Oslo seeks ways to keep migrants away from Norway
As Lenta.ru writes, the task of preparing a revision of migration policy was entrusted to a member of the far-right Progress Party, Sylvi Listhaug. Last December, she became Norway's first-ever Minister of Migration and Integration. At the beginning of the year, the fragile blonde and mother of two, who is not yet forty, presented a draft version of a 150-page bill that included about 40 amendments. Her proposals stunned not only most human rights organizations but also many parliamentarians. Under pressure from colleagues, Minister Listhaug promised to soften the text of the document. However, the final version of the bill is essentially not much different from what was originally proposed.
One proposal is to grant minor migrants who arrive in Norway without adult accompaniment only temporary refugee status. The final decision on whether an asylum seeker is deserving will be made when they turn 18. This measure does not seem far-fetched or excessive, considering that last year over 5,300 applicants for asylum in Norway were teenagers, mainly from Afghanistan.
Listhaug only slightly softened the bill on the issue of family reunification: instead of the previously proposed four years during which a migrant would have to study or work in Norway before bringing relatives, the final draft stipulates three years. Incidentally, a similar measure was previously approved by the Danish parliament.
Among other ideas that, according to Sylvi Listhaug and her Progress Party, should deter those seeking a better life from moving to Norway are giving police the right to fingerprint applicants for residence permits and even imprisoning for up to three days, pending the processing of an asylum application, those who have no legal grounds to be in the country or whose refugee status application raises suspicions. This measure is necessary, according to the minister, because many asylum seekers do not show up for scheduled police interviews, preferring to disappear in an unknown direction.
The bill also retains a clause on the right of authorities not to consider applications from persons arriving from other Scandinavian countries. And this is not without reason: for example, Sweden (population about 10 million) received 163,000 migrants last year. Oslo is seriously concerned that its neighbors will not be able to "digest" so many arrivals, and as a result, uninvited guests will flock to Norway.
As early as February, the country's Prime Minister Erna Solberg, a key ally of Minister Listhaug, proposed adopting a law that would legally allow denying entry and residence permits to citizens of countries where there is no war, calling this law a "force majeure" measure in case of the collapse of Swedish reception centers for migrants. This year, according to authorities, Sweden expects a flow of 100,000 migrants.
So far, this initiative has not become law – parliamentary discussion is scheduled for April 28. But some of its provisions have long been implemented in practice. For example, Norway quite promptly began sending back migrants arriving from Russia (last year there were five and a half thousand such migrants) on the grounds that Russia is a safe country. In January, however, this practice had to be discontinued: Moscow refused to accept such refugees back "for security reasons."
Unlike Germany, which for humanitarian reasons hosted nearly a million refugees and migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other troubled countries last year, Norway has never tried to pretend that it welcomes arrivals with open arms. To imagine how unhappy the Scandinavian country is with the recent influx of refugees, one only needs to look at the official website of the Norwegian Ministry of Immigration and Integration, in the section dedicated to asylum rules.
A brief summary of the main provisions, quoted almost verbatim, reads as follows. Thinking about applying for asylum in Norway? Keep in mind that Norway's reception of migrants is strictly regulated. The journey to Norway is long, costly, and very dangerous. We intend to cut benefits for migrants and introduce a voucher system instead of cash for refugees to purchase basic necessities. More and more refugees are choosing to leave Norway and return to their homeland. We do not accept all Afghans without exception. Do not expect open doors or easy paths to obtaining a residence permit.
The other day, the immigration minister recalled another long-standing measure permitted by international law, which Norway has never used before. It turns out that migrants with temporary residence rights in a country can be deported to their homeland if peace and order have been restored there. How exactly Oslo will determine the safety of the country from which the migrant originates is still unclear. It is also unclear which countries' citizens will be subject to deportation. However, refugees from Eritrea, according to media statements by the leader of that community in Norway, have already become nervous. Last summer, one of the lawmakers from the Progress Party visited Eritrea to personally assess the situation there. And he declared the state, periodically referred to in the press as the "African North Korea," quite suitable for a peaceful life.
Looking to neighboring countries is common practice in Scandinavia. When Oslo first initiated discussions on new migration measures, Norwegian parliamentarians unanimously referred to Denmark, which had significantly cut benefits for refugees, calling for the adoption of this norm.
Incidentally, a week ago, Sylvi Listhaug visited Copenhagen and met with her Danish counterpart, Minister of Migration Inger Støjberg. According to the official agenda, Ms. Listhaug came to learn from the neighbors about setting up refugee camps.
Now it is Denmark's turn to look to the neighboring kingdom. 'We can look enviously at Norway, and I see no reason why we shouldn't do the same,' representative of the Danish Liberal Alliance Simon Emil Ammitzbøll recently admitted to the newspaper Politiken, commenting on Listhaug's legislative initiatives.
Unlike Norway, which considers Sweden a potential supplier of 'incomers', Denmark sees its main threat in Germany. There is reason in this: many of the 21,000 refugees that descended on the Danish kingdom last year entered it from German territory. Now parliamentarians are seriously thinking about a law that would allow them to turn away uninvited guests coming from the German side.
A month earlier, the Danish parliament authorized the confiscation of valuables worth more than one and a half thousand dollars from refugees. This was explained as follows: the state will not support those who are able to provide for themselves, whether they are a migrant of Arab origin or a native Dane claiming unemployment benefits.
Well, while parliamentarians of both countries are battling for the maximum possible tightening of immigration policy, the interior ministries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden monthly, without unnecessary noise, report on the extension of the border check regime introduced at the end of last year.