More areas excluded from the right to collective protection
In September 2024, regulations were changed which meant that, as a general rule, you would not be covered under the collective protection scheme if your last permanent place of residence was in an area of Ukraine considered safe by the Norwegian authorities. UDI has carried out additional safety assessments of Ukraine and, as of 13 January 2025, there are more areas we consider safe.
Effective 13 January 2025, we consider the following areas to be safe:
- Cherkasy
- Chernivtsi
- Ivano-Frankivsk
- Khmelnytskyi
- Kirovohrad
- Kyiv (province of Kyiv, not city)
- Lviv
- Poltava
- Rivne
- Ternopil
- Vinnytsia
- Volyn
- Zakarpattia
- Zhytomyr
The areas that are considered safe are primarily areas where the Ukrainian authorities have a large degree of control, and where Russia have no or little degree of control and influence.
UDI is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine, and the assessment of which areas are considered safe may change.
Who do the changes apply to?
The changes apply to those who applied for protection starting from 28 September 2024 and who have not received an answer by 13 January 2025.
The changes apply to those who apply for protection starting from 13 January 2024.
The changes do not apply to those who applied for protection before 28 September 2024.
The changes also do not apply to those who already have a permit and are set to have the permit extended.
The changes do not apply to those who come to Norway through the Medevac scheme.
The changes do not apply for those who have close family members who have been granted collective protection in Norway. By close family members we mean spouses, cohabitants, children under 18 years of age and other family members who were part of the same household before 24 February 2022.
Read more about who is covered under the collective protection scheme.
What do we mean by last permanent place of residence?
We will make an assessment in each individual case. Basically, your last permanent place of residence will be the last place where you lived for at least six months.
If you have only travelled through an area, we will not consider it a permanent place of residence.
We cannot say in advance what we will consider as your last permanent place of residence. You will not be able to get any answer to the question by calling us.
What happens if I come from an area that is considered safe?
If you apply for protection in Norway and come from one of the areas considered safe by the Norwegian authorities, your application will be assessed according to the regulations for individual protection.
There are significantly higher requirements for being granted protection on an individual basis than for collective protection.
We will then decide whether the authorities in your home country can protect you. We will also assess whether there are areas in your home country that may be safe and accessible for you to travel to. This applies regardless of whether you come from these areas.
Read more about how UDI processes applications for individual protection.