Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Norwegian authorities decided to provide "collective protection" to all Ukrainian refugees by granting them automatic asylum.
Over the past two and a half years, Norway, a country of 5.6 million people, has taken in about 85,000 Ukrainians, which Oslo says is more than its Scandinavian neighbours.
"We cannot accept a disproportionately large share of displaced people compared to similar countries, such as the Nordic countries," Justice Minister Emily Enger Mel was quoted by AFP as saying at a news conference.
From now on, immigration authorities will consider asylum claims individually from residents of six regions in western Ukraine that are considered safe because they are far from the front line.
The six are Lviv, Volhynia, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Rivne.
The government said the decision was made because the large number of refugees was straining housing, health care and schools in some cities.
Enger Mell also noted that a "growing proportion" of Ukrainian asylum seekers are "men, including many of fighting age," at a time when Ukraine is struggling to recruit soldiers to fight the Russian offensive.
Over the past two years, Norway has gradually tightened asylum conditions in an attempt to limit the number of arrivals and encourage Ukrainians to find work. | BGNES
