force, Ukrainians in Norway will have to devote at least 15 hours per week to work activities. This requirement can be fulfilled through full-time or part-time practical work.
AddendumAddendum
Norway has become one of the most generous countries in Europe in terms of asylum, according to the Norwegian publication Aftenposten.
Norwegian researchers took part in a study on this issue, comparing asylum policies in Norway and seven other countries. Since 2015, there has been a clear restrictive trend - Europe has adopted more selective asylum policies. Many countries grant different rights to different subgroups.
Since 2015, there has been a tendency to introduce more and more stringent requirements for obtaining permanent residence: 5 out of 8 countries require refugees to stay in the country for a longer period of time before they can obtain a permanent residence permit.
Except for Finland and the UK, all of them have introduced "integration requirements.
Examples: Language requirements, civics test requirements, income requirements, and work or study time requirements.
Recall
Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands are proposed to be returned to relatively safe regions of Ukraine.
Also UNN reported that the United Kingdom, Italy and Finland on Saturday became the latest countries to suspend funding for the UN Refugee Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) after allegations that its employees were involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel.
