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Although the main rule is that asylum seekers must cover the dentist themselves, the state has pocketed NOK 29 million in free dental health since 2015.
There have long been accusations about whether asylum seekers receive free dental care. The Faktisk.website recently did not verify the claim and concluded that it was “partially incorrect”.
However, a Nettavisen review shows that the state has pocketed significant amounts in free dental health for asylum seekers.
Asylum seekers are people who have applied for asylum and are in an asylum reception center awaiting the processing of their application. They get money to keep food, clothes and medicine. However, in addition, asylum seekers can apply for additional benefits for dental health.
Because although the main rule is that dental health should not be covered, like adult citizens, there are many who request that dental health services be covered by the public sector.
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29 million
According to figures made available to Nettavisen through the Norwegian Immigration Directorate (UDI), since 2015 approximately NKr 29 million has been spent on free dental health for asylum seekers. This applies to “acute dental treatment” or “additional benefits for acute dental treatment”.
The regional director Veronica Mikkelborg of the UDI stresses that in principle there are no other rules for asylum seekers than for the rest of the population.
– The basic benefit for asylum seekers is low and only covers basic needs, so they can apply for additional benefits when they need it. Residents with full basic benefit (that is, those who do not have a final denial) must also meet a deductible of 2,000, – for singles or 3,000, – for families, he tells Nettavisen.
If asylum seekers do not have the opportunity to meet the deductible, they can request an advance on benefits, and it will then be deducted.
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The application sends the asylum seeker to the UDI, and if the asylum seeker has finally been rejected and is actually going to leave the country, only acute dental treatment is covered.
– The scheme does not cover extensive prosthetic treatment with various crowns, larger bridges, implants or orthodontics, Mikkelborg emphasizes.
– Completely wrong signal
Immigration policy spokesman Jon Helgheim (Frp) reacts strongly to Nettavisen’s figures.
– This is part of a large number of additional benefits and schemes that we provide to asylum seekers, which do not have a good justification. The asylum system has become completely different from what it was meant to be. Increasingly, we are arguing about money and rights, and not whether they have a real need for protection, Helgheim says.
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WRONG SIGN: Immigration policy spokesman Jon Helgheim (Frp) believes the free dental health scheme for some asylum seekers should be abolished.
Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen (NTB scanpix)
Emphasizes that there are many Norwegian citizens who cannot afford dental treatment at all times.
– This policy gives a completely wrong signal. It contributes to distrust in the political system and, at the same time, generates an unfair distrust of the immigrant population. Politicians have created schemes that create this mistrust, because it seems unfair. It is not the fault of the immigrants, but of the politicians ”, he says.
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– But an adult resident in an asylum reception center receives around 2,500 crowns a month. Isn’t it okay to get paid a little extra for dental health?
– No. Asylum seekers have a free place to stay. Being an asylum seeker is not something you have to earn a living from. It is a very temporary solution for those in serious crisis. The problem with extending such rights is that there are already many who abuse the scheme and must be returned. Therefore, we cannot give better rights, because then there will be even more, says Helgheim.
– Asylum seekers live in poverty
The Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers (NOAS) strongly disagrees with the FRP politician and believes that asylum seekers should be financially raised, rather than cut further.
– NOAS believes it is correct, and in some cases it is absolutely necessary that asylum seekers receive the necessary covered dental treatment, General Secretary Ann-Magrit Austenå tells Nettavisen.
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DENTAL HEALTH: NOAS Secretary General Ann-Magrit Austenå believes that it is absolutely necessary for the state to cover the dental health of various asylum seekers.
Photo: Terje Pedersen (NTB scanpix)
She believes that people who have been tortured, injured, and have lived in miserable conditions over time, may find it difficult to eat food if they do not receive the necessary dental care.
The problem is rather that asylum seekers live in constant poverty, Austenå believes.
– Residents in asylum reception centers live in poverty. An adult resident in an ordinary asylum reception center receives approximately NOK 2,500 per month. It will cover food, clothing, medicine, transportation, telephone, hygiene items and other necessities. Benefits for residents at reception centers are well below social assistance rates, he says.
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She believes that it is a serious problem that many asylum seekers are affected by poverty as the beginning of their lives in Norway.
– It is a bad start for the integration process in Norway to live in poverty. It prevents participation in everyday life and allows reception residents to end up outside the community, she says.
FRP politician Jon Helgheim believes NOAS is going too far.
– NOAS describes everything that has to do with asylum seekers as a great chapter of misery. They are never satisfied. It is largely a search for rights, benefits and benefits that brings asylum seekers to Norway. Therefore, we cannot have lucrative schemes, he says.
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