If you were not residing in Ukraine when the war broke out on 24 February 2022, you cannot be granted collective protection in Norway.

If you applied for protection after 27 September 2024, and your last permanent place of residence in Ukraine was in one of the areas that UDI considers to be safe, you cannot be granted collective protection in Norway.

If you are also a national of a safe country in addition to Ukraine, you will not be granted temporary collective protection in Norway, and you will not be granted an extension of collective protection.

If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA country, you may have a basis for residing in Norway. The options you have for staying in Norway depend on which country you are a citizen of, and on whether you have the possibility of applying for other types of residence permits in Norway, such as a permit in accordance with EU/EEA regulations.

In both the advance notice and the rejection decision, we explain the reasons why we are considering not extending collective protection. In the rejection decision, we also take into account the information you have provided us.

The reasons are:

• You have stayed abroad for more than six months of your permit.
• There are grounds for revoking/withdrawing your permit, for example because:
  • you have moved from Norway, or we have reason to believe that you have moved
  • you were not residing in Ukraine when the war broke out on 24 February 2022
  • you applied after 27 September 2024 and your last permanent place of residence was in one of the areas that UDI considers to be safe
• You no longer belong to the group eligible for temporary collective protection, because:
  • you are also a national of a country that the Norwegian immigration authorities consider to uphold human rights in a way that makes it unlikely that its citizens face persecution
  • you are no longer covered by collective protection as a family or household member of a person who was granted the permit under the Immigration Regulations section 7-5a letters a, b, or c.

UDI must inform you when we are considering not extending collective protection, so that you have the opportunity to provide your input. This is called an advance notice.

We send an advance notice to persons residing in Norway who we consider do not meet the conditions for an extension.

We do not send an advance notice to persons who have moved from Norway, do not have an address in the National Population Register (Folkeregisteret), or to persons whom we have reason to believe are no longer staying in Norway. You can find information about what to do if you have received a rejection but not an advance notice here.

Persons who have been granted another temporary residence permit while holding collective protection do not receive an advance notice of rejection. The reason for this is that, when applying for a new residence permit, they agreed that their existing permit would lapse if the new permit is granted. If the need arises later, these persons may apply for protection again under the Immigration Act Section 28. You can read more about why it is not possible to hold two different residence permits in Norway at the same time here.

You have the right to respond to the advance notice and provide your explanation as to why you still believe you are entitled to collective protection.

Everyone whose collective protection is no longer being extended has the right to request an individual assessment of their protection needs within a specified deadline.

The first thing you need to do is decide whether you want your protection needs to be assessed individually. This applies regardless of whether you choose to respond to the advance notice and regardless of whether you believe you should continue to be granted collective protection. The advance notice states where you should direct your request for an application for individual protection. The deadline is normally three weeks from when you receive the advance notice.

If you submit an explanation of why you believe you are still entitled to collective protection, we will consider your explanation.

We may extend your permit if you are entitled to it.

If we do not extend it, and you have not requested an individual assessment, we will reject the extension of collective protection and impose a duty to return from Norway and the Schengen area.

If you submit your explanation and at the same time request an individual assessment, we will consider your explanation. If we are able to extend your collective protection, we will discontinue the application for individual assessment. You will receive a new deadline to request protection on an individual basis when the collective protection scheme ends or if you later no longer qualify for collective protection.

If we are not able to extend your collective protection, we will assess your individual protection needs before making a decision not to extend collective protection. If you request individual assessment within the deadline given in the advance notice, you will still be able to live and work as before until we have completed processing your application for protection on an individual basis.

If you do not submit an explanation and only request an individual assessment, we will wait to reject the extension until your individual protection needs have been assessed. You will be given an appointment and must appear at the National Police Immigration Service at the National Arrival Centre in Råde to register, but you will still be able to live and work as before until we have completed the assessment of your application.

You need to attend the scheduled appointment at the National Arrival Centre to register your individual application. You need to, among other things, submit your travel document and have an interview with the police. You will then return to your place of residence while we process your application. UDI will summon you for an asylum interview. You can read more about what happens here.

If you apply for protection on an individual basis only after a final rejection of the extension of collective protection, you may be granted a postponed duty to return. You are entitled to stay in an asylum reception centre, but you will no longer be allowed to work. You must submit your travel document. You can read more here.

Unlike the group scheme for collective protection, an application on an individual basis gives you the opportunity to present the circumstances that are specific to you and your case. If you believe there are special humanitarian considerations in your case, or if you cannot return to Ukraine, this will be taken into account. This also applies to circumstances concerning children.

