UDI will get rid of 7,000 spots in reception centers and close down 500 reception centers. Some districts are strongly affected by this
The reception center in Hattfjelldal has housed about 200 asylum seekers, and this has resulted in twenty new jobs, housing construction, school growth and trade booming, the newspaper Aftenposten writes.
UDI announced on 25 August that 7,000 asylum seekers will be deported, and 55 reception centers will be closed down. The reception centers in Hattfjelldal is one of them, which leads to the municipality losing millions of kroner.
– This is sad. Not only for the asylum seekers, but for us as well. Things will be quiet in the village, librarian and “reception center mom” Valborg Ørjevatn says.
Two reception centers will also be closed in Kristiansand, which means a reduction of 19 positions in the municipality. Deputy Director of Immigration, Christine Wilberg says they symphathize with the communities affected by closure, but still think this is something that needs to be done.
– Adapting the facilities, structures and services which we use for the asylum seekers who arrive in Norway is something which UDI is tasked to do so that taxpayers will not have to pay for spots that remain vacant.
The number of asylum seekers arriving in Norway has been greatly reduced, and we need fewer reception centers, she says.
In 2016 the number of asylum seekers forecast is 10,750, and it is likely that it will decrease even further.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
