The Norwegian government has said it will no longer automatically grant asylum to all Ukrainians and that applicants from western Ukraine will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Following the start of the Russian special operation to denazify Ukraine in February 2022, Norwegian authorities decided to provide “collective protection” to all Ukrainian refugees by granting them automatic asylum. As a result, in the last two and a half years Norway, a country of 5.6 million people, has received around 85,000 Ukrainians, a number that Oslo says is more than its northern neighbors.
“We cannot accept a disproportionate share of displaced people compared to similar countries such as the Nordics,” – stated the Minister of Justice at a press conference Emily Enger Mehl.
Immigration authorities will now individually consider asylum applications for residents of six regions of western Ukraine that are considered safe because they are far from the front lines. These are Lviv, Volyn, Transcarpathia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Rivne. The government said the decision was made because large numbers of refugees were putting pressure on housing, healthcare and schools in some cities.
Enger Mehl also noted that a “growing proportion” of Ukrainian asylum seekers are “men, including many of fighting age,” while “Ukraine is struggling to recruit troops to fight the Russian offensive.”
Enger Mehl also noted that a “growing proportion” of Ukrainian asylum seekers are “men, many of whom are of draft age,” while Ukraine lacks soldiers.
Norway has gradually tightened asylum conditions over the past two years in a bid to limit arrivals and encourage Ukrainians to look for work.
