The duty to return to Ukraine, after receiving a rejection of application for a residence permit, has been temporarily suspended.
The Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) has decided to temporarily suspend applicants' duty to return to Ukraine after receiving a rejection of their application for a residence permit. This is due to the recent dramatic escalation of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Russia has attacked several targets in Ukraine, and there is great uncertainty about how the situation in the country will develop further.
The suspension of the duty to return means that, until further notice, applicants who have received a final decision to return to Ukraine are not required to comply with the decision to leave the country. The decision applies both to former asylum seekers and to persons who have a duty to return following the rejection of an application for residency pursuant to other parts of the regulatory framework.
UNE has roughly 30 cases pending from Ukrainian citizens. Approximately 15 of these may result in a duty to return, and are therefore put on hold during the same time period. This means that we are not processing these cases at the moment.
The suspension does not apply to persons covered by the Dublin-III Regulation, or the first asylum country rule. These applicants are still obliged to return to the first European country in which they launched their asylum application, where their application for protection will be considered.
UNE is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine. The suspension of the duty to return, and the pause in processing cases from Ukraine, applies until further notice.
The National Police Immigration Service has been notified that no persons who are covered by the suspension are to be deported from Norway. This means that the police will not carry out forcible returns to Ukraine.
You can find more information regarding the situation in Ukraine on UDI's website (external link).