Norway

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Law, policy and practice on statelessness in Norway is mixed. Norway is party to relevant regional and international human rights instruments, including all the core statelessness treaties; and some data and mapping of the stateless population exists. However, this is limited by the lack of a definition of a stateless person and a dedicated procedure to determine statelessness and grant stateless people protection under Norwegian law in line with its international obligations. There are other administrative procedures through which statelessness can be identified, including when applying for international protection, travel documents or acquisition of nationality, but no rights or legal status in Norway stem from being recognised as stateless. Humanitarian residence permits on grounds of practical obstacles to return are granted only very rarely.

There are relatively strong procedural safeguards against the arbitrary detention of stateless people in Norway, but detention is possible without identifying a country of removal, alternatives are not routinely applied, and cases of stateless people being returned to countries where they have no residence rights have been reported.

Norway also has relatively strong safeguards to prevent and reduce statelessness, including a facilitated route to naturalisation for stateless people with a threshold for the language test for stateless people lower than the general rules. Stateless people born in Norway may acquire Norwegian nationality after three years of continuous residence in Norway, including ‘unlawful residence’, i.e. without a prior residence permit. Stateless people not born in Norway may generally acquire Norwegian nationality after three years of ‘lawful residence’. However, a legislative change in 2021 has created a legal uncertainty as to the residence period required for naturalisation of stateless people granted international protection, seemingly increasing it to five years. There are some further remaining legal gaps. Birth registration law and practice is generally good, although there are barriers to some children receiving birth certificates. Deprivation of nationality is permitted, including on national security grounds and when a person (who also has another nationality) has shown behaviour that may indicate that the person will greatly harm fundamental national interests. However, there are safeguards to prevent this leading to statelessness, except where nationality was acquired through fraud.

Last updated:

Jan 2024

Country expert(s):

Marek Linha, Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS)

Additional resources

ASSESSMENT KEY

++POSITIVE

+ SOMEWHAT POSITIVE

+-POSITIVE and NEGATIVE

- SOMEWHAT NEGATIVE

--NEGATIVE

ADDITIONAL INFO

NORMS & GOOD PRACTICE

International and Regional Instruments

Assesses whether countries are State party to the relevant international and regional instruments, including whether reservations have an impact on statelessness, and whether instruments are incorporated into domestic law. The four core statelessness treaties (1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons; 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness; European Convention on Nationality; Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to State Succession) carry more weight than other relevant human rights instruments in the assessment.

Norway is State party to all four of the core statelessness conventions: the 1954 Convention, the 1961 Convention, the European Convention on Nationality, and the European Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to State Succession. It is also party to all other relevant regional and international instruments except for the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers. It retains some reservations to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Social and Economic Rights, but these do not have a substantive impact on statelessness.

The 1954 Convention

Norway is State party to the 1954 Convention with no reservations and the Convention has direct effect.

The 1961 Convention

Norway is State party to the 1961 Convention with no reservations and the Convention has direct effect.

Other Conventions

Norway is State party to the European Convention on Nationality with no reservations, though it does have an interpretative declaration in place. It is also State party to the European Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to State Succession.
Norway is State party to or bound by all other relevant regional and international instruments except for the Convention on Migrant Workers, which it has not signed.
Some reservations are in place to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Social and Economic Rights, but these do not have a substantive impact on statelessness.

Statelessness Population Data

Examines the availability and sources of disaggregated population data on statelessness. Provides recent figures and assesses reliability of measures countries have in place to count stateless persons, including in the census, population registries, and migration databases. Notes whether statelessness has been mapped in the country and whether there are sufficient measures in place to count stateless persons in detention.

Norway collects and holds disaggregated data on its stateless population and some qualitative and quantitative analysis of statelessness in the country is available, including through a mapping study. However, data is not published annually, and the available data is somewhat unreliable as there is no definition of a stateless person in Norwegian law, nor any statelessness determination procedure. Norwegian authorities used to collect, hold and publish some disaggregated data on detention, but no public information was provided on the nationality status of detainees and no data has been published since 2020.

