Independent residence permit

Solutions for how the Nordic countries receive asylum-seekers in a dignified and correct way were one of the points on Friday’s programme. The countries’ treatment of asylum-seekers varies. Norway and Iceland have similar legislation, and asylum-seekers and traumatised refugees can be sent back very quickly. 

The topic was discussed in the seminar Asylum and Migration. The three panel members, Trifa Sharkely from Sweden, Margrét Steinarsdottir from Iceland and Ann Magritt Austenå from Norway were unanimous that legislation must be changed so that women arriving in the countries can be given residence permits that are not linked to the men they come with.

They also emphasised the importance of adopting a proposal to give vulnerable women and their children good treatment and protected, sheltered accommodation. If we are to prevent women who arrive in the Nordic countries being sent back to the first European country they went to as refugees, documents such as driving licences and other ID-cards must be regarded as sufficient for a passport to be issued to the asylum-seeker. The countries in which sick, vulnerable and persecuted woman and children arrive must have sufficient women support units/sheltered accommodation.