Norway: Returnee asylum seekers admit they came for work
The study is available here (in English).
Via Fyens Stiftstidende (Danish):
Norwegian TV2 reports that according to a Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) study, 40% of Iraqi asylum seekers who came to Norway and then returned voluntarily, are sorry about coming to Norway.
Pål Lønseth, state secretary at the Justice Ministry, says that the asylum seekers see that conditions at home are good, and that while in Norway they've put their life on standby.
According to the report, many of the asylum seekers admit they've lied when they came to Norway. They did not need international protection and really came looking for work.
1569 people returned to Iraq voluntarily this year, compared with 1253 at the same point in 2010.
Iraqis and Afghans have special programs for voluntary return. An asylum seekers who agrees to return voluntarily gets up to 35,000 Norwegian kroner and plane tickets. Over the past three years, the Iraqi program cost Norway 70 million kroner.
