Last week, Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) met her Nordic colleagues in the western village of Rosendal in Kvinnherad. The refugee trauma from Ukraine was one of several topics at the meeting. – Far too many Ukrainians came to the country. We made austerity measures, and it seems to have worked. There may also be more austerity measures, says the Minister of Justice to news. Positive “rumours” about Norway Beyond the autumn of 2023, many Ukrainians on the run took with them that Norway could be a good country to go to. Both blogs and online newspapers wrote that the welfare schemes in Norway were very good. A Fafo report showed that the introduction allowance was almost nine times higher in Norway than in Sweden. UDI noticed a jump in the refugee statistics from August onwards. The figures showed that a great many Ukrainians came to Norway, compared to the other countries in the Nordics. – We are seeing a doubling of the number of refugees from Ukraine, said Director of UDI, Frode Forfang, to news in October. During December 2023, the government will tighten the rules for Ukrainian refugees: New requirements for accommodation, cuts in child benefit and cuts in access to return trips Ukrainians who travel to their homeland on holiday may lose their residence permit in Norway Ukrainians who also have citizenship in another safe country, do not get intermediate collective protection in Norway Persons with intermediate collective protection can have to wait up to five years before they can get permanent residence, compared to three years which was the limit earlier When the war broke out, many Ukrainians had to flee their homeland. Photo: WOJTEK RADWANSKI / AFP Strong growth last autumn The influx was so great that many municipalities reported great difficulties in housing so many Ukrainians. Last year, Norway took in 46 percent of all Ukrainian refugees who came to the Nordic region, according to figures from Eurostat. From February to June this year, the figure was down to 31 per cent, according to the same statistics. The number of applicants changes abruptly already from January. At that time, 1,658 Ukrainians applied for collective protection in Norway, while just under 1,350 applied in both February and March, according to figures from UDI. It has not been this low in any other months after Russia attacked Ukraine. Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl believes that many people in Norway have made a good effort to welcome and integrate Ukrainian refugees. – We are very grateful to everyone who has made a good effort. But we must make sure that the pressure does not become too high, says Emilie Enger Mehl. She says Norway has placed great emphasis on the integration of Ukrainian refugees as soon as they arrive in the country. Among other things, they go through a fairly lengthy introductory program. TIGHTEN UP: Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) says the government saw a clear need to tighten up, to slow down the flow of refugees from Ukraine. Photo: William Jobling / news Høgre wants to tighten more The leader of the justice committee at the Storting, Helge André Njåstad (Frp), believes the government has not done enough in meeting the Ukrainians. – It is good that the measures worked a little, but they did not do enough. We are still performing too well in relation to our neighboring countries, says Njåstad. Høgre believes the government must consider tightening more if the arrivals remain high. – Many municipalities are struggling to settle and far too many are out of work. We must do a better job of integrating those who come, says Mari Holm Lønseth, Høgre’s immigration policy spokesperson. She proposes the following measures: Improve Norwegian education and make it easier to get training digitally in the evenings alongside work. Work-oriented introductory program more. Several refugees have to take the job they are offered, even if it doesn’t quite suit their education. The government must open up inpatient and intermediate appointments. Introduce an activity obligation for social assistance recipients. – Very demanding The Minister of Justice is happy that Norway can discuss the refugee trauma from Ukraine with the other Nordic countries. – We are going to get difficult questions both about what we are going to do with the Ukrainians if the war one day ends, or if it drags on for a long time. There is no doubt that the situation in the Middle East and all the turmoil that is elsewhere in the world means that migration and asylum in general are very demanding, she says. The Swedish Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenegard says that their benefits were previously a little lower. But it gradually changed, and thus increased the flow of Ukrainian refugees to Sweden. – We have changed the rules and there has been a certain increase in the number of Ukrainians coming to Sweden, says Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenegard. She underlines that at the start of the war it was most important that all the Nordic countries could accept a large number of Ukrainians in a short time. Published 20.08.2024, at 06.34
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Norway received the most Ukrainians in the Nordic countries. This is how the government turned the situation on its head – news Vestland