Availability and sources

Norway collects disaggregated data on the stateless population in its national statistics and immigration data - the latest figure reports 1,654 stateless people in the country in 2023. UNHCR reports a similar number of people under its statelessness mandate (1,697 in 2022), but it also reports the total number of stateless people in Norway, including those who are forcibly displaced (3,980 in 2022). It also reports on the number of people with ‘unknown’ nationality living in Norway, although the numbers are relatively low (43 people in 2023).
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of statelessness is available, and statelessness has been mapped by UNHCR in the Norwegian context.
However, there are issues with the reliability of the data since there is no definition of a stateless person in national law, no statelessness determination procedure (SDP), and stateless people without legal residence are not counted in the statistics.
Data on stateless refugees reports that 92 stateless people lodged an asylum claim in Norway in 2023 (compared to 72 in 2022, 34 in 2021 and 70 in 2020). Of 58 decisions made in 2023 on asylum claims lodged by people recorded as stateless, 30 were granted refugee protection and 1 collective protection.
Data from Statistics Norway records the naturalisation of 266 stateless people (including people with unspecified nationality) in 2021 and 131 in 2022.

Stateless in detention data

Norwegian authorities used to collect, hold and publish some disaggregated data on the number of ‘detentions’ (insettelser) in Norway until 2019, but no public information was provided on the nationality status of detainees. Since 2020, no data on detention has been received and/or published by the authorities.

Statelessness Determination and Status

Identifies whether countries have a definition of a stateless person in national law that aligns with the 1954 Convention, and whether they have a dedicated statelessness determination procedure (SDP) leading to a dedicated stateless status. If an SDP is not place, it assesses whether there are other procedures in which statelessness can be identified or other routes through which stateless people could regularise their stay or access their rights. Countries are subdivided in three groups to enable comparison between those with an SDP leading to protection, those with other procedures, and those with a statelessness status but no clear mechanism to access protection. The existing procedures and rights granted to stateless persons are examined and assessed against international norms and good practice. Assesses whether stateless people fleeing war have access to temporary protection.

Norway does not have a statelessness determination procedure, but there are other administrative procedures through which statelessness can be identified, including when applying for international protection, travel documents or acquisition of nationality. However, there is no obligation on the authorities to identify or determine statelessness and no training to assist them to do so. If statelessness is determined, the burden of proof in the procedure is shared, but the standard of proof is higher than in the asylum procedure. No rights or legal status in Norway stem from a person being determined to be stateless, although it is possible to acquire a residence permit on humanitarian grounds due to impossibility of return, which may entitle the holder to the right to work and family reunification.

Definition of a stateless person

There is no definition of a stateless person in Norwegian law, although preparatory works to recent legislative amendments have referred to the 1954 Convention definition.
The Nationality Act contains an exclusion clause from facilitated naturalisation for anyone who has 'chosen to be stateless, or who in a simple way can become a national of another country’.

Training

No specialised training on identification or determination of statelessness is provided to the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) nor the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE).
There is no training on statelessness for judges. Ad hoc training on statelessness has been provided for lawyers, but this is not part of routine legal training in Norway. Available courses on asylum and immigration law at Norwegian universities do not cover statelessness.

Existence of a dedicated statelessness determination procedure (SDP)

There is no Statelessness Determination Procedure in Norway.
There are administrative procedures through which statelessness can be identified, including when applying for international protection, travel documents and acquisition of nationality.

Procedures in which statelessness can be identified and other routes to regularisation

There are administrative procedures through which statelessness can be identified, including when applying for international protection, travel documents and acquisition of nationality, but determining statelessness is not a specific objective of any of these procedures and it may not occur in all cases.

Access to procedures

There are no specific procedures to which to refer stateless people. Statelessness may be determined in the course of an assessment of nationality or 'home country' for the purposes of deciding an international protection claim, acquisition of nationality, or application for travel documents.
There is little cooperation between competent authorities and no known training on statelessness, nor instructions or guidance.
There is no obligation in law on the authorities to determine statelessness

Assessment

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The burden of proof is shared in asylum procedures and other administrative procedures.
The standard of proof to determine statelessness is higher than in asylum cases.
There is no guidance on how to determine statelessness. The Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre (Landinfo) publishes relevant country of origin reports, including on citizenship laws and practices.

