More than 5,000 were forced out of Norway in 2018

Asylum seekersAsylum seekers

5,077 people were forced out by Norwegian police in 2018. That is 7 percent fewer than in 2017 and the lowest number since 2012, according to the police.

By comparison, 5,434 people were sent out from Norway by force in 2017.

  • The trend of low arrivals of asylum seekers continued in 2018, and it is still the case that this affects the number of returns the PU is carrying out, says Acting Chief Hege Naustdal in the Police Immigration Unit (PU).

Not since 2012 have so few been returned, when a total of 4,901 persons were transported out.

In the category ‘ removal and expulsion’ , a total of 4,054 persons without legal residence in Norway were dispatched during the year.

Last year’s 5,077 expulsions were a bit under the government’s stated goal of 7,500 compulsory expulsions in 2018.

Time and resources
Previously, the transports have been characterized by rapid procedures with swift rejection. Now there is more identity work behind every formal asylum seeker who is returned, according to the police.

  • There are fewer external obligations within and outside reception centers, and several of those who remain come from countries with demanding return conditions. Here PU uses time and resources to clarify their identity, so that a transport can be carried out, says Naustdal.

In the category of asylum, a total of 552 returned last year, compared with 918 the year before. The number of returns in accordance with the Dublin regulations, from another safe third country, was 471 in 2018, compared to 461 in 2017.

Many punished in Norway
Of those who were forcibly returned last year, 242 were minors. 231 of those were part of a family, while 11 of them were single. This is a marginal increase from the previous year, when 234 minors were transported out.

1,781 of those who were returned last year were charged with one or more offences, ie 35 per cent of all those who were transported out throughout 2018. This marks a decline from the previous year, where a total of 2,104 of the returned persons had been in prison.

Among those who were transported out, most were from Russia, Ukraine and Poland, with 310, 303 and 302 persons respectively. 216 people were Afghans, while 210 were from Iraq.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today