Simplified procedures for labour migrants

– There is a need to shorten the time it takes to issue work permits. Therefore, we have proposed several measures to make it easier for foreign workers to take up employment in Norway. At the same time, we have strengthened the capacity in the Directorate of Immigration to deal with the applications for work permits, says the Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion, Bjarne Håkon Hanssen.

New procedures have been introduced with the aim to simplify and shorten the case handling procedures for work permits. If the employer provides the necessary documentation in beforehand, the applications for work permits will be dealt with consecutively.

The Minister points to the fact that most labour migrants from the new Member States of the EEA-area receive a quick response to their applications. About 95 per cent of the applications for work permits according to the transitional arrangements, which are valid for most of the new Member States to the EEA-area, are consecutively dealt with by the police. The more demanding applications, about 5 per cent, are dealt with by the Directorate of Immigration. Here the procedures take in average about two months.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion has this year put forward several proposals for simplifications which will suit the need of employers to quickly recruit workers from abroad. Among the proposals are changes to the regulations to enable workers from the new EEA-countries to start working in Norway as soon as a complete application for work permit is handed over to the Norwegian authorities in charge of immigration issues.

At the same time, the Directorate of Immigration is given more resources. The Directorate anticipates that this will in the course of the autumn enable them to consecutively deal with applications for work permits from workers from the new EEA-countries.

– There are rapid changes in the labour market, and we are reviewing all of our regulations with the aim to make the necessary changes. At the same time, the Ministry will in the spring of 2008 present for the Parliament a white paper on labour migration. There are many who have views on how the regime for labour migration should be regulated, and we are open for receiving views from both employers and others to feed into the work we are currently undertaking. My priority is that we get a good long-term regime for labour migration, says the Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion, Bjarne Håkon Hanssen.