Both friends and girlfriends of people living in Norway will as a general rule be denied entry. Brothers and sisters from Russia will also find it more difficult to visit their siblings in Norway. Applications for tourist visas will also usually be rejected. The fear is that Russians who come to Norway will not go home again. In a letter to the Ministry of Justice, the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) writes “that the emigration potential from Russia is significant”. news has asked the UDI for an interview, but has received written answers from subject manager Håvard Sæthre. The answers were communicated to news in an e-mail from press adviser Thomas Theis-Haugan. Sæthre writes that the decision is based on “the assessment of whether it is probable that the visa applicant will return to his home country after the visit to Norway”. On Sunday, Russians demonstrated in several places in Norway against the war in Ukraine. In Kirkenes, Anton Kalinin stood in front of the Russian Consulate General. He has lived here for about twenty years. From time to time, his brother comes to visit from Russia. On Sunday, Russians demonstrated in several cities in Norway against the war in Ukraine, here in front of the Storting in Oslo. The white flag with blue stripe should symbolize the Russian flag – without the blood red stripe at the bottom. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB – If this is a political signal that Russians should not go to Norway, then it will also be perceived and understood that way by everyone, says Kalinin. He thinks Russians who support Putin’s regime can stay at home. – But it will be more difficult for Russians who do not support the regime to leave the country. They are locked inside, and have to pay close attention to what they say and do. It will still be possible to get asylum for Russians who have been persecuted by the authorities, but in order to apply for asylum, you must first get to Norway. According to the UDI, 13 Russians applied for asylum in Norway throughout 2021. So far this year, 126 applications have been received. But it is not particularly high compared to how many people apply for asylum in Norway in total. Earlier this year, the UDI planned for up to 5,000 asylum seekers. And that is in addition to those who come from Ukraine. Nevertheless, the UDI believes it is necessary to tighten. “In the assessment of the emigration potential from Russia, we have made an overall assessment of the political, economic and social conditions in Russia,” Håvard Sæthre writes to news. President Joe Biden of the United States wants to help the Russians move out. Photo: Damian Dovarganes In May, President Joe Biden decided that it would be easier for Russians to stay in the United States. Now Russian professionals do not need to have an agreement with an employer before entering the country. Biden’s goal is to help Russia drain of competent people, thereby undermining warfare in Ukraine. The Liberal Party’s parliamentary representative Ingvild Wetrhus Thorsvik thinks Norway could have done something similar. The Liberal Party’s Ingvild Wetrhus Thorsvik believes it is not right to make it more difficult for Russians to obtain a visa to Norway. Photo: Patrick da Silva Sæther / news – I think the Norwegian authorities should say loud and clear that all Russian soldiers, researchers, academics and others who want to jump off are welcome in Norway. Brain drain will definitely be a way to limit the country’s opportunities in the war against Ukraine, says Thorsvik. She is a member of the Liberal Party in the justice committee in the Storting. The Progress Party’s Erlend Wiborg believes that it is right for the authorities to tighten, and that it is difficult for Norway to pursue the same policy as the United States. Erlend Wiborg (Frp) has a great understanding that the USA pursues the policy they do, but is skeptical about whether Norway should do the same. Photo: Christian Nicolai Bjørke / news – As a neighboring country to Russia, we are in a different situation than the USA. If we relax the visa rules, there may be very many, possibly more than we have the capacity to handle. It will also be difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish whether those who come support Putin and the regime or not, says Wiborg, as immigration and integration policy spokesman in Frp. The tightening of the Norwegian immigration authorities does not hit all groups equally hard. Parents, children and spouses can still count on being able to visit theirs in Norway. It will be more difficult for Russian businessmen – but the UDI emphasizes that it will not be impossible – to go to Norway. The same goes for visitors with a cultural purpose.
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UDI tightens visa rules for Russians – sharp increase in the number of asylum applications after the war in Ukraine – news Troms and Finnmark
