UDI considering recalling 500 Norwegian citizenships

Norwegian PassportNorwegian Passport. Photo: Norway Today Media

UDI is currently considering to revoke Norwegian citizenship in around 500 cases. It is not possible to predict how many people will lose their Norwegian citizenship because of these considerations, responded Listhaug in a written question from Kari Henriksen (Ap).

Nine registered rebounds
Listhaug shows that from 2012 until 16 December 2016 a total of 135 people have been deprived of their Norwegian citizenship. Of these, around 65 were recalled last year.
From 2012 until mid-December the authorities had noted that nine people had returned to their homeland after losing their Norwegian citizenship.
During the same period 118 people had their citizenship revoked without it being noted that they had returned. These are people who may have left Norway on their own, without reporting to the Norwegian authorities, stated Listhaug to Parliament.
– No instructions
Ingeborg Grimsmo, Communications Director of Immigration, told VG that the agency did not receive any instructions from Listhaug to verify cases where asylum seekers may have entered under false pretenses.
– This has been Norwegian politics for many years and is really nothing new, says Grimsmo referring to the former Labor politician Benjamin Ahmed who pretended to be a refugee from Somalia, but later admitted that he really came from Djibouti. His lawyer confirmed to Hamar Arbeiderblad in April 2015 that Ahmed had left Norway and was situated in Djibouti.
– We have not received any instructions concerning matters with fake IDs. It is in the law already. The instructions that come, deals with those coming from war zones and did not receive permanent residence in Norway. These temporary stays are for three years, but if it gets quieter or peaceful in their homeland they are returned, said Grimsmo to VG.
She adds that if they receive a tip that someone has cheated with an ID, this is something UDI also has previously done.
Source: VG/ Norway Today