It is very difficult to be granted a residence permit under the rules on individual protection, cf. the Immigration Act Section 28. The general security situation in certain areas of Ukraine, or difficulties in obtaining employment or housing, are not sufficient on their own to be granted such a residence permit.

If you do not attend the scheduled appointment, UDI will reject the extension of your collective protection, and you will have a duty to return from Norway and the entire Schengen and EU area.

Yes, you can withdraw your application for an individual assessment of protection at any time during the process up, until UDI has made a decision in your case.

If you withdraw your application for protection, you will have to leave Norway.

This does not apply if:

• you have a different type of residence permit to stay in Norway
• you are waiting for the decision on a different application for residency in Norway
• you have stayed in the Schengen area for less than 90 days

How to withdraw an application for protection:

1. Fill out this form (eksternt nettsted)
2. Sign the form
3. Scan or take a photo of the form you have completed and signed
4. Attach the form to an email and send it to pu@politiet.no

The police will later contact you.

You will receive a decision on refusal of entry or stay.

If you have submitted your travel documents to the Norwegian authorities and have questions regarding their return, you can contact the police at +47 22 34 24 00.

UDI cannot answer questions about your travel documents. If you do not have valid travel documents, you must obtain them yourself.

If you believe that you meet the criteria for temporary collective protection, you must provide us with an explanation and submit documentation supporting your statements.

Your explanation must include:

• Your DUF number and case number (DUF number: twelve digits – case number: three digits)
• An explanation of why the extension of your temporary collective protection should not be rejected
• Information about your relationships with close family or household members that may still make you eligible for collective protection
• Any other information you consider important for your case, for example, how a rejection would affect children under 18
• Your signature, or the signature of the person you have authorised to act on your behalf

You can provide a response for several family members in a single letter. All adults must sign the letter.

If you do not submit an explanation within the three-week deadline, we will make a decision based on the information we currently have. If you do not request an individual assessment within three weeks of receiving the advance notice, UDI may issue a decision with a duty to leave the country.

You can send your explanation by post to:

Utlendingsdirektoratet
P.O. Box 2098 Vika
0125 Oslo

Ukrainians with temporary collective protection in Norway who wish to move back to Ukraine can apply for repatriation.

If you had moved from Norway, or if UDI had reason to assume that you had moved, you were not issued an advance notice when we rejected your case.

You may appeal within three weeks after becoming aware of the decision. When you file an appeal, you will have residence on the same basis until the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) has reviewed your case.

If UNE does not overturn the decision, you will be informed when you can contact the Police Immigration Unit at the National Arrival Center to register an individual case, if you wish to do so.

If you do not appeal, UDI’s decision will remain in effect.

What happens when you appeal a decision?

1. When you submit an appeal, UDI will look at your case again.
2. UDI may either overturn your rejection or send your case to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) for a new assessment. If we forward your appeal to UNE, we will notify you by email or sms.
3. UNE will reconsider your case and either reject or approve your application.
4. If UNE also upholds the rejection, the decision is final, and you will be given a deadline to leave Norway.

How to submit an appeal

The deadline for submitting an appeal is three weeks from the date you received the decision.

You must submit your appeal by post to:

Utlendingsdirektoratet
Postboks 2098 Vika
0125 Oslo

The rules for appealing are set out in the Public Administration Act, Ch. VI "Concerning appeal against and reversal of administrative decisions" (external website), in particular Section 29 to Section 32. For further information, see information on submitting an appeal.

Documents in your case

You may request access to the documents in your case pursuant to the rules set out in the Public Administration Act, Sections 18–19. See Request access to information for instructions.

Lawyer or representative (power-of-attorney)

You are allowed to use a lawyer or other representative with power of attorney. The rules governing the use of lawyers/representatives are set out in the Public Administration Act, Section 12. You can find a lawyer at:

• advokatenhjelperdeg.no (external website) eller
• register.tilsynet.no (external website)

You need to grant power of attorney if you wish to use a representative who is not a lawyer. If you have not yet granted this person power of attorney, you can fill out a power-of-attorney form to submit together with your appeal.

If you do not appeal the decision, do not apply for another type of residence permit, and have not requested an application for protection on an individual basis, you must leave Norway within the deadline specified in your decision.

If you do not leave Norway within the deadline for departure stated in your decision, you will be staying in the country illegally. You can read more about what happens if you do not leave Norway within the deadline for departure here.