A - C - D - E - F - I - O - R - S - T - U - V - W

A

Age testing –x-ray examinations of hands and teeth to determine the age of a person who claims to be younger than 18 years of age.

Appellate body – administrative body that processes appeals against first-instance decisions. When the police in Norway or a foreign service mission reject an application, the UDI is the appeals body. When the UDI rejects an application as the first instance, the decision can be appealed to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE).

Asylum – place of refuge for persons who have a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Asylum includes, for example, protection against being sent back to the area where the asylum seeker has reason to fear persecution. Asylum also confers certain rights during the stay in the country of asylum. Foreign nationals who are granted asylum in Norway are given refugee status.

Asylum interview - The UDI shall as soon as possible interview a foreign national who is applying for asylum. The asylum seeker must state why he or she is applying for asylum. The information provided during the interview will constitute the basis for the decision on the application for asylum.

Asylum seeker – person who on his or her own initiative, and without prior notification, asks the authorities for protection and recognition as a refugee. The person is called an asylum seeker until a decision has been made on the application.

Au pair – a person who has been granted temporary residence for up to two years to live with a Norwegian family while providing services. The aim is to give the person in question an opportu¬nity to improve his or her language skills and/or advance his or her general education by learning more about Norway. The person in question must be between 18 and 30 years of age.

C

Citizenship – a formal status that entails affiliation with a state as well as rights and obligations in relation to this state. Citizenship arises normally at birth. For a foreign national to be granted Norwegian citizenship by application, the person must be at least 18 years of age, have had a fixed place of residence in Norway for the last seven years, have a record of good conduct and not have incurred substantial child maintenance debts.

Collective protection – temporary residence or work permits may be granted to persons on collective grounds in mass flight situations, after a group assessment. Consideration of applications for asylum may be suspended for up to three years. Such permits do not constitute a basis for a settlement permit (permanent residence permit) during the first four years.

D

Decision – a decision in a case is made by an administrative body and determines the rights and obliga¬tions of private persons in the relevant area.

Differentiated asylum processing – The UDI divides applications for asylum into different categories on the basis of the situation in the country in question. Today the cases that are examined are divided into three different categories: 48-hour cases, 3-week cases and 7-week cases, in addition to the separate procedures for applications from unaccompanied minor asylum seekers (UMA) and from persons whose cases have been or should be fully examined in another country. 

Dropped case – This refers to cases where it has been decided to drop a case. The reason for such a decision may be that the applicant has disappeared, that he or she has withdrawn the application or that he or she has not been given status in the case for other reasons.

Dublin Convention – applies to persons who have received a decision pursuant to the Dublin II Regulations. Pursuant to these regulations, the examination of an application shall be undertaken in the country responsible for such examination. Responsibility rests mainly with the country where the foreign national first applied for asylum, or was granted a residence permit or a Schengen visa. The aim of the regulations is to ensure that all persons who submit an application will have it examined, and that the application for asylum will only be examined in one of the member countries.

DUF – the Norwegian computer system for cases involving foreign nation¬als and refugees. It is a joint registration system and case processing tool for all immigration authorities. Used primarily by the police, UDI and UNE.

E

Eurodac – a central electronic fingerprint register of foreign nationals (mainly asylum seekers) who have been registered in an EU or EEA country. The register, which has been in operation since 15 January 2003, only permits comparison of fingerprints in accordance with the Dublin II Regulations. The purpose of the register is to establish whether an asylum seeker has previously applied for asylum in another country which is connected to the Eurodac register.

Examination of cases – assessment by the UDI of the asylum seeker’s need for protection or other strong humanitarian considerations that may constitute grounds for residence in the country.

Expulsion – decision entailing that a foreign national must leave the country and can only re-enter the country if special conditions are met. See also “Rejection of entry/residence”.

F

Family immigration permit – permit that is granted to persons who are or will be close family members of a Norwegian citizen or foreign national with legal residence in Norway.

First instance – the official body that makes the first decision in a case. This is always the UDI in asylum cases. In a number of residence cases the police in Norway or a Norwegian foreign service mission may make the first decision.

I

Immigrant – person born abroad, permanently resident in Norway, both of whose parents were born abroad.

The Immigration Act - The provisions of the Immigration Act provide the framework for the entry of foreign nationals into the Kingdom of Norway and their presence in the realm. The Act was passed on 24 June 1988 and came into force on 1 January 1991, replacing the Aliens Act of 1956. The UDI's decisions on protection and work and residence permits are reached in accordance with the Immigration Act and the Immigrant Regulations.

Immigrant population
Comprises persons who have two parents who are foreign nationals and/or were themselves born abroad. More precisely: persons who have neither parents nor grandparents who were born in Norway. For adopted children, the adoptive parents, not the biological parents, are considered as the parents.

Immigration Regulations
The Immigration Regulations indicate in more detail how provisions under the Immigration Act are to be enforced. The Regulations were passed by Royal decree on 21 December 1990 and came into force at the same time as the Immigration Act. The UDI's decisions on protection and work and residence permits are reached in accordance with the Immigration Act and the Immigrant Regulations.

Individual protection
Means that asylum or residence on humanitarian grounds is granted in accordance with an individual consideration of the application.

Integration – governing principle in Norwegian immigration policy, which normally means that immigrants and refugees become functional members of the majority society, but without losing their cultural or ethnic identity.

IOM – International Organisation for Migration is an organisation with which the UDI cooperates to facilitate the return to their countries of origin of persons who have received a final rejection of their applications for asylum (voluntary return), and which assists resettlement refugees in coming to Norway.

