The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) has different processing procedures for applications for protection. How your application is processed and how long it takes depends on where you come from and what kind of situation you are in.
All applications for protection are considered on an individual basis, regardless of which procedure the application falls under. If your application is rejected, you are entitled to appeal the decision. The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) will process your application first. If the UDI does not reverse the decision, the appeal will be forwarded to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) for processing.
It is your responsibility as an applicant to provide an extensive explanation of why you are applying for protection. It is also your responsibility to submit all information and all available documents relevant to your case. At the same time, it is the UDI’s duty to ensure that as much information as possible is obtained to shed light on your case.
The assessment of the application for protection is based on the statement that you made during your asylum interview, in addition to any other information that you have provided to the Norwegian authorities. The UDI can examine this information and any identity documents, for example with the assistance of Norwegian embassies. In addition to an investigation of the basis for asylum and your identity, an age examination and a language analysis to clarify your origin may also be options. Your information is then compared with the results of the investigation.
Information about the security situation and other circumstances in your home country are also key elements in the assessment. The UDI obtains its information about these aspects from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and human rights organisations, and we exchange information with other countries. The immigration administration’s expert body, The Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre, is an important partner in this work. You can find more information, mostly in Norwegian, on the Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre’s website (www.landinfo.no).
In addition to the various case processing procedures, the UDI has special guidelines on how asylum applications from different countries are to be processed. You can find these guidelines under UDI guidelines.
The 48-hour procedure
If you arrive as an asylum seeker from a country that the UDI deems to be safe, your application will be assumed to be without foundation. This is because the authorities of your home country normally have both the will and ability to protect you if you are subject to persecution or inhumane treatment.
If your application falls under the 48-hour procedure, the UDI will carry out a brief interview with you in order to clarify why you are applying for protection in Norway. The police investigate your travel route. If the UDI deems your application to be without foundation, it will be rejected within 48 hours, and you will be escorted out of Norway.
The Dublin procedure
If your application is to be processed in accordance with the Dublin regulations, it is the country in which you first applied for asylum, were registered for crossing the border illegally or were granted a residence permit or a visa that is responsible for processing your application. You will not be interviewed by the UDI. As soon as it has been clarified which country is responsible for processing your application, you will be escorted there. You will be offered accommodation at a transit reception centre until you are transported out of the country.
Read more about the Dublin cooperation.
The procedure for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers
You are considered a unaccompanied minor asylum seeker if you are under 18 years of age and enter Norway without parents or anyone with parental responsibility for you. A provisional guardian will be appointed for you to safeguard your due process protection and be your support person during the asylum process. Among other things, the provisional guardian will be present during your asylum interview.
If there is doubt about whether you are under 18 years of age, you may be offered an age examination.
Read more about the age examination.
More information about unaccompanied minor asylum seekers.
The three-week procedure
If you come from a country from which it is our experience that the UDI rejects a high proportion of applications and where we have a good overview of the conditions, the UDI will reach a decision within three weeks of the submission of your application for protection in Norway. If further investigation or verification of case information is required, case processing times can be longer.
The following countries are currently covered by the three-week procedure: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Belarus, Iraq, Macedonia, Nepal, Nigeria, Russia (ethnic Russians only), Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo (except minorities from Kosovo).
If your asylum application falls under the three-week procedure, you will complete an extensive asylum interview. You will be offered accommodation in a transit reception centre until the asylum interview. After the interview, you will be offered accommodation in an ordinary reception centre, where you can stay while your application is being processed.
Ordinary cases
If your application does not fall under any of the procedures mentioned above, the UDI will process your application as an ordinary application. The case processing times for ordinary cases vary. The UDI’s goal is to reach a decision as soon as possible, but it could take months for the processing of your application to be completed.
If the UDI considers your application an ordinary case, we will carry out an extensive asylum interview with you. In some cases, we also need to obtain additional information and/or carry out investigation. This could affect case processing times. It is your duty to help shed as much light on your case as possible. Your contribution can therefore reduce the case processing time.
The case processing time also depends on other circumstances, for example the number of asylum seekers coming to Norway in relation to the UDI’s resource situation.
You can find updated information about case processing times for asylum cases under Case processing times.
Further information
If you have further questions on this topic, you can contact your nearest police district or the UDI’s Information Service for Applicants.
