3,324 refugees were settled in Norwegian municipalities in the first three months. The aim to settle 12,500 refugees this year is thus within reach.
Although there were twice as many settlements in the January to March during the record year 2016, it will still be the second highest number of the refugees in the course of one year, highlighted the Ministry for Integration and Diversity.
– Norwegian municipalities have over time shown great willingness and ability to settle a high number of refugees. They will now continue these good efforts from 2016, said director Libe Rieber-Mohn.
The directorate notes that settlement has become more efficient: The wait for a refugee from receiving a decision on residency until being settled in a municipality, is shortened.
At the end of March, the average waiting time was 4.5 months, down from 6.3 months in the same period last year.
– This means that refugees can more quickly get started with their new life in Norwegian municipalities: learn Norwegian, get an education or a job and become financially independent, says Rieber-Mohn.
168 of the refugees who were settled in the first quarter, were unaccompanied minors. Of the 3,324 residents displaced, 2,300 were from Syria, 247 from Iran, 167 from Eritrea and 136 from Afghanistan.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
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