The Norwegian immigration office is giving hundreds of ‘asylum seekers’ a bonus 10,000 kroner (£822) to leave the country voluntarily – on top of the thousands already offered in expenses.
The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (Utlendingsdirektoratet – UDI) has announced they will pay the bribe to the first 500 migrants that agree to return to their home nation without a fight.
“We need to entice more [people] to voluntarily travel back by giving them a bit more money on their way out. This will save us a lot of money because it is expensive to have people in the asylum centres,” Integration Minister Sylvi Listhaug told broadcaster NRK.
The initiative means so-called ‘asylum seekers’ will be given an additional 10,000 kroner in travel expenses, on top of the 20,000 kroner already offered – meaning they will rake in the equivalent of £2500.
A family with two children could receive a staggering of 80,000 kroner (£6400) in addition to the cost of travel.
Ms. Listhaug argued that the initiative could save money overall, which might well be true. Housing, educating and accommodating migrants is a huge burden. They also feature disproportionally in crime statistics.
“There are also many who are not entitled to protection and, by all means, are going to be rejected. It’s better for us to stimulate their travel back…” she added.
The European Union and liberal media have demonised Norway for increasing family reunification waiting times and putting up barriers to migrants wanting to get jobs or start education.
However, according to UDI, the policies have had an effect, and many migrants who initially claimed to be persecuted in the countries of origin are now taking the bribes and leaving since they will not receive a free ride in Norway.
To qualify for the additional 10,000 kroner, migrants must have arrived in Norway prior to April 1st and must not have overstayed their legal length of stay.
A total of 35,358 asylum seekers arrived in Norway in 2015, compared with 11,480 in 2014, the UDI said in December 2015.
Norway has also been taking out large newspaper advertisements in Afghanistan to correct misinformation spread by human traffickers and inform potential migrants of their new policies.
Headed as “Stricter immigration regulations in Norway – important information!” the adverts link back to a Norwegian Government Facebook page with stories about failed migrants being deported, and details of the reunification restriction.
Breitbart London reported on Norway’s voluntary repatriation policies in December, when nearly one thousand migrants had taken the money to go home, with 230 taking the offer in just one month.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.