It is estimated that 30,000 refugees from Ukraine can come to Norway. Now they are working to find out where they will live.
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More than three million people have been forced to flee Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country three weeks ago.
It is not known how many of them come to Norway, but the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) estimates it may come 35,000 asylum seekers to Norway in 2022, of which 30,000 come from Ukraine.
Initially, the Directorate for Integration and Diversity (IMDi) had asked Norwegian municipalities to settle a total of 5,500 refugees in 2022, but that was before the war in Ukraine broke out.
On Friday, IMDi will send out new request letters to the municipalities to settle more.
On March 4, IMDi asked the municipalities to see how many refugees they can integrate and settle.
298 municipalities responded to the request by the deadline on Thursday last week, and report that they can settle about 22,000 refugees in total.
The municipality in the country that has reported that they can receive the most refugees per 100,000 inhabitants is Utsira municipality on Jæren. That equates to 156 per 100,000.
Utsira is the country’s smallest municipality in terms of population, with less than 200 permanent residents per 2021.
– The idea is that it can be a security that they are several, and that they can have support in each other. It also requires the same apparatus to receive a handful as to receive 30, says mayor of Utsira Marte Eide Klovning (Joint list for Utsira)
She says that they have also looked at the capacity of the health service and the school system and other necessary infrastructure in the municipality.
– It will be seen if we get as many as 30, IMDi has not asked the smallest municipalities to accept yet, but we are ready, says Klovning.
Check how many refugees your municipality has said they can settle so far:
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Among the municipalities that have reported that they do not have capacity is Gjemnes on Nordmøre.
Mayor Knut Sjømæling (Sp) is crystal clear that it is not due to a lack of heart space. It’s actually quite in line with IMDi’s recommendation for how many refugees the municipality of around 4000 inhabitants will receive.
– We have no capacity today. At the last allocation of refugees, it was decided that municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants should not accept, but we have mapped vacant housing if the need arises, says mayor Sjømæling.
–The mayor says that they still offer adult education, but that the municipal refugee consultant was phased out a short time ago.
– We will show up if we receive a request from IMDi, he emphasizes.
Sjømæling further says that they have already received inquiries from residents in the municipality who offer interpreting services and available housing.
– It’s warm, and it’s gratifying to see. This is a depressing situation that most people think probably goes beyond all normal sense. It is not so far away from us, and it is not so long since we were at war ourselves.
Trondheim municipality with its 210,000 inhabitants reported a capacity of 300 refugees to IMDi. This is an increase of 160 refugees from IMDi’s original request for the year, and corresponds to 1.4 refugees per 100,000.
– We are very ready to build up even more capacity. If there are many refugees, we are definitely willing to take more, says health and welfare director Wenche Dehli in Trondheim municipality.
She says that the increase to 300 refugees is the first, and that they are prepared for the number to have to go up both with the municipal administration and with the politicians in the city.
Dehli points out that they have managed to receive twice as much in the past, but that it consisted of a slightly different population composition and they have to adapt the services to the needs they come from Ukraine.
– We have an apparatus standing for some of those we had already planned to receive. We have to increase capacity and it will take some time – but we will manage this, she says.
She also says that they have seen a great deal of commitment from the volunteers and the associations in Trondheim, which are once again getting ready.
– There is a great willingness to contribute. It is quite unique when you consider that many of those organizations have also contributed a lot during the pandemic. I think everyone feels it when you see these terrible war situations, and now it’s even closer to our own backyard. It mobilizes compassion and willingness to contribute from many quarters.
–This is how they become residents
The final number of refugees a municipality receives must be politically treated in the municipalities, and the actual capacity also depends on available housing, informs IMDi.
The municipalities report that these factors will affect how quickly the municipalities can settle refugees, writes the directorate.
Many of the refugees who have come to Norway have already been housed in reception centers, but there are also some who now live in private homes, either with volunteers or with relatives.
Municipalities that have Ukrainian refugees living in private homes can receive a subsidy from the UDI until the refugees become residents of IMDi. The the government announced on Wednesday.
This means that people who have fled Ukraine to Norway and who live privately can receive subsistence benefits and other municipal services.
When refugees are to be finally settled, IMDi tries to take into account relatives or families who are already resident in a Norwegian municipality, special follow-up needs, education and career plans, and any other needs, informs those on their sides.
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