The stream of minor asylum seekers from Afghanistan has almost completely come to a standstill. Only eight have come in the first three months of this year. In 2015 alone more than 3,500 arrived.
In the first quarter, a total 60 unaccompanied minor asylum seekers made their way to Norway, which is 42 fewer compared to last year.
Adolescents from Syria head the list with 19, followed by 14 from Eritrea, according to figures presented by UDI on Wednesday.
Unaccompanied minors from Afghanistan today can get a temporary residence permit in Norway until they are 18-years-old. Then they can be returned to Kabul ifAfghanistan is that is their country of origin. This year, 212 young Afghans received a temporary residence permit in Norway under this ruling.
– Nobody seeking asylum , even unaccompanied minors, are entitled to protection under international law – if internal replacement is possible in their own country, the Government assessed in a recent statement.
In total there have been 1,249 asylum seekers reaching Norway in the first quarter. 364 of them are under 18 years old, and the majority (304) have come together with their families.
The Male ratio is 59 percent. More than six out of ten of asylum seekers this year are from Eritrea or Syria, with Eritreans topping the list of applicants.
Only about half of the asylum seekers this year have come to Norway by themselves. The rest are funnelled through from Italy and Greece.
The reason behind this is that the Parliament in December 2015 decided that Norway will accept 1,500 asylum applicants from Italy and Greece, during 2016 and 2017. This year there have been just shy of 600 people coming to Norway in accordance to this policy.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
