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

Detention
Asylum seekers may be detained by the police upon arrival at the border if their identity cannot be
established or is doubtful, for instance when documents are missing or forged. Detention takes
place either in particular detention centres or in regular prisons. The decision to detain has to be
reviewed by a court every three weeks at a time. According to Section 37(6) of the Aliens Act, the
total period of detention may not exceed 12 weeks unless there are special grounds. Detained
asylum seekers have access to counselling and legal aid.
Rejected asylum seekers may also be detained as a measure to enforce an expulsion order.
According to Section 41 of the Aliens Act, the police may arrest and detain an alien for a
maximum period of two weeks. However, if the alien does not leave the country voluntarily or if it
is highly probable that he/she will otherwise evade implementation of the expulsion order,
detention can be extended for two consecutive periods of two weeks (i.e. the total period of
detention cannot exceed six weeks). The decision of renewing or extending detention must be
made by the court. In practice, detention is very rarely used for deportation purposes.
Applications from abroad
The Norwegian law does not allow applications to be lodged from abroad. A special arrangement
– still in the preparatory stage – should be introduced for human rights activists/opponents in
Colombia.
Family reunification
Convention refugees
The close family members of Convention refugees are entitled to family reunification in Norway
and they are usually also granted Convention status, although sometimes they are granted a
residence permit on humanitarian basis.
Spouses and partners (including same sex partners) and children under 18 years of age are
allowed to join their family member in Norway. Unmarried children under 21 who would otherwise
be left alone in their country of origin since their parents and siblings are all living in Norway may
also be granted family reunification.
Single parents above the age of 64 are sometimes eligible for residence permits if they are
dependent upon a child already living in Norway. This is more difficult for couples, since
exceptional circumstances are usually required.
There are no financial conditions attached to family reunification with Convention refugees.
Persons with other types of residence permits
Persons with a residence permit for humanitarian reasons are entitled to family reunification with
certain members of their close family, as defined below, without financial requirements:
– their spouse, provided that both spouses are over 18 years of age and married before the
arrival of the holder of the residence permit in Norway;
– their partner (including same sex partner), provided that both are over 18 years of age, have
lived together for at least two years and fully intend to continue their relationship;
– their unmarried children under 18 years of age; if only one parent lives in Norway, the consent
of the other is usually required.
Applications submitted by the parent(s) of an unaccompanied minor in Norway are examined
according to the child’s age. Minors beneath the age of 12 are usually granted family
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Norway