legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

Asylum seekers may be detained by the police upon arrival at the border if their identity cannot be
established or is doubtful, i.e. when documents are missing or forged (see “Detention” below).
The initial interview is in the form of a questionnaire, which must be completed without legal
assistance. Applicants may then be allowed access to a lawyer, whose services are provided free
of charge. This lawyer may attend the second interview with the police, if the asylum seeker so
wishes. Interpreters are provided during the interviews if necessary. The police complete a
registration form on the basis of the interviews, which is immediately forwarded to the UDI for a
decision on rejection or entry.
If they are not detained, there is no further interview at this stage, and the asylum seekers are
sent to transit reception centres.
The UDI’s decision on entry is usually made within a few days.
Negative decisions may be appealed to the Ministry of Justice within three weeks, but without
automatic suspensive effect; a separate application for suspension must therefore be submitted
by the applicant, but to the UDI rather than the Ministry. Requests for suspensive effect are
usually granted.
Applicants may receive legal assistance during the appeal procedure. No time limit is specified
within which the Ministry must reach a decision on the appeal.
If the UDI's decision is overruled by the Ministry of Justice, entry to the country and access to the
asylum procedure are granted.
“Safe third country” practice
In accordance with Section 17 of the Aliens Act, an asylum seeker will normally be returned to a
“safe third country” when:
– no application for asylum was filed in that “safe third country”;
– an application for asylum was filed in that country, but no final decision has been reached.
If the application for asylum submitted in the “safe third country” has been rejected by a final
decision, an application can be lodged in Norway and will be given a full review. However, this
practice may change in the near future, as Norway, together with Iceland, is negotiating a parallel
agreement to the Dublin Convention with the European Union.
There is no list of “safe third countries”, although in practice most Western European countries
are considered to be “safe”.
Entry into the territory
Once entry has been authorised, asylum seekers are interviewed at length by the police, either in
the Tanum transit reception centre or after being sent to the reception centre where they are
supposed to stay until a final decision has been reached in their case. The interview takes on
average four hours, covering questions of asylum claims, travel route, identity and family
relations. Police officers are specially trained to deal with asylum matters and interpreters are
available.
From 1 July 2000, the UDI will itself conduct these interviews. A written form, to be filled in by the
asylum seeker prior to the interview, will be introduced, giving the applicant the possibility to give
an independent account. The UDI official who does the following interview will also review the
asylum claim.
226
Norway