197 convicted criminals deported from Norway in March

541 people were forcibly sent out of Norway in MarchPolice.541 people were forcibly sent out of Norway in March.Photo Scan-foto: Anders Knudsen

541 people were forcibly sent out of Norway in March. A third of these were had committed one or more crimes.

Of the 197 convicted persons the Police Immigration Service (PU) transported out of the country last month, 24 percent hold Romanian citizenship.

Further down the list, 15 percent were from Poland, while 11 percent were Lithuanians. All those forcibly returned Romanians, Poles and Lithuanians had verdicts against them, according to figures from PU.

So far this year 1,418 persons have been forcibly transported out of the country, 594 fewer than at the same time last year. Of these, 128 are from Romania, 116 were Afghan nationals, 111 from Albania, 88 from Poland and 77 from Iraq.

In March, 26 minors were deported together with their family. A total of 69 minors were forcibly sent out during the first three months.

 10,000 should have been out

At the same time there are very many who should have been sent out of Norway, but who have not left the country before the deadline, according to PU. Ballpark figures are around 10,000 people.

– Among the 10,000 with expired deadline for leaving we are talking about asylum, expulsion, rejection and so-called Dublin cases. Some of the cases stretch back over 25 years in time, and we assume that many have left the country without notifying the Norwegian authorities, said PU to Norwegian radio channel P4.

This can include dangerous people, State Secretary Fabian Stang (Conservatives) states in a commentary on the radio channel.

– It is clear that when one lives an unofficial life without the possibility of taking any legal work, get home or have a social network, certainly increases the risk that one can commit crimes, says Stang.

 Without legal residence

While PU is responsible for returning persons without legal residence, the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) is responsible for assisted returns.

PU sends out people who have applied for asylum in Norway and who have received a final rejection of an asylum application. This also applies to people who have a deportation order.

PU also deports people who do not have legal residence under the so-called Dublin Agreement, which regulates which EU countries should treat an asylum application. PU also deports people who have a temporary ban on entering the country.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today