Refugees from Ukraine lose their privileges. Norway is changing the rules

The Norwegian Parliament on Thursday limited the possibility of benefiting from collective protection for new refugees from Ukraine who are of the age at which they are subject to military service. These men will have to apply for protection through the regular asylum procedure.

Ukrainians aged 18-60 will no longer be automatically covered by the collective protection system, which allows, among others, for simplified obtaining residence permits in Norway. Refugees from Ukraine have been able to benefit from such opportunities since the beginning of the Russian invasion of their country in 2022. Since then, over 80,000 people have come to Norway. citizens of Ukraine. The parliament's decision means that some new arrivals from Ukraine will now have to apply for protection individually.

The new regulations will not apply to people who already benefit from collective protection in Norway. There are also exceptions for some new applicants, including: in the case of people unfit for military service for health reasons, single fathers, people taking care of children or other relatives.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere has repeatedly emphasized in the debate on asylum policy towards Ukraine that refugees should not be divided according to whether they are capable of going to war, because decisions about mobilization rest with the authorities in Kiev. However, the Norwegian government announced tightened regulations at the beginning of March. The idea of ​​the ruling center-left received support from the far-right Progress Party. Supporters of the restrictions argued that men aged 18-60 should rather stay in Ukraine and support the country's defense.

The Norwegian authorities introduced the first restrictions on the use of the collective protection system in the fall of 2024, when some regions of Ukraine were recognized as the so-called safe areas whose inhabitants do not automatically qualify for this form of protection. The scope of exclusions was successively expanded, covering in March 2026 14 Ukrainian oblasts, where almost half of Ukraine's population lives.

From Oslo Mieszko Czarnecki (PAP)

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