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Hosting refugees costs Norway large sums each year. – It is too expensive, believes the Norwegian Refugee Council.
On Friday, FRP Deputy Leader Sylvi Listhaug announced that an FRP committee will change refugee policy by allowing individuals to take on much of the responsibility for refugees coming to the country, such as providing housing and contributing financially.
The proposal has awakened the minds of various parties and the Labor Party believes it to be a ridiculous proposal.
But the Progress Party does not have figures on how much individuals will pay for the refugees themselves. Listhaug believes, however, that the state should continue to assume the main responsibility, but also that the individuals who help “should contribute something.”
187,000 the first year
Therefore, the online newspaper has taken a closer look at what it costs to receive refugees per year and what the Norwegian state pays for asylum seekers and refugees arriving in the country.
According to the 2017 Outlook Report, a “normal” asylum seeker costs an average of NOK 1.6 million for the first six years in Norway, while the figure is 5.1 million for a minor asylum seeker. 16 years old. If the asylum seekers are 13 years old upon arrival, the costs rise to around NOK 8.5 million over six years.
A “normal” asylum seeker over the age of 18 costs the state 187,000 kroner in the first year, according to the report. Then NOK 30,000 goes to registration with the Police Immigration Unit (PU), NOK 140,000 goes to asylum reception, including grants from the host municipality, and NOK 17,000 goes to training in Norwegian, cultural studies and social at the reception of asylum.
For a single asylum seeker under the age of 16, the cost is 691,000 the first year, and for a single asylum seeker 13 years old, the price is NOK 2.2 million the first year in Norway.
MILLION: The costs of receiving refugees are estimated in the Outlook Report at NOK 1.6 million for an adult refugee in the first six years. For children, a separate kindergarten supplement is also provided. The photo was taken at the Bjørnebekk asylum reception center in Ås.
Photo: (NTB scanpix)
The Ministry of Finance presents the outlook report every four years. These are the challenges of the future for the country and how to plan to face them.
Also read: Conservatives attack Labor Party for Moria: – They must find a fog clock to understand what they want
This is what the municipalities get
After living for the first time in an asylum reception center, the refugees live in a municipality. For this, the municipalities receive an unassigned subsidy for each refugee they receive.
All municipalities that settle refugees receive grants according to the same structure and level of fees, but there are different fees for each year that the municipality receives integration grants for one person, Nettavisen is informed by the Directorate of Integration and Diversity.
The subsidy is generally paid for five years. In the first year, the integration aid is paid by the person registered as a resident in full. And in years 2-5, the subsidy is paid four times a year.
Read more about the rates here (external link)
This year, municipalities receive a subsidy of NOK 194,300 per adult refugee over 18 years of age for the first year. For the second year, NOK 246,000 was paid last year, the third year NOK 174,000 (2018), the fourth year NOK 86,000 (2017) and the fifth year NOK 72,000 (2016). For unaccompanied minor refugees, municipalities receive NOK 187,000 for the first year.
In addition, there are one-time grants for people over 60 years old (NOK 173,000 elderly allowance), for children aged 1-5 (NOK 26,600 kindergarten allowance) and additional allowance for people with disabilities.
Listhaug: – The most important thing they do
FRP Deputy Leader Sylvi Listhaug tells Nettavisen that it should be investigated in more detail how much individuals will contribute financially.
– Most of the contribution must be paid by the state, but for those who want to take responsibility, I think it makes sense that they too can contribute financially with something, says Listhaug, noting:
– The most important thing they do is find a home and monitor these people on a daily basis.
THE MAJORITY OF THE STATE: Sylvi Listhaug tells Nettavisen that the state will continue to take the main contribution from refugees and that how much individuals must pay should be investigated in more detail. It highlights shelter and refugee monitoring as the most important contribution that individuals can make.
Photo: (NTB scanpix)
She believes that refugees can integrate into Norway more quickly if private helpers help.
– You can help them learn the language faster, familiarize themselves with Norwegian laws and regulations and our values. Something that can be difficult to get into when you are new to a country. So I think they can integrate faster, and the integration will go much better than it has been so far, says Listhaug.
However, the FRP deputy leader does not want private organizations to be in the driver’s seat.
– We have consciously said that organizations should not have a general responsibility. We believe that individuals should be the starting point, but clearly organizations can contribute a lot in the follow-up and support during the work that individuals do, he says, who wants individuals to commit for five years.
– Do you think any private person wants this?
– Yes of course. If you look at the commitment on Facebook and social media, there are many who have a burning commitment to helping refugees. I’m sure many of them would contribute in this way if they had the chance, Listhaug tells Nettavisen.
– It’s okay to pay privately
Senior adviser Pål Nesse at the Norwegian Refugee Council says he partly supports the proposal to the Progress Party.
– I think the idea is good, and here we can safely do what the Progress Party says, based a little on the experiences of Canada, which has a similar system. But I don’t agree that organizations can’t take responsibility, which they don’t want, Nesse tells Nettavisen.
He notes that in Canada there have been both individuals and organizations that have assisted refugee integration for many years.
– It is a good complement to the reception of refugees with regular quotas and, of course, we believe that the right to asylum should be maintained as a safety valve for people in need of protection, says Nesse.
TOO EXPENSIVE: NRC Senior Advisor Pål Nesse believes the current refugee reception system is too expensive and supports Frp’s proposal that individuals should be allowed to contribute more. But in addition to individuals, you will have private organizations on the team.
Photo: Lars Opstad (Mediehuset Nettavisen)
– What do you think of the individuals who pay for the refugees?
– I think it’s okay. If the church, a family or a group of friends took any responsibility for the cost of living, then the state can provide guarantees if you get sick, he says.
– It is very expensive
– Does the state cost a lot of money for the reception of refugees?
– It does, and if we can look for models that can complement it, but at a lower cost, then this is again an interesting complement. It is the case that Norway needs different types of workforce in the next few years, especially in health, and then we could imagine that this was combined with people who were able to get help, says Nesse, noting:
– I share the Progress Party’s concern that it is too expensive. We need to improve at getting people to work and find cheaper ways to do it. Nor should we forget that a large part of the costs does not go to the refugee, but to a very large apparatus around it, he says.
Listhaug himself is happy for the support of the Norwegian Refugee Council:
– I think it’s nice, and I think they also see that you have to think a little about new ones and that it can be healthy with new ideas. It has worked poorly so far. If you look at integration, many are doing well, but the figures show that less than half of refugees get a job, she says.
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