Government demanded more Norwegian lessons for immigrants, and also to look at the language standards.
“It is a requirement for immigrants that they must actually learn Norwegian and show a real will for it. It’s not the way forward to continue to live on social benefits,’’ said Minister of Finance Siv Jensen of Fremskrittsparti (Frp) to VG newspaper.
She believes that too many people live in Norway without being able to speak Norwegian,and without being part of Norwegian society. She referred especially to the population of ethnic minority women.
Today, refugees have the right to 600 hours of training in Norwegian language and society as part of the municipality’s introductory program. Now the government wants the requirement for the number of hours to be replaced at language level and that Norwegian language education will start already in the asylum reception centres.
In addition, according to the newspaper, the government will tighten the requirements for those who receive social benefits and do not get into work.
“If you go out of the introductory course, enter the home and not go to work because you are too bad at Norwegian, then we will make demands,” said the integration minister, Jan Tore Sanner of Høyre (H) to VG newspaper. The requirement he referred to is that you continue on Norwegian courses.
In the Jeløy Declaration (Jeløy-erklæringen), the Government announced that the claim should apply for a stay in Norway for five years, but now they opened the possibility to introduce the claim earlier.
How Norwegian knowledge is to be tested is still not clear.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