Procedural safeguards

Free legal aid is normally available to asylum seekers to challenge a first instance decision, but it is not available for any of the other procedures through which statelessness may be determined.
An interview is guaranteed in the asylum procedure but not in the other procedures.
Where a request is made to the Immigration Appeals Board to re-examine an asylum refusal where return has not been possible, and this is heard before a board, the right to appear in person is usually granted.
An interpreter is provided free of charge only in the asylum procedure. No free interpreter is provided for the purposes of applying for travel documents or acquisition of nationality.
Decisions are given in writing with reasons, but the Immigration Appeals Board is not required to specify reasons where re-examination is considered manifestly unfounded except in certain special circumstances.

Protection

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Neither juridical status nor any rights follow automatically form the sole fact of determining statelessness in an individual case in Norway.
A residence permit granted on the grounds of impossibility of return may be granted on humanitarian grounds, which has rights and entitlements attached to it, including the right to work and family reunification (provided an income requirement is met). However, the Immigration Appeals Board confirmed in 2019 that residence permits on the basis of practical obstacles preventing return have been granted in less than 10 cases since 2008. As of March 2024, the more accurate estimate based on NOAS’ casework is 10-15 cases.
The permit holder is usually eligible for settlement assistance and must participate in a municipal induction programme (full-time qualification programme adapted to the individual’s needs usually lasting up to two years) in which language training is provided as well as an introductory form of social security that may satisfy the income requirement for family reunification.
The permit is temporary and normally valid for three years but enables an application for a permanent residence permit once additional criteria are met.
Stateless people with a residence permit have full access to healthcare and the right to vote in local elections, while those without a resident permit only have access to emergency healthcare.

Temporary protection for people fleeing war

Everyone fleeing war may enter Norway, however, the possibility to cross the Storskog border crossing with Russia is uncertain for people who do not have a visa or do not benefit from visa-free access.
Norway is not bound by the EU Temporary Protection Directive, but the Immigration Act provides for the possibility to grant collective protection in certain circumstances. Norway grants temporary protection, referred to as temporary collective protection, to stateless people fleeing the war in Ukraine only if they have been granted international protection or an equivalent national protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022. Stateless people also qualify for temporary collective protection if they have a family member present in Norway who qualifies for collective international protection.

Detention

Analyses law, policy and practice relating to immigration detention generally, but focusing on protections in place to prevent the arbitrary detention of stateless people during removal and deportation procedures. Subthemes examine areas such as the identification of statelessness and assessment of whether there is a reasonable prospect of removal, procedural safeguards such as time limits, judicial oversight, and effective remedies, as well as the rights granted to stateless people upon release from detention and protection against re-detention.

There is some protection against the arbitrary detention of stateless people in Norway. Powers for detention, alternatives to detention and procedural protections are established in law, but there are some gaps. For example, detention is possible without identifying a proposed country of removal, and although consideration of alternatives should form part of a necessity and proportionality test, it is not set in law that detention should be a last resort after exploring all alternatives. Positively, there is a clear obligation on authorities to release a person when there is not reasonable prospect of removal, a maximum time limit for detention, automatic judicial oversight, and a right to legal representation and remedies. However, lawyers’ time with clients is limited and many lack expertise on statelessness. Basic rights and protections are provided on release for people who claim asylum, but not for others, and these do not protect from re-detention, although cumulative time spent in detention does count towards the maximum time limit. Statelessness is not juridically relevant in readmission or return agreements and lawyers have reported cases of stateless people being returned under such agreements to countries where they have no residence rights.

Immigration detention

Immigration detention powers are provided for in law. There is no requirement in law that detention is a last resort after all alternatives have been explored, but there is an obligation to consider alternatives which are set in law and subject to a time limit, and to conduct a necessity and proportionality test.
Alternatives established in law are reporting and designating a place of stay, which can be combined with seizure of travel documents and/or material possessions. Further alternatives are currently under consideration, including alternatives specific for families and minors as well as electronic tagging.
However, there is anecdotal evidence that alternatives are not always sufficiently considered in practice prior to detention.
There is no requirement in law for a country of removal to be identified prior to detention for removal, but there is a clear obligation on authorities to release a person when there is not reasonable prospect of removal, which follows from the principle of necessity of detention.

Identification of statelessness

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Statelessness could be considered juridically relevant if established as a barrier to removal and/or raised in a judicial proceeding to challenge continued detention.
Stateless people are detained in practice. Statistics from the National Police Immigration Service for 2021 show that 88 stateless people were forcibly removed from Norway.
There is no definition of vulnerability in law, which does not provide a list of relevant vulnerabilities.
An assessment of vulnerability is carried out by the immigration police as part of the necessity and proportionality test prior to detention, but there are no specific guidelines on vulnerability assessment and statelessness is unlikely to be considered as a relevant vulnerability in relation to proportionality assessment.

Procedural safeguards

A maximum time limit of 18 months is set in law for immigration detention in line with EU law -. However, the time limit does not apply in cases of national security and where a person is subject to expulsion following a criminal conviction.
The law provides that reasons for detention must be given in writing, a decision to detain must be submitted for a court decision by the police within 72hrs, the decision must give reasons in fact and law justifying the detention decision, including with regards to proportionality.
Detainees are automatically allocated a legal representative and provided with information on their rights in writing including contact details of support organisations.
An automatic judicial review takes place every 4 weeks (every 3 days in the case of children), and if removal is judged to be impossible within a timeframe, the person is released. However, that timeframe can be very long. An oral hearing takes place at each review and the detainee is legally represented.
However, the actual benefit of automatic legal representation in practice is questionable as lawyers have little time with their client in advance of the hearing and may not have expertise on statelessness.
There are no rules or guidance in place on the process of ascertaining/determining nationality.

Protection on release

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No automatic legal status or residence right is granted on release from detention.
For all those who have requested asylum (irrespective of the outcome of the claim) accommodation at asylum reception centres, basic subsistence and access to emergency healthcare is provided until they leave the country or secure legal residence.
In practice, most stateless people with irregular status apply for asylum and so can access these basic rights if refused protection and/or released from detention; however, this does not protect them from re-detention.
Cumulative time spent in detention counts towards the maximum time limit but if there are new grounds for detention, it may be extended beyond the maximum time limit.

Return and readmission agreements

Statelessness is not considered juridically relevant in readmission/return agreements and stateless people are returned in practice under these agreements.
In practice, lawyers are aware of stateless people without residence rights in the country of return being returned under readmission/return agreements.
The child’s right to a nationality, and their enjoyment of other fundamental rights in the country of return, may be taken into consideration but is not necessarily decisive.

Prevention and Reduction

Assesses the adequacy of safeguards in nationality laws to prevent and reduce statelessness, including facilitated routes to naturalisation for stateless people, and protections for otherwise stateless children born on the territory or to nationals abroad, foundlings and adopted children. Examines law, policy, and practice on birth registration, including access to late birth registration, and reduction measures taken by States to prevent and reduce in situ statelessness. Analyses provisions on deprivation of nationality and whether there are safeguards related to renunciation and deprivation of nationality to prevent statelessness from occurring.

Norway has relatively strong safeguards in law and policy to prevent and reduce statelessness. Stateless people born outside of Norway may apply for naturalisation after three years’ legal residence. This residence requirement seems to be increased to five years if the person has been granted international protection or stay on humanitarian grounds following a recent legislative amendment, although there is legal uncertainty. There is a non-automatic provision that is interpreted by the authorities in a way that allows stateless people born in Norway to acquire Norwegian nationality after three years of continuous residence, including unlawful residence. However, this interpretation of the provision is based on a government instruction, which is not set in law, meaning it is only binding on first instance decision-makers and not on the appeals body. There are provisions in law to prevent statelessness in adoption cases, and foundlings acquire nationality automatically, although there may be a risk of statelessness if the origin of a foundling is later established. Birth registration takes place regardless of the status of the parents, late registration is possible, and there are no reports of specific groups being at risk of remaining unregistered, but there are barriers to some children acquiring a birth certificate. Changes to the Norwegian Nationality Act, in force since March 2021, broaden grounds for deprivation of nationality to include acts seriously harmful to fundamental national interests, including as a preventive measure. However, there are safeguards to prevent this leading to statelessness, except where nationality was acquired through fraud.

Naturalisation

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Foreign nationals have a legal right to acquire Norwegian nationality after eight years of continuous, legal residence, subject to additional requirements, including passing a social studies test or a citizenship test and a language test. In October 2022, the language requirement was increased from level A2 to level B1, but an exception was introduced for stateless people, for whom the lower requirement applies.
There is a reduction in the residence requirement for stateless people, not born in Norway, from the standard eight years’ lawful residence to three years, but they must meet all other requirements, and pay the fee. A recent legislative amendment has created a legal uncertainty as to the residence period required for naturalisation of stateless people granted international protection or stay on humanitarian grounds, seemingly increasing it to five years. A recent decision of the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) of early 2023 concluded that a three-year residence period is required for such applicants, although this decision alone does not constitute a binding legal precedent.
Stateless people born in Norway may acquire Norwegian nationality after three years of continuous residence but previous lawful residence is not required.
There is a fee of NOK 3,700 (360 EUR) for adults but children (under 18) are exempt from fees.
Applicants must meet the requirements for permanent residence, including self-sufficiency, which demands a gross income of NOK 310,070 (about 27,000 EUR) over the 12 months prior to the application, and must not have received financial support under the Social Services Act during this period. Children, people over 67, students and people who are unable to work due to disability or who have left a partner due to domestic abuse, are exempt.
There are requirements relating to criminal convictions that impact on the waiting period imposed before someone may acquire Norwegian nationality according to their sentence. The waiting time imposed can be from 2.5 years for minor offences up to 39 years for sentences of 21 years.

Stateless born on territory

The Norwegian Nationality Act contains a naturalisation provision, which constitutes a non-automatic safeguard applicable to all stateless people, minors and adults, irrespective of whether they were born in Norway, provided that certain requirements are met.
A Government Instruction issued in 2016 requires this safeguard to be applied in line with the 1961 Convention setting out additional exemptions for anyone born stateless in Norway, including the requirement for only three years' continuous residence (lawful residence is not required).
Although the Instruction is legally binding for the Immigration Directorate in first instance decisions, it is not set in law and therefore not binding for the appeals body, which can lead to an application being refused on appeal based on the child not having legal residence. However, only one such case has been reported and the initial negative decision of the appellate body has eventually been reversed in favour of the applicant.
Parents are not provided with information about their child’s nationality rights and relevant procedures.
Applications for Norwegian nationality are free of charge for all children (both stateless and not stateless) irrespective of whether they were born in Norway.

Foundlings

Foundlings are granted nationality automatically by law.
Nationality acquired by foundlings can only be lost if 'the correct origin of the child becomes known', but it can be withdrawn even if the child would be become stateless. The child may then apply for naturalisation under the Nationality Act, or, if the child was born in Norway, in accordance with the 2016 Instruction. There is no specific age limit on the foundling provision.

Adoption

A Norwegian child adopted by foreign parents does not lose their Norwegian nationality on adoption.
A foreign child adopted by a Norwegian parent acquires Norwegian nationality and keeps that nationality even if the adoption decision is revoked if they would otherwise be stateless.

Ius sanguinis

A child born to a Norwegian national acquires Norwegian nationality irrespective of the place of birth and there are no discriminatory conditions.

Birth registration

Every birth in Norway must be registered regardless of the immigration status of the parents.
There are no reports of barriers to birth registration for undocumented parents or those with irregular residence status, nor on the basis of the parents’ sexual or gender identity. There are strict confidentiality rules, especially regarding health-related data, that prevent information from being shared with immigration authorities without consent.
The doctor or midwife must give birth notification to the National Registry Authority when a child is born. If a child is born without any assistance from a doctor or a midwife, the mother of the child has the obligation to notify the national registry within one month from the date of birth or, if the child is born abroad, from the date of arrival in Norway.
Late registration is possible in law and practice, and nothing suggests that a late registration would not be accepted.
Birth certificates are not automatically issued to all children born in Norway (since 2019). Instead, children are issued with confirmation of registration of their Norwegian national identity number and name, but this is not automatically sent to parents that do not have a residence permit in Norway. A birth certificate can be requested, but an electronic ID is required, which creates challenges for parents whose asylum application has been rejected as their electronic ID may be deactivated. Parents who are unable to order a birth certificate electronically must contact the Tax Administration by phone and request a birth certificate for their child.
The nationality of the child and the parents is recorded on the birth notification form by the doctor or the midwife when the child is born and then submitted to the National Registry. The National Registry’s Handbook on Population Registration provides instructions on registering nationality in different types of cases and must correct the record if subsequent information emerges about the child’s nationality status.
If a person claims to be stateless or there is doubt about a child’s identity, the National Registry official must refer the case to the immigration authority. However, there is no specific safeguard to ensure the nationality of every child born in Norway is determined as soon as possible after birth (and within five years).

Reducing in situ statelessness

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Nothing suggests that there are groups in Norway at risk of not having their births registered.
Some people with a migrant background with and without a residence permit may be at risk of statelessness.
The Government issued Instruction G-08/2016 in October 2016 to clarify exemptions applicable to people born stateless in Norway to facilitate their access to the safeguard in Nationality Act to acquire Norwegian nationality.
No further initiatives have been implemented by the Government in recent years to reduce statelessness.

Deprivation of nationality

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There is a general safeguard against statelessness in provisions for deprivation of nationality, but this does not apply to cases where nationality was obtained by misrepresentation or fraud, and these provisions are implemented in practice.
In cases where nationality has been obtained by misrepresentation or fraud, the competent authority is the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). The first instance decision may be appealed to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE). A parliamentary initiative to subject all such cases to judicial oversight was abandoned by the Government. The appeal to UNE is free of charge and free legal aid is provided. A final instance decision by UNE may be appealed to a civil court, but this is normally not free.
Due process in such cases is grossly undermined by the inadequate number of hours of free legal aid provided to cover lawyers' time. Recommendations have been made by the Legal Aid Committee and the Norwegian Bar Association to increase the number of hours.
There is a safeguard to prevent statelessness in cases of renunciation of Norwegian nationality.
Since 2019, the law permits deprivation of nationality on national security grounds upon conviction for specific crimes, although not if this would lead to statelessness. Changes in force since March 2021 allow deprivation of nationality to be used as a preventive measure for people whose behaviour may indicate that they will seriously greatly damage harm fundamental national interests. As of this date, there are no known cases of deprivation of nationality on criminal grounds or for the sake of fundamental national interests.
There are partial safeguards to prevent derivative loss of nationality. In general, a person cannot lose their Norwegian nationality if it was acquired while they were under 18 years old. There is an exception to this rule when it is considered that the person does not have a strong connection with the country, but the exception does not apply where deprivation would result in statelessness.

Resources

Library of resources, legal instruments, publications and training materials on statelessness, specifically relevant to this country. More regional and international materials, as well as resources from other countries, are available on the Resources library. Domestic case law can be consulted in the Statelessness Case Law Database (with summaries available in English).

Please note that we are in the process of adding new resources, so check back soon.

International and regional treaties

United Nations - Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (Jan 1954)

Council of Europe - European Convention on Nationality (Nov 1997)

Council of Europe - Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in relation to State Succession (Jan 2006)

United Nations - Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (Jan 1961)

Publications

European Network on Statelessness - Thematic briefing: Birth registration and the prevention of statelessness in Europe (Jul 2020)

UNHCR - Mapping Statelessness in Norway (Oct 2015)

European Network on Statelessness - Statelessness determination and protection in Europe (Sep 2021)

UNHCR - Statelessness in Norway – 9 Facts with recommendations from UNHCR (Feb 2024)

The Norwegian NGO Forum for Human Rights - The Norwegian NGO Forum for Human Rights’ stakeholder report to Norway's 4th UPR cycle review in 2024, 47th session (Apr 2024)

European Network on Statelessness - Thematic briefing: Birth registration and the prevention of statelessness in Europe (Nov 2024)

Norway

Additional resources

ASSESSMENT KEY

ADDITIONAL INFO

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