The asylum process in Norway

An asylum seeker in Norway has to go through many processes before they can be a part of the society. First of all, the ones who have right to protection must be at a risk of being tortured, killed or exposed to other serious violation if they return to their homeland. FN’s refugee convention is a legal document that defines the term ‘refugee’ and outlines the rights of the displaced, as well as the legal obligations of States to protect them. The principle asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their freedom or life. This is considered as a rule of customary international law and Norway is obliged to follow.

First of all, Norway is a part of the Dublin-agreement, which is a collaboration between European countries that ensures that the asylum seekers only have their application processed in one of the countries covered by the Agreement. If the asylum seeker has given fingerprints or applied for asylum in one of the other countries within the Dublin-agreement, the Norwegian authorities will in 6 months decide whether they can stay in Norway or be transferred to another country.

Secondly, many asylum seekers arrive to Norway without having any identity papers, and this makes it difficult for the Norwegian authorities to process their application, and in addition to send them back to “nowhere”. It is also important to remember that many asylum seekers do not have any identity papers or passport to begin with. This can for example be an ethnic Hazara in a part of Afghanistan which is controlled by Taliban. An (The Hazara is the largest ethnic minority of Afghanistan, and they are Persian-speaking people who have been discriminated for many years.)

Lastly, UDI (The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration) will interview the asylum seeker and process the application. While waiting for a reply from UDI that determines whether they have permission to stay in the county, the person will be moved to a reception center where they go through some other processes. The person will be tested for tuberculosis which is compulsory for everyone, and they will also receive information from the non-governmental human rights organization, NOAS.

Sources: https://refugeeactioncoalitionsydney.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/factsheet-re-no-id-papers.pdf http://www.noas.no/kort-info-om-asylfeltet/

http://www.unhcr.org/1951-refugee-convention.html http://www.fn.no/FN-informasjon/Avtaler/Flyktninger/Flyktningkonvensjonen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazaras