Norway tightens temporary protection rules for displaced persons from Ukraine

MOSCOW. June 3 (Interfax) - Ukrainians whose Norwegian temporary collective protection has been recalled or has not been extended may not receive it again in the future, Ukrainian media said, citing a press release from Norway's Justice and Public Security Ministry, which tightened the temporary protection rules on May 31.

"Norway spends a lot of money on fast-track processing and providing accommodation to Ukrainian asylum seekers under a special program. The Center Party and the Labor Party in the government believe that it is not right to once again grant special protection to asylum seekers who have voluntarily returned home or have breached the rules," Justice and Public Security Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said. According to Norway's Directorate of Immigration, around 2,000 Ukrainians earlier granted temporary collective protection have not had their one-year permit for stay in Norway prolonged. In many cases, these are people who returned to Ukraine or moved to other European countries. These people can no longer receive collective protection in Norway if they apply for it again, but will have to undergo the routine individual procedure for granting asylum.

Moreover, the minister did not rule out the possibility of further tightening the rules for granting temporary collective protection in Norway.

"Immigration needs to be sustainable. Therefore, we are considering further tightening the temporary collective protection rules," Mehl said.

As reported, on March 11, 2022 the Norwegian government introduced a temporary collective protection scheme for displaced people from Ukraine. The arrangement means that such applicants are granted a residence permit using simplified rules, and not based on an individual assessment.

According to Eurostat data, 70,690 Ukrainian citizens had temporary protection status in Norway in late March 2024, versus 51,619 in late August 2023, and 66,940 at the end of 2023.

In total, about 4.2 million non-EU citizens who left Ukraine after February 24, 2022 had temporary protection status in EU countries. Temporary protection beneficiaries from Ukraine accounted for more than 98% of this figure.

In late March 2024, the EU countries with the largest numbers of people from Ukraine with temporary protection status were Germany (1,301,790, or 30.9% of the total number), Poland, 955,520, 22.7%), and the Czech Republic (364,380, 8.7%). The cumulative share of these three countries is 62.3%.