Delay in transfer of care responsibility from immigration authorities to the child welfare service

Ministry of Children and Equality
 Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion

Contact: Ministry of Children and Equality, communications office: +47 97 77 36 34
Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion, media and communications: +47 22 24 51 04

The government has decided to delay, until after 2010, the transfer of administrative responsibility for the care of unaccompanied asylum-seekers under the age of 15. The reason is that Norway in recent years has experienced a major increase in the arrival of asylum-seekers who declare themselves to be unaccompanied minors.

In 2007, 403 people arriving in Norway stated that they were unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers. In 2008 the number increased to 1,374. In May of this year 248 asylum-seekers stated that they were minors who were not in a care of an adult. That brought the number of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers so far this year (as of 31 May 2009) to 930. Most of them have come from Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq.

Responsibility for unaccompanied asylum-seekers under the age of 15 was transferred in December 2007 from the immigration authorities to the child welfare authorities. Notice has been given for a similar transfer of responsibility affecting unaccompanied asylum-seekers in a 15-to-18 age group.

"Plans are now being made for more than 10 times as many care-centre positions as were foreseen when the reform was originally implemented on behalf of unaccompanied asylum-seekers below the age of 15," says Deputy Minister Lotte Grepp Knutsen in the Ministry of Children and Equality. "It has been very demanding to expand capacity at a tempo to meet the increasing need. With today's high arrival numbers it is not possible in practice to expand the reform further. The government has therefore decided to postpone this transfer until after 2010."

To strengthen services for unaccompanied asylum-seekers between the ages of 15 and 18, NOK 41.5 million has been allocated in the 2009 national budget. As a result of the increase in arrivals and the challenges associated with their living arrangements, the number of unaccompanied minors in reception centres has grown significantly in 2009. An additional NOK 201.5 million for 2009 was therefore allocated in connection with the revised 2009 national budget, with the goal of continuing to provide an adequate level of services to unaccompanied asylum-seekers between the ages of 15 and 18. The government will evaluate whether services for this group need to be enhanced further, and concrete measures will be considered during the ordinary budget process.