O

Other protection – permit that may be granted to asylum seekers who do not come under the Refugee Convention, but who nevertheless have a background similar to a refugee, which means that they have the need of protection.

R

Racism
Reason and justification for discrimination of individuals or groups on the basis of their "race", skin colour, creed, family origin, or national or ethnic origin.

Reception centre – voluntary housing for asylum seekers. The UDI is responsible for the organisation of a flexible reception centre system that can handle a varying number of asylum seekers and refugees waiting to be settled in Norway.

Refugee – in the legal sense, the term “refugee” applies to resettlement refugees and asylum seekers who have been granted asylum. In connection with refugee assistance in Norway, the term “refugee” is used for resettlement refu¬gees and persons who, following an application for asylum, have been granted asylum, protection or residence on humanitarian grounds.

Refusal
This is a decision which means that the conditions for asylum or residence on humanitarian grounds have not been met. Decisions reached by the UDI can be appealed to the Ministry of Justice.

Regional office - The UDI has six regional offices which, for example, work with the reception of asylum seekers and the settlement of those who are permitted to stay in the country. The regional offices are situated in Narvik, Trondheim, Bergen, Kristiansand, Oslo and Gjøvik.

Rejection of applications – a decision which means that the conditions for the permit an applicant has applied for are not satisfied. Rejections decided by Norwegian foreign service missions or the police can be appealed to the UDI. Rejections decided by the UDI as the first instance can be appealed to the Immigra¬tion Appeals Board (UNE). In asylum cases, rejections include applications that are rejected after full examination, applications that are rejected pursuant to the Nordic Passport Convention and applications that are rejected because the applicant has arrived from a safe first country of asylum. Rejections also include cases where an applicant has applied from abroad and has been rejected for that reason.

Rejection of entry/residence – a decision denying a foreign national entry into or residence in Norway. The decision is not a reason to reject an application for subsequent entry. Rejection must not be confused with expulsion or removal from the realm.

Repatriation
Means that a refugee returns to his or her country of origin voluntarily. This was also previously used in Norway about facilitating a voluntary return for persons with a refugee background (see "Return").

Resettlement refugee – refugees who are permitted to come to Norway following an organised selection process, normally in cooperation with the UN High Commis¬sioner for Refugees (UNHCR). At the Government’s proposal, Stortinget (the Norwegian parliament) sets a quota for the number of resettlement refugees to be received by Norway each year.

Residence on humanitarian grounds – permit that may be granted to asylum seekers who do not have a need for protection, but where other strong humanitarian considerations indicate that they should be granted a residence permit, such as a serious health condition, consideration to the situation of a minors or strong connections to Norway. Such cases are often considered in the context of difficult conditions in the country of origin, for example, after war/hostilities.

Residence on protection grounds – permit that may be granted to asylum seekers who do not come under the Refugee Convention, but who nevertheless have a background similar to a refugee, which means that they have a need for protection.

Residence permit
Permit entitling the holder to reside in Norway more than three months. This permit does not entitle the holder to take employment, with the exception of EEA nationals.

Return
Used about a person with a refugee background who returns to his or her country of origin. Return may occur on one's own initiative or be organised by the authorities. This can take place with or without public support and other active incentives or preparation (see "Repatriation").

S

Schengen agreement – this agreement means that passport control has been eliminated between certain European countries that are parties to the agreement. These countries have a common external border, and their citizens may therefore travel freely between the member states. The same applies to foreign citizens who have a residence permit in one of the member states or have been granted a visa to the Schengen area. A total of 15 European countries had joined the agreement in 2005: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Germany and Austria.

Seasonal work permit – type of permit granted to foreign nationals who intend to work in typical seasonal jobs, such as picking strawberries, or as a stand-in during holiday periods. A work permit for seasonal workers may be granted for up to six months in a calendar year.

Settlement permit – permit that can be granted to persons who have lived in Norway for at least three years with a type of residence or work permit that constitutes the basis for a settlement permit. This permit has no time limitation and entitles the holder to permanent residence and general access to take employment in Norway. As a rule, settlement permits become invalid after more than two years’ residence abroad.

T

Trainee – permit that enables foreign nationals to take training in a vocation or trade. It is a requirement that the work is of real importance for development of the competence of the person in question and that it forms a natural part of the vo¬cational training in the country of origin. The permit can be renewed and granted for up to two years.

Transit reception centre - Temporary place of residence for asylum seekers until they have been interviewed by the UDI and have undergone a health examination.

U

Unaccompanied minor asylum seeker (UMA) – asylum seeker or refugee under 18 years of age who has no parents or others with parental responsibility in Norway.

V

Visa – permit for persons who come under the visa requirement, allowing them to enter Norway and the rest of the Schengen area, and to stay in the area for a specified period of time, normally for up to three months. Visas are normally granted for only one visit, but they may also be granted for multiple visits. A visa label is placed in the person's passport to show the permit granted.

W

Work permit – residence permit given when the main purpose of the stay is to take employ¬ment in Norway. Work permits may be granted to persons over 15 years of age if they satisfy the conditions set out in the Norwegian Immigration Act.

15-month rule – asylum seekers who presented a passport or other approved travel document when they submitted their applications for asylum may be granted a residence permit if UDI has not processed their asylum cases within 15 months.

48-hour procedure – processing of applications for asylum from persons who come from countries the UDI deems to be generally safe. The 48-hour procedure ensures rapid case processing and the speedy return to the country of origin for persons who come to Norway without the required permit and without a need for protection.