Arbeiderpartiet (The Labour Party – Ap) will propose asylum amendments as soon as possible

ÅS.Bjørnebekk asylum reception at Ås.Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB scanpix

Ap will take up the fight as soon as possible for fewer asylum seekers gaining temporary residence in Norway.

 

 

‘When we start work during the next parliamentary term, this is one of the first things we’ll address,”’ said Ap’s immigration policy spokesperson, Stein Erik Lauvås, to VG newspaper.

With Ap and Senterparti (Sp) support, last autumn the government removed protection of single child age asylum seekers, such that the Directorate of Immigration don’t consider in need of protection, so they could be emmigrated
from Norway at the age of 18.

The vast majority of this group are young Afghans.
The so-called reasonableness clause was removed, meaning that most single minor asylum seekers were not moved internally in their home country, but rather stayed in Norway because internal moving was regarded as ‘unfair’.

The Ap National Conference last year approved a policy that the practice with this group of asylum seekers had to change, so that more people could stay in Norway. However, it wasn’t a majority at the national conference who voted for removal of the reasonableness clause.

Today there are 302 young people in Norwegian reception centres awaiting removal from the country when they reach 18.

Lauvås said Ap wishes to clarify the rules on which criteria are to be taken into account in the cases being processed.‘AP will work out a proposal and we will deliver it as soon as possible,’ he said.

The Kristelig Folkeparti (KrF), Venstre (Left), The Socialist Left (SV), The Greens Party (MDG) and Red all wish to remove the entire temporary stay apparatus for the group under the age of 18 years.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today