If you are a victim of human trafficking, you may be granted a limited temporary residence permit for a period of six months. This permit is called a period of reflection.
What is a period of reflection?
The purpose of the period of reflection is to give victims of human trafficking an opportunity to break contact with the trafficking environment. One of the other objectives is to facilitate the prosecution of traffickers/ pimps.
The period of reflections lasts for six months. The permit cannot be renewed, and it does not form the basis for a
permanent residence permit (previously called a settlement permit) or
family immigration. If you have underage children, they may nonetheless be granted family immigration in certain cases. Such a permit will be of the same short duration as the period of reflection and any subsequent temporary permit.
Who can be granted a period of reflection?
To be granted a period of reflection, you must consider yourself a victim of human trafficking, and if there are no clear indications of the opposite, this will be an adequate basis for deeming you to be a victim of human trafficking. It must also be likely that you, during the period of reflection, are prepared to accept help and follow up the measures offered. It is not a requirement that you no longer have contact with the trafficking environment.
You can be granted a period of reflection if you:
- are a foreign national without legal residence in Norway
- hold a permit issued by another Schengen country
- are an EEA national (citizen of an EU/EFTA country)
- are an asylum seeker and your case has yet to be decided. You must then withdraw your application for protection to be entitled to apply for a period of reflection, but you can resume your application for protection later, if you wish.
- are an asylum seeker who has received a final rejection, if new information emerges that provides clear indications that you are a victim of human trafficking. This only applies if you cannot be held responsible for the fact that the new information has not emerged sooner.
You must submit your application to the police in person.
New temporary residence permit
A period of reflection cannot be renewed, but you may be granted a new temporary residence permit for up to one year if it is necessary in order to prosecute the traffickers. The UDI grants such a permit on the following conditions:
- you have been a victim of human trafficking but no longer have contact with the trafficking environment,
- you have reported the traffickers to the police,
- the police are investigating the matter or have initiated prosecution of the people involved, and
- the police/the Norwegian Prosecuting Authority consider it necessary that you stay in Norway for the investigation or court case to be conducted.
If you meet the criteria for the permit, you do not have to apply for a period of reflection first. This permit can be renewed for as long as the criteria are met.
Further information
