Population figures
Total country population
5,514,477
Forcibly displaced population
Refugees (under UNHCR's mandate):
107,057
Asylum-seekers:
4,789
IDPs (of concern to UNHCR):
0
Other people in need of international protection:
0
Other
Statelessness persons
0
Host community
0
Others of concern to UNHCR
0
Country context
Norway is a country in northern Europe, on the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is bordered by Sweden to the east, Finland to the northeast, and Russia to the far northeast. It has a long coastline along the North Atlantic Ocean to the west. Only a small number of registered asylum-seekers live in Norway, with the majority coming from Syria, Eritrea, and Türkiye.
Norway has a long tradition of providing sanctuary to those in need of international protection. Norway has ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. It is also a State party to both the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions. Regarding domestic law, the Norwegian Immigration Act provides the legal basis for regulating and controlling asylum procedures, including the determination of refugee status. The Act outlines the procedures for asylum applications, the criteria for granting refugee status, and the rights and obligations of asylum seekers and refugees. In recent years, there have been legislative and policy changes regarding border control, which have made access to the Norwegian territory and asylum procedures more difficult for asylum-seekers.
...Norway has acceded to both the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. These statelessness Conventions have been incorporated into domestic Norwegian law, but not all provisions have been expressly adopted. Currently, Norwegian legislation does not define a stateless person. UNHCR and several treaty bodies have also expressed concerns for the lack of a dedicated procedure to determine statelessness and grant stateless people protection under Norwegian law by its international obligations. In 2021, legislative requirements for permanent residence generated uncertainty as to the residence period required for the naturalisation of stateless persons granted international protection.
Norway participates in international resettlement programs, with a national quota set for resettlement. Resettlement is based on referrals by UNHCR and is subject to the country's national policies and priorities. The legal framework governing resettlement includes provisions for the selection of refugees, the granting of residence permits, and the rights and obligations of resettled individuals.
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