Municipalities in Norway still very willing to settle refugees
Press release | Date: 13/03/2024 | Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion
Norwegian municipalities have so far agreed to settle nearly 19,000 refugees in 2024. If this trend continues, the municipalities will again end up undertaking to settle almost 30,000 refugees this year - on par with the record-breaking years of 2022 and 2023.
– Norwegian municipalities demonstrate outstanding commitment and willingness to settle refugees for the third year in a row. At the same time, they are starting to fill up, and several municipalities report that they are under pressure. Therefore, we have had several rounds of restrictions to get the number of arrivals down to a more sustainable level,’ says Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion Tonje Brenna.
The Norwegian Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi) has asked the municipalities to settle a total of 37,000 refugees in 2024. Many municipalities have yet to respond, but 237 out of 357 municipalities have currently given feedback. If this decision-making trend follows the trajectory indicated by the decisions made so far, the municipalities will probably agree to almost 80 per cent of the overall request.
– The Government has implemented several restrictive measures to keep immigration and integration under control in Norway. Compared to the same period last year, there has been an approximate 40 per cent drop in the number of arrivals since New Year. This may indicate that the measures have already had an effect,’ says Brenna.
Should a large number of refugees come to Norway in 2024 as well, they must expect to stay longer at the reception centres.
– An adequate number of settlement places is important for swift settlement and start-up of the integration process in the municipalities. It is positive that the municipalities are still willing to settle refugees, and we look forward to continued good cooperation with the nation’s municipalities in solving the tasks before us in 2024,’ says Director General for Integration and Diversity (IMDi) Libe Rieber-Mohm.
Expect refugees to get jobs
Since the Russian invasion in 2022, around 70,000 Ukrainian refugees have been granted temporary collective protection.
– We expect refugees to get jobs swiftly and begin to support themselves. This is the best way to become integrated, and it enables them to contribute to the municipalities where they have been settled while they remain in Norway,’ says Brenna.
The Government has therefore tightened its requirements for the introduction programme’s occupational focus and will launch a national programme for digital Norwegian language training by the end of March.