Palestinian camp wins reprieve
October 26, 2011
A group of Palestinian refugees won’t have to break up the camp they set up in downtown Oslo to protest their plight as undocumented aliens in danger of being deported back to Gaza. City officials said they can remain, at least for the time being.
The refugees have lived in tents next to the former …
Effort grows to revive ‘Nansenpass’
October 10, 2011
As government officials hail Norway’s famed explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen this year, refugees in Oslo wish they’d take more to heart Nansen’s efforts to provide stateless persons with rights and credentials. One teenager whose family fled Lebanon planned to confront Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg with a replica of a “Nansenpass,” the special “passports” …
Immigrants and refugees opt to leave
September 26, 2011
Refugees who’ve been denied asylum in Norway are opting to leave voluntarily, in record numbers, while other foreigners who’ve been granted permanent residence are leaving as well. Many are moving on after having trouble finding jobs or running into racism.
The head of Norway’s immigration directorate UDI (Utlendingsdirektoratet), Ida Børresen, told news bureau NTB that …
Government drops refugee return centers
September 15, 2011
The Norwegian government won’t be building new centers to house rejected refugees after all. Justice ministry officials decided the centers would be too expensive.
Pål Lønseth, state secretary in the ministry, said the government would instead put a priority on other measures aimed at expediting the return of those whose applications for asylum have been …
Immigrants come looking for work
August 29, 2011
Immigrants from the European Union (EU), the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand made up fully two-thirds of the roughly 50,000 persons who arrived in Norway from outside the Nordic area last year. Most were hoping to find a job.
With Norway’s economy remaining strong at a time when other countries are suffering serious debt …
More refugees expected
July 15, 2011
Norwegian immigration authorities are bracing for a new wave of asylum seekers from Somalia and Eritrea, because of the drought and famine now gripping the east coast of Africa.
Norway already receives a steady stream of refugees from the troubled area, but the drought now hitting the area known as Africa’s horn is the worst …
Gadhafi’s Ukrainian nurse ‘in Oslo’
May 5, 2011
One of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gadhafi’s infamous Ukrainian nurses is reported to be in Norway and applying for asylum, according to newspaper sources.
Newspaper VG claims that a number of independent sources suggest that the Ukrainian nurse is Galyna Kolotnytska, who gained media attention last year as part of US embassy documents leaked …
Government ends Syria deportations
April 29, 2011
The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (Utlendingsdirektoratet, UDI) has stopped deportations of failed asylum seekers to Syria in light of the civil turmoil and violence in the country.
On Wednesday, UDI said they were continuing deportations based on “individual evaluations” of cases, but would monitor the situation closely. Forced returns have now been stopped, and …
Amelie returns to Nansen school
April 27, 2011
Maria Amelie, an author who was deported from Norway for being a “paperless” illegal immigrant in January, was set to return to Nansen school in Lillehammer on Wednesday – the place where she was originally arrested before being sent home to Russia.
After applying for a work permit in order to return legally to …
Ethiopians in new cathedral protest
April 27, 2011
Around 20 Ethiopian asylum seekers protesting against the Norwegian immigration authority’s decision to send them home have returned to Oslo Cathedral for a new protest, following their occupation of the church and hunger strikes in February.
The protestors set up a large white tent directly beside the entrance to the cathedral early in the morning …
Deported refugee cleared for return
April 18, 2011
UPDATED: She’s back. Madina Salamova, also known as Maria Amelie, has been granted working permission back in Norway, three months after she was deported as an illegal alien. Amelie, who was in Krakow to work on a book when the clearance came, returned to Norway over the weekend.
“Now I look forward to a more …
Immigrants’ language lessons doubled
March 25, 2011
The required hours of Norwegian language and social studies lessons for immigrants will be doubled from 300 to 600 hours in 2012, the Norwegian government has confirmed.
As well as an increase in the length of supervision, immigrants will also have to take an obligatory test on completion of their course.
The new rules were …
Maria Amelie hopes for spring in Norway
March 16, 2011
UPDATED: Celebrated but deported refugee Maria Amelie has moved on from Moscow to Krakow in Poland, seven weeks after she was expelled from Norway following many years as an illegal alien. She still aims to return to Norway, as she awaits a hoped-for change in the law.
Amelie told newspaper Aftenposten recently that she “hopes …
Eurovision winner fends off racism
February 18, 2011
The young Kenyan-Norwegian woman who won last weekend’s run-up to the Eurovision Song Contest has been the target of what many are calling blatant racism, with even a local politician caught in the scandal. Singer Stella Mwangi herself, however, doesn’t want to talk about it.
“I would rather talk about me and my music,” Mwangi …
Ethiopians stage street protest
February 18, 2011
A group of Ethiopian asylum seekers staged a demonstration in a snowy downtown Oslo on Thursday to protest Norway’s handling of their request for asylum. Many of the protesters belonged to the same group that earlier launched a hunger strike inside the Oslo Cathedral.
Among the speakers was Bjørnar Moxnes, a leader of the left-wing …
