The government wants to spend 500 million more on integration

Minister of Immigration and Integration Sylvi Listhaug ( Progress Party ).Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix

The government proposes to spend an additional 484.9 million kroner on integration and settling of asylum seekers next year.

The greatly reduced “asylum influx” to Norway gives the government a far greater leeway when it  submits the state budget on Thursday morning , the newspaper Adresseavisen writes.

Based on the the figures of Directorate of Immigration (UDI)  on the costs of having a single asylum applicant living in a reception center for one year, the total costs for all the asylum seekers living in reception centers with the current influx level  be 5.6 billion kroner lower next year than they have been this year, estimates that the news agency NTB made In August show .

Even an influx this year of 10,000, which UDI forecasts, will lead to the amount of money the government has to spend on the asylum seekers living in reception centers reduced by 4.3 billion kroner next year compared to this year.

According to Adresseavisen the government now proposes to strengthen the various integration measures.

The largest increase will be in settlement, with 260 million set aside for the settling of unaccompanied minor refugees and an increase in the additional subsidy for settlement.

Most agencies involved will also get their budgets increased.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today