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Local Norway
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Norway
Norway's Progress Party wants zero net immigration from 'high-risk countries'
Immigration policy spokesperson for the populist-right Progress Party Erlend Wiborg made the comments to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten on Friday ahead of the party's national conference at the weekend. 'Our goal is zero net immigration from high-risk countries,' he said. Wiborg said countries in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia could be described as 'high-risk' as the party believes refugees from these countries present integration challenges related to crime, low employment, use of public benefits and social segregation. 'Over time, Norway has accepted far too many immigrants from such countries. It is not sustainable and imposes enormous costs on taxpayers. We see ever-growing problems related to crime and segregation. The experiences from Sweden are frightening,' he told the paper. His comments on Sweden referred to an increase in gang crime in recent years, which politicians in both Sweden and Norway opposed to immigration attribute to failed integration and increased immigration. Last year, ordinary 4,970 asylum applications were handed into the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). However, Norway also has a fast-track 'collective protection' asylum scheme for those fleeing the war in Ukraine, with 90,082 asylum seekers from the Ukraine having been granted this status since the war broke out in 2022 . Wiborg said the Progress Party would prioritise Christian refugees. Wiborg said the party wanted to measure how well local authorities were integrating arrivals based on several parameters. 'Everything from the proportion of people in work, crime, receipt of public benefits, education and participation in society and other factors should be openly available to everyone, and show how integration works. This way, municipalities can also learn from each other, while at the same time stopping all immigration to municipalities that clearly have major integration challenges,' Wiborg said. Advertisement The party also wants to establish asylum reception centres in third countries like Rwanda. Something which the party it would look to form a right-wing coalition with, the Conservative Party, is also in favour of. Last month, Wiborg outlined how the Progress Party would also tighten up the citizenship, permanent residence and family reunification processes, saying Norway ' hands out citizenships like candy '. READ ALSO: How Norway's citizenship rules could be tightened under a new government
Local Norway
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Local Norway
How Norway's citizenship rules could be tightened under a new government
The shock return of former PM Jens Stoltenberg to Norwegian politics may have made Norway's general election harder to call by significantly boosting Labour's popularity, but polling in March showed a right-wing majority was still the likeliest outcome . Regardless of which of the Conservative Party or Progress Party ends up leading the government there could be a significant impact on those applying for Norwegian citizenship in the coming years, as both parties want tighter rules on who can become Norwegian. Erlend Wiborg, immigration policy spokesperson for the Progress Party, told the regional newspaper Bergens Tidende that Norway was 'handing out citizenship like candy' compared to Denmark. Last year, Norway granted 27,276 nationals citizenship , compared to 6,255 applicants being awarded Danish citizenship . How could the rules change? The Progress Party has proposed a minimum residence length of 10 years to be eligible for Norwegian citizenship and also wants to bar those with a criminal conviction from applying. On top of this, the party would want applicants to pass a language test at a minimum B2 level, which is a level higher than the current rules. According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the B2 level is considered upper-intermediate, and language users at this level can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity. A self-sufficiency requirement would also be introduced and apply to the five years before the applicant applied to become a Norwegian citizen. Finally, the party wants applicants to take an oath of allegiance and pass a test on basic Norwegian values. Advertisement Passing a citizenship test, which quizzes the applicants on their knowledge of history, geography, and cultural norms, is already a requirement. READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about Norway's citizenship exam Therefore, it is possible that the current citizenship test may be overhauled rather than a completely new test being introduced. Furthermore, attendees at Norwegian citizenship ceremonies are already given the opportunity to swear allegiance to Norway, although this is currently optional rather than mandatory. Earlier this year, Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg told the newspaper VG that the level of immigration into Norway over the past two decades 'cannot continue'. The Conservative Party has been less specific in its push to tighten citizenship but has said that it wants to introduce tighter language requirements and identity verification . On top of that, applicants will not be able to apply for Norwegian citizenship if they have any outstanding debt claims against them. This refers to the debt collection process for overdue payments rather than general debts, such as student loans or a mortgage. In addition to the tighter citizenship requirements, the Conservative Party said it wanted tighter family reunification rules for refugees and to increase the requirements for permanent residence. Advertisement At the time of writing the Labour Party and the Socialist Left Party haven't made any pledges in regards to tightening the citizenship rules on their websites or have unveiled major proposals to shake-up the current regulations. How quickly could the rules change? The general election isn't until September 8th, and while a right-wing majority is currently the most likely outcome - it isn't guaranteed either. Furthermore, given the nature of the changes being proposed by the two parties, changes may need to be made to Norway's citizenship law ( Statsborgerloven). When a law gets amended in Norway, it has to go through a process similar to that of a new law being created. This would mean the proposal would need to be submitted for public consultation and then sent to the parliamentary committee responsible for immigration for cross-party scrutiny. After these steps, it will then be subject to a vote in parliament before being signed off by the king and given an introduction date in the Norwegian Law Gazette. READ MORE: How a new law gets made in Norway Although, the process would be more streamlined if its just the immigration regulations rather than the law that needs changing. Applicants are normally given a few months notice of when the rules will change, although this isn't always the case , which would allow those close to being eligible under the current rules time to hand in their applications